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Motor help needed


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#1 sportblazer350

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Posted 11 July 2006 - 06:47 PM

I have two different 1/24 vintage cars, with similar motors, that seem to be lacking power and get very hot very quickly. One car is an Atlas Formula 1 and the other is a kit-bashed model truck, with a Pittman. Both motors are very similar, not the can types, open motors. Both use a block magnet at the end to magnetise the motor sides. I may not be describing this as accurately as you "old pros" would know how to do.
So my question here is: can i replace the magnet block (or is it a piece of steel or iron that has been magnetised??) with a new magnet, to get more power out of these old motors, and will that keep them cooler??

Or is there another, proper fix for these motors?? Thanks, Glenn

Glenn Orban
NJ Vintage Racing
NJ Scale Racing
C.A.R.S. Vintage Slot Car Club





#2 idare2bdul

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Posted 11 July 2006 - 07:51 PM

Make sure that nothing is binding. The axles should turn freely. There should be a small amount of gear lash. The gear shouldn't bottom. What gear ratio are you running and how long is your track? How long do you run the motor before it gets hot? Did you break in the motors? All these things are important. Pittmans are usually pretty bullet proof under normal running.
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#3 retrotech

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Posted 18 July 2006 - 07:35 PM

Hi Sb350,

Could be not enough amps! Could be
the motors were disassembled and the
magnets removed, this will weaken
the motor. Are all the windings
attached? If the motor were cleaned
with a wirewheel or brush the wire
to the arm can get knocked off.

If the Atlas came from TigerTom,
some were cleaned with a wirewheel
and I had one that needed reattach.

And then you have the controller?
You need 10 ohm or lower. And 3 amp
at the transformer.

I think taller gearing may help too!

retroo
Greg Benke - 1/24 Vintage and 1/24 Kitbash!

#4 TSR

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Posted 18 July 2006 - 09:05 PM

The last time I drove a Pittman 196B powered car, it was really as fast as any good 16D... and I have an Atlas car that is quite good too with the AT208 open motor. Maybe the cars are poorly assembled or simply "dry", requiring some 40-year overdue maintenance? :)

Philippe de Lespinay


#5 stevefzr

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Posted 18 July 2006 - 11:38 PM

This guy in the UK is advertising RE magnets for some of the older motors. I want some to go in Atlas 206 and 406 motors. He states the dimensions, but does say which is which, or which way the magnets are polarised. I've messaged him several times to confirm the details but he never responds. Has anyone tried them, or know of an alternative source for RE mags for the Atlas motors?

http://cgi.ebay.com....Vi...A:IT&rd=1 " target="_blank"> http://cgi.ebay.com....?Vi...A:IT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com....?Vi...A:IT&rd=1

In case you're wondering, I want to be able to race the 1/24 Atlas Lola and Ferrari against Coxs and Tamiyas. I see RE mags as the only way to narrow the performance gap.

Regards,

Steve C

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#6 Horsepower

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Posted 19 July 2006 - 12:32 AM

SportBlazer- Your magnets have probably lost a lot of power over the years. I'm sure you could see if gears and such were binding. Have them rezapped (the magnets, not the gears!). I do it with my Magblaster from Rick at R-GEO. He now sells them on Ebay. I diassemble the magnet from the rest and stick it in the Blaster to restore the mags. You just have to check polarity because the first time I did it I didn't check it and the motor wouldn't run until I got it right.Those magnets on Ebay that Steve posted a link for are fantastically powerful. I just bought two sets but have not had time to install one in a motor.I am betting they will kick butt on the old inlines. They are a little smaller side to side than the original Atlas and Pittmans but I'm sure they could be shimmed up. It's a very small gap. :) :mrgreen: :up:
Of course the Dokk is right as always-make sure the bearings are oiled and do a slow break in at 4 or 5 volts for 10 minutes. One other thing- I assume your Atlas motors are the AT-206 (6 volt ball bearing) or AT-208 (8 volt plain bearing) and not the AT-406 which was made for the 1/24th scale cars mainly, however the 1/24th Formula cars did have the AT-206. The AT-406 has wider magnets and the neodymium magnets sold on Ebay may not fit. I have not tried comparing them yet.
STEVE- It won't matter on the orientation. If it isn't right just flip it upside down!
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#7 stevefzr

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Posted 19 July 2006 - 09:37 PM

Hi Gary,
Let us know how those magnets go. Pity they don't fit the 406, as that's the one that needs te most help!

Regards,

Steve

Stephen Corneille


#8 Horsepower

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Posted 20 July 2006 - 03:45 AM

I won't have any time this week to convert the motor to the neos, however curiosity is killing me,so in a very unscientific test I took a new AT-206 and connected it to my power supply and set it at 6 volts. Then I turned on the power and let it run for a few seconds and grabbed the motor shaft. It stopped immediately. Next, I took the motor and clipped the neo magnet daisey chain style to the back of the existing magnet and turned the power back on. There was no change in RPM but I could not stop the shaft from turning without burning my fingers each time I tried. I'd say that's a pretty heavy torque increase. Incidentally, when the magnet was flipped over the motor would not run at all. I assume this was because of complete polarity reversal. These magnets fit the Pittman 196B perfect and the AT-206 with a small shim of either brass tubing thru the magnet slot where the screw passes through or maybe a piece of steel or brass shim stock on each side of the magnet. I also checked the fit on the AT-406 and the gap was far too big on either side of the magnet and also the distance between the magnet and the rear of the armature was too great. ;) :think:
Gary Stelter
 
My life fades, the vison dims. All that remains are memories... from The Road Warrior

#9 Steve Speedway

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Posted 12 November 2017 - 06:30 AM

Hello. I'm an Altas motor fan. I have read about the AT-208 and AT-406 and I have a few of them, remagnetized, ready to go into 1/32 slot car chassis and a couple of 1/24.

However, Im have having trouble with giving one motor a tune-up. 

I bought an Atlas tune-up kit off ebay.  Each spring allows the carbon brush to fit inside, but the springs are too wide to fit inside the brass retaining screws.

 

Wanting to know why, I pulled down another one of my Atlas motors, which has thinner brushes.

Can I drill out the brass retaining screw so that it will accept the spring?

Otherwise, where can I find a pair of new replacement (thinner) motor brushes?

 

If anyone can tell me the names of each Atlas motor I would appreciate it. 

I'm curious to know why Altas changed the brush size width? The motors sure looks the same.

 

One more question, if I may. I have an armature with green wire. What is the difference between that and those with plain brass wire?

 

  Thank you. 

Steve, from Brisbane, Australia   (3 pictures attached)

Attached Images

  • AtlasBrush1a.jpg
  • AtlasBrushesSM.jpg
  • AtlasBrushSpring.jpg

Steve Magro

#10 Ramcatlarry

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Posted 13 November 2017 - 12:41 AM

First of all, these old inline motors use "Alnico" magnet material. Invented in the middle ages for many uses.  It has bad memory and needs to be recharged now and again.  Ceramic magnets were not invented (or at least in common use) before the early 1960s.  The rare earth magnets are much newer as well, but do have better memory of their fields


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