Hello!
Does anyone know the voltage of the motors that LGB use in their toytain/fantasy locos? I'm looking to battery power one and in search of a suitable manual speed controller.
Cheers!
Rob
LGB Toytrain Motor Voltage
LGB Toytrain Motor Voltage
Rob
The Bayfields Light Railway & The Woodside Light Railway
The Bayfields Light Railway & The Woodside Light Railway
The answer is about 18V, and to get the same performance as that you typically need a 14V pack.
But what you really need to know is what battery pack delivers the kind of speed and pulling power you'd be happy with on the gradients you are running on.
That depends on battery type as well as just the voltage.
For example I have a small locomotive that runs better on 6AA cells than it does on 8 AAA cells because the AAAs are limited on the current they can deliver without bogging down.
On level track I usually run a LGB and Playmobil locos nice and slow on 4 cells. makes the railway feel longer ;-)
I swop the battery for 8 or 10 cells occasionally to keep up with live steamers on a hilly line.
Experiment - and if using rechargables always have a fuse or circuit breaker in the circuit.
David 1/2d
But what you really need to know is what battery pack delivers the kind of speed and pulling power you'd be happy with on the gradients you are running on.
That depends on battery type as well as just the voltage.
For example I have a small locomotive that runs better on 6AA cells than it does on 8 AAA cells because the AAAs are limited on the current they can deliver without bogging down.
On level track I usually run a LGB and Playmobil locos nice and slow on 4 cells. makes the railway feel longer ;-)
I swop the battery for 8 or 10 cells occasionally to keep up with live steamers on a hilly line.
Experiment - and if using rechargables always have a fuse or circuit breaker in the circuit.
David 1/2d
Either full radio control or a Forward-Off-Reverse switch, or sometimes a separate on-off and forward-reverse.
If wanting manual speed control, do not on any account use a variable resistance. No time to explain but it's hopeless and wastes a lot of power too.
Good choices are:
- pure DC controllers, which also waste power at low speed, but are silent and don't fry delicate motors,
- pulse-width controllers which may cause a buzz, hum or whistle and do fry delicate motors but are pretty efficient. The high voltage pulses keep the motor interested, and no power is taken during the gaps between pulses.
Sorry, I don't know what type of motor the Toy Train series has.
Anyone else know?
David
If wanting manual speed control, do not on any account use a variable resistance. No time to explain but it's hopeless and wastes a lot of power too.
Good choices are:
- pure DC controllers, which also waste power at low speed, but are silent and don't fry delicate motors,
- pulse-width controllers which may cause a buzz, hum or whistle and do fry delicate motors but are pretty efficient. The high voltage pulses keep the motor interested, and no power is taken during the gaps between pulses.
Sorry, I don't know what type of motor the Toy Train series has.
Anyone else know?
David
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I've used a PWM controller on a Toytrain chassis with no problems, though as you quite rightly say, it is prone to "whistling" - not too bad for a diesel outline loco.
I'm also with you on using just 4 cells with a fwd/off/rev switch (the arrangement with Sybil and Marian) for nice fuss free slow running.
Incidentally, I've also used the Toytrain chassis with a replacement 3 volt motor in Marian.
However you go about it, can I recommend that you remove the pick-up skates and pick-up wheel plungers. It's a doddle to do and will prevent any chance of short circuits depending on your track layout.
There's a mention in this months Garden Rail about the benefit of reduced friction too!
I'm also with you on using just 4 cells with a fwd/off/rev switch (the arrangement with Sybil and Marian) for nice fuss free slow running.
Incidentally, I've also used the Toytrain chassis with a replacement 3 volt motor in Marian.
However you go about it, can I recommend that you remove the pick-up skates and pick-up wheel plungers. It's a doddle to do and will prevent any chance of short circuits depending on your track layout.
There's a mention in this months Garden Rail about the benefit of reduced friction too!
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