The motor test series is turning out to be a little tricky. The initial series is easy. That only involves using the stock motor with proper lubrication and a five wire electrical connection upgrade.
The problem occurs when trying to install the Helix Humper motors. There are at least two issues:
1.- for reasons that are not clear, to properly install the motor, the engine chassis needs to have small segment ground away. While not an extreme issue, the average modeler probably does not have the tools to machine chunks of metal off the chassis so the motor can be installed.
2.- the HH motor seem to stem from a time when the engines did not have fly wheels. Provisions are in place the add the appropriate wheels. However to use the motors today, the fly wheels need to be purchased. At an added cost.
At this point my enthusiasm for these motors has waned. The BB Train Master and the SD9 engines have been successfully converted, but a BB GP38-2 seems to be incompatible.
In either case, without milling the chassis, the motor rides higher than desired. The drive shafts angle down rather than be horizontal. The former two engines are long enough that the angle is acceptable.
The GP38-2 is not. The splines that make up the drive shafts are not long enough. Either a longer male piece or a different set of shaft pieces are required on engines like the GP38-2.
The motor sits higher because the chassis material is thicker. The motor can not be secured with the screw type motor mounts, where the former two models can. In this case, the A-line motor cradle was used. The motor was secured with silicone.
Because the motor is high, there is very little room between the top of the motor and the shell. There is too much wire on the motor for the resulting gap. When the running motor has contact with the shell a loud vibration sound is made. All in all it does not leave much room for error. A solution may be to minimize the motor wires. Perhaps that would allow the combination to be tested. That will e examined in the hopes of getting some useful data.
The BB F7A seems to have the same problem as GP38-2 when it comes to mounting on the chassis. In this case the height will be a real detriment because in most BB F7A. There is a weight that covers the motor. This added weight will be a real loss if it has to be left out. So much so, that the results will be of little value.
Another option is a BB SD40-2. It’s chassis is closer to the Train Master and the SD9. So some worth while data may be in the offering there.
These HH motor tests are a step along the way. The desire is to show the impact of several motors:
1 stock BB
2 Helix Humper
3 Mashima
4 Potential Option D
there are actually at least two stock BB motors. The round “jet” and the rectangular gold.
There are also various versions of Mashima motors as well. In addition, there are other motors that would be of interest. There are several can motors on the market. NWSL used a particular Japanese motor and then another variance when that manufacturer was no longer available.
Of particular interest is the motor type used in the IM SD40-2 which will be discussed in a different post.
The notion is to understand the benefits of one motor compared to others. The reality is that this is hard to do. Even motors of the same model from a given manufacturer will have variation when they are brand new. Those variations grow with age of the motor.
This will mean that the testing will be informative, but will not fully define the total impact of a given motor type.
Based on this, the plan for the motor testing is as follows:
1 Athearn BB Train Master
A stock round motor 1
B helix humper motor
C stock rectangular motor
2 Athearn BB SD9
A stock rectangular motor A
B helix humper motor
C Mashima 1833 motor A
D NWSL motor A
3 Athearn BB GP38-2
A stock rectangular motor B
B helix Humper motor
C Mashima 1824 motor A
D Mashima 1833 motor A
4 Athearn BB SD40-2
A stock rectangular motor A
B IM SD40-2 motor
C Mashima 1833 motor A
D NWSL motor A
5 Athearn BB F7A
A Stock BB Round motor A
B Stock BB rectangular motor B
C Mashima 1824 motor A
D Mashima 1833 motor A
6 Athearn BB F7A
A Stock BB rectangular motor C
B IM SD40-2 motor
C Mashima 1824 motor A
D Mashima 1824 motor B
E Mashima 1824 motor C
Of these proposed tests, the first five A level tests have been completed. The sixth is ready to test. The second level test has been completed on the Train Master.
This brings testing of the IM SD40-2 motor into two locations.
As usual, other options will be thought of as the testing goes along. The previous Mashima motor testing thread will be deleted because it no longer applies.
