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Turntable Reality Check

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  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Rimrock, Arizona
  • 11,251 posts
Posted by SpaceMouse on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 10:30 PM

MisterBeasley

My Atlas turntable is pit-bashed, but the motor drive is unchanged.  The pit-bash dropped the motor unit well below the surface so it's considerably quieter.

Mine is driven by an old train transfomer/power pack.  That gives me the opportunity to easily set the speed.  I like where it is now.

 

That's how I had planned it. I ordered a replacement belt for it today. It makes the DPDT MOM switch I ordered a mute point if I go that route.

The DC is for the TT.

Chip

Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,483 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 10:14 PM

My Atlas turntable is pit-bashed, but the motor drive is unchanged.  The pit-bash dropped the motor unit well below the surface so it's considerably quieter.

Mine is driven by an old train transfomer/power pack.  That gives me the opportunity to easily set the speed.  I like where it is now.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Rimrock, Arizona
  • 11,251 posts
Posted by SpaceMouse on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 10:05 PM

RR_Mel
Since I’ve looked on eBay for geared motors and found several 0.6 RPM.  I don’t have any first hand info but the specs look pretty good.

Thanks Mel.

I've been looking at the spec and the drawing and although it looks workable, it doesn't fit with my plan. I had thought to use a cake pan as a frame. I would then router the plywood to receive the lip of the pan so I could drop it right in. The way this is set up is that a person would use 3mm hex bolts to attach the motor to the base. Those hex bolts would be sticking up under the bridge. 

That's not a deal breaker. That just means I have to rethink things and come up with a new plan.  

Chip

Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Bakersfield, CA 93308
  • 6,526 posts
Posted by RR_Mel on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 5:00 PM

My turntable is a CMR and came with a .5 RPM Dayton motor direct drive.
 
Since I’ve looked on eBay for geared motors and found several 0.6 RPM.  I don’t have any first hand info but the specs look pretty good.
 
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
  
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 
  • Member since
    April 2009
  • From: Sweden
  • 1,468 posts
Posted by Graffen on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 4:48 PM

1/2 rpm is 180° in 60 seconds.

That's really slow. My former 90' turntable had 1 rpm and worked okay.

Faster than that might be a bit too fast.

It sounds like you need to gear it down a bit.

Swedish Custom painter and model maker. My Website:

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  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Rimrock, Arizona
  • 11,251 posts
Posted by SpaceMouse on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 4:37 PM

I have a much larger and heavier motor that I just tested. It took about 22 seconds to do 180 degrees. 

I also tested an Atlas TT. I can't tell how fast it turns because it is missing the drive belt. At the lowest speed, it drown out the washing machine. 

I'm trying to think how I can sell that noise as being appropriate in the 1890's. 

Chip

Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Rimrock, Arizona
  • 11,251 posts
Posted by SpaceMouse on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 4:04 PM

RR_Mel

My 130’ HO turntable is slightly under ½RPM and looks pretty realistic to me.
 
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
  
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 
 

Mine would be about 65' but not sure that matters. 

So mine is rotating four times as fast. 

Reminds me of the cartoon of a snail riding on a turtle. The snail is saying "Wheeeeeee!"

Chip

Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Bakersfield, CA 93308
  • 6,526 posts
Posted by RR_Mel on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 3:53 PM

My 130’ HO turntable is slightly under ½RPM and looks pretty realistic to me.
 
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
  
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 
  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Rimrock, Arizona
  • 11,251 posts
Turntable Reality Check
Posted by SpaceMouse on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 3:44 PM

I'm running into a lot of obstacles in doing my wiring, and since the turntable will have to be installed early on, I figured I start working on it. 

I have a 7V motor and am powering it with the DC side of a Bachmann DC power supply. I figured that I can set the voltage so that it operates at the speed I want. 

When I tested it, I found that the motor started moving smoothly at about 2V (okay, okay, it was 1.96V). At that level, the motor spun 180 degrees in about 16 seconds. 

So, are my locomotives going to get dizzy?

Chip

Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.

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