Subject:
|
Re: How long will train 9v motors last?
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.trains
|
Date:
|
Mon, 22 Jan 2007 14:58:42 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
3769 times
|
| |
|
|
In lugnet.trains, Mike Walsh wrote:
> We just completed a holiday layout which ran from Thanksgiving through the
> 15th of January (yes, I know I need to write it up). We had four train
> loops running. I use wall timers (the kind you use for your lights when you
> go on vacation) which have the option to turn something on and off several
> times a day. Our layout was in a mall which was open from 8 AM - 6 PM so I
> would have the trains turn on about 7:45 and off about 6:45. I would let
> them run 2-3 hours and give them a 15 minute break. The staggered the
> timers such that no more than one train was ever "resting". When we first
> did this I didn't bother letting them rest but found that some of the
> motors or controllers would go into thermal overload and essentially
> overheat and shut off.
Wall timers are a good simple idea - the sort with lots of little levers to turn
the power on and off every fifteen minutes.
I made my trains stop and start a few times every minute though. Not only does
it give the motors an easy ride, it gets people interested as they wait to see
what moves next.
The advantage with a mechanical switch controller is that it stops when all the
power goes off, and starts again when it comes back on. If you're using
Mindstorms, once the power goes off it won't automatically restart. You'd need
some way to leave the mindstorms on, but turn off the train power overnight.
Would you use Mindstorms to power the track (not a great idea as it may
overload), use it to switch relays on, or use a motor to turn the train
controller dial?
Jason R
|
|
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: How long will train 9v motors last?
|
| "Chris Phillips" <drvegetable@comcast.net> wrote in message news:JC9n2r.94C@lugnet.com... [ ... snipped ... ] (...) NCLTC has run 3 shows which have lasted longer than a month so we have some experience with this. In addition to wear on the motors, (...) (18 years ago, 22-Jan-07, to lugnet.trains)
|
15 Messages in This Thread:
 
 
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
