Repowering with CD-ROM and other random motors
Jul 18, 2018 20:14:30 GMT -5
skimpytone and Sandy like this
Post by burlington77 on Jul 18, 2018 20:14:30 GMT -5
This topic came up the other day, so I thought it would be a good time to post this. Years ago, many of us experimented with using small can motors from CD-ROMs, video games, vcrs, etc. to repower old locomotives. I had mixed success with this, but it was fun and I enjoyed tinkering.
A year or so ago, I was thinking about the old projects and remembered I had a bunch of pictures up on another forum. I held my breath, logged back in, and grabbed a few pictures. Here are my old remotoring experiment pictures.
This was a massive success. I don't remember where I got this motor, but it fit in easy and works well. The shell required a little modification, including some very thin shims to make it ride just a tiny bit higher. I still use this one often. It runs great, albeit with no flywheel action, and will pull nails. Love it, love it, love it! I think I went into detail back then, but the basic idea is that the gear has to fit on the shaft of the motor, and you have to make the motor fit in the space. Then supply power. That's it. I only ever hot glued them into place, and it seems fine. I'm sure there are better ways to do this, but I stand by this one because it still runs like a champ.
Same idea. Simply place can motor where previous motor was. Even I'm laughing at the ridiculously long wires and sloppy tape. It was a learning experience, but like the previous one, it works. Not a great puller though, it's pretty light. Still it was a fun way to upgrade a 2 buck train show buy.
Finally, the Tycos. For the record, I DO NOT recommend this method. I think there are currently much better ways to repair/upgrade PowerTorque motors. At the time, this seemed like a good idea. To describe it simply, I removed the armature of the PT, then used a Dremel with sanding drum to open up the frame. These motors are from CD-ROM drives out of old, old computers. The motor was hot glued into place and the gear was glued on the shaft with Super Glue. All wiring was reattached and they were good to go.
So to summarize all of this, the RS-2 was a success, the Century 424 turned out "just okay" and the PTs were mixed. The SF GP20 is great. The sharks never quite worked right. The better of the two runs great in reverse, but not forward and I haven't had time to figure out why.
