They are a tad noisy - that caught me off guard when I started using one. However, I found that the most noise in my case was generated by the gears - the interface between the motor and the turntable. I found I had gotten a bit sloppy with track ballast and some had gone under the turntable which directly affected the turnable movement (got caught in the gears) and had actually caused more noise - a quick cleaning with a vacum was my solution. I found I could adjust the noise by varying the power going to the motor (ie slow = less noise, fast = lots of noise) but, again, we are talking gear noise.
The variable voltage is the way to reduce some of the noise - I've been using an old Bachmann train set pack for years. BTW, mine is a belt drive from the motor to the gears - still noisy as h*** . A good set of earplugs may help!
Thanks all for the ideas.
I will try those I can and report back for others.
Have a good weekend
wjstix One thing that helps is to hook it up to a variable DC output rather than a straight 12 volts. On my previous layout I used an old Tech II throttle to control direction and movement and found my TT ran slowly, smoothly and fairly quietly on around 30-40% power.
One thing that helps is to hook it up to a variable DC output rather than a straight 12 volts. On my previous layout I used an old Tech II throttle to control direction and movement and found my TT ran slowly, smoothly and fairly quietly on around 30-40% power.
This is absolutely correct, running the TT at prototypical speeds, it makes very little noise compared to the full 12v, this in my mind is the correct way to operate the Atlas, slow, smooth, quiet. Use an old or cheap trainset power pack to run your TT, you will be much happier with it.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Absolutely. At full speed, the whole thing looks very unrealistic with the indexing stops. Mine's on an old power pack, and I'm thinking of putting a decoder on it and running it with DCC. Has anyone else tried that?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Folks:
If it's any consolation, I've heard that the real 1:1 turntables can make quite a racket when turning. I've never heard one run, so I don't know. Of course the sound is likely to be very different.
The armstrong type probably generates occasional swearing fits.
Mine is a lot quieter, but it's buried:
You might try putting the whole turntable on some sort of sound-deadening base. Go to a computer show and pick up a few mouse pads - they are a dense soft foam that might work. The worst thing to do is probably mounting it directly on plywood - that's going to amplify the sound. If you can fit some insulation in the little shed that goes over the drive motor, it might help, too.
I'm not so sure the gears are the problem. When they made these things 40 years ago, they used a belt-drive that was just as noisy. I think the problem is the whole plastic mounting system. It just shakes, rattles and rolls and amplifies all the vibrations into audio.
It's NOT the motor - it's the gears. I have had one for years - that is the nature of the beast!! This subject has come up many times in the past - there seems to be no cure - except maybe the Walthers pre-assembled TT!!
Have you tried applying a bit of plastic-compatible grease to the gears and a touch of oil to the motor?
Mark
Maybe replace the motor I actually know nothing about the turntable, but there are plenty of different motors out there. If you get a pic or two I might be able to help you decide. Mike
Any way to quiet this motor or are there any other simple options possible?
Thanks