HO engines

[Anonymous]

What is an Ernst transmission and how do they work?

[sparkingbolt]

They are aftermarket gearsets that you install in various Athearn Locomotives, supposed to reduce overall speed and make for smoother running. I attempted to install one in an SD40-2 recently.

I can't speak for their entire line of products, and I honestly hate to come across negative about any manufacturer, but it was a waste of my money and several hours trying to get it to run smooth. I am an experienced modeller, and followed the instructions carefully. They're not complicated and there's only so much you can do.

How they are supposed to work is that the gear that the worm gear turns has a smaller reduction gear on it that turns another narrow gear which turns the remaining Athearn gears in the truck. Good in theory anyway, but I finally discarded the whole mess and returned the stock Athearn gears.

Has anyone else had better success with these (I hope)? Dan

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jpears

What is an Ernst transmission and how do they work?

WELCOME ABOARD!

[Anonymous]

Sparkingbolt, Can you be more specific? What was the problem with the Ernst set-up?

[cacole]

I had the same problem with an Ernst regearing kit for an Athearn locomotive. The kit slows the locomotive down to a more realistic speed okay, but they make a horribly loud grinding noise and require a higher startup voltage than the stock locomotive ever did. I bought kits for two locomotives, but will just throw the second set away --

[Anonymous]

Ernst gearsets can be made to function correctly, but it requires much patience. I've got a set in an Athearn SW1500 pair that runs like a champ, quietly and oh so slooowly.
Angus Macdonald
Petaluma Valley RR

[nfmisso]

Ernst gearsets for Athearn are not for the faint of heart. If you like rebuilding the gear train in a palm size digital video tape recorder or a Swiss watch, you'll do okay with the Ernst set. The gears are less than half as wide as Athearn's original. If you put them in backwards (very very easy to do) they do not change the ratio at all. They have to be cleaned completely and very carefully. In addition, the motor, flywheels and driveshafts need to be balanced much better because, for any given locomotive speed, they are spinning nearly twice as fast. A precision motor, such as Micro Mo, is highly recommended with the Ernst gears.

If you do not do the whole installation perfectly, and upgrade the rest of the drivetrain at the same time - in other words taking a complete systems approach to it - do not try. Expect to put in 20+ hours to do this right, assuming you have the tools and knowledge.

But, when done right, the upgrade is very very very impressive.

[Anonymous]

Cacole'
Let me buy that gear set from you, if the price is right. Idon't know how much postage would be, but I can find out. I see you're in Arizona & I'm in west Tennessee. I hate to see the gearset wasted. I've never done one of these conversions. My e-mail address is tweet469@netzetro,net or you can call collect [phone], but use your user name if you do where I'll reconize you. You can call anytime.

[dragenrider]

I have regeared about 15 engines with Ernst gears and have had a lot of success. [^] As nfmisso says, you gotta clean 'em good and double check all alignments.

The great thing about the gears are that the longer the engine is in service, the smoother the gears operate. I've got a Athearn GP-9 which was regeared six months ago that is just now settling out. It runs almost as good as some of my P2K's. [:D]

They do tend to make a lot of noise compared to regular gearing and do take a bit of work. But once you tuned one engine, the others are easy! [:)] If you search this forum you'll find more info, pro's and con's on Ernst.

Happy modeling!

[sparkingbolt]

Deschane, I don't know what exactly was going on internally, I just know that the gears chattered and vibrated violently, and it took a higher voltage to get it to do so, as cacole relates.

I know that Ernst makes a number of different conversions, perhaps some better than others(?).

Heres a funny one: I bought a Hustler conversion some years ago, before buying the Hustler. Then Athearn quit making them. Bought one on eBay, but it was the way old one that the kit doesn't work in....Dan

[rrinker]

I installed an Ernst gear set in my S-12 and had GREAT results. No gear noise or anything like others have mentioned. I never remotored this unit, so the most noise is from the motor. I did use the 'toothpaste trick' to lap the gears in (when I took it part, I cleaned off every gear with soap and water, and when I installed the Ernst gears I used toothpaste instead of grease. Ran the mechanism in both directions for a while, then took it all apart and carefully cleaned again. Reassembled with proper grease. With the worms off and NWSL wheels installed, I could put a truck assembly on a piece of track and tilt it, and it would ROLL not skid.) I wouldn;t describe the task of converting as difficult by any means. Time-consuming, yes, at least if you want to do it right. I guess it helps that I am pretty good at translating the picture in the instructions to the actual piece in my hand.
I also had no issues with it changing the starting voltage of the motor - it shouldn't. The only way the starting voltage should increase is if the gears are binding somewhere. After conversion I had a locomotive that woud crawl so slowly I could push cars without the Kadee couplers mating.

--Randy

[mcouvillion]

I've installed several Ernst gear sets and they do take some time to get right but were well worth the effort. I've done an Athearn RDC (with two sets installed instead of the one it was designed for) and two Athearn 1st-generation Hustlers. (The gear set was designed for the 2nd-generation Hustler! That was an experience!) Take your time and clean all the flash from the gears carefully. I did these several years ago, but I remember having to increase the clearances a little to get the gears to align and rotate freely. I don't have a problem with noise or vibration at all. I use Dexron II transmission fluid as the lubricant, not grease.