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 Posted - July 10 2014 : 11:10:42 PM
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Anyone here ever install/use these gear sets? I happened by chance to get an Athearn Alco equipped with gear sets and really like them. I got a set for 6-axle Athearns, to put in a SD45.
Curious thing about the install, it says you need to swap the trucks after the gears are installed to insure proper polarity. Now that stumped me - how would modifying the gears do that? I checked the Alco and sure enough, the trucks are reversed from all my standard Athearns.
Sooo...anyone know WHY or HOW this is so? 
And yes I am electrically challenged 
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Posted - July 11 2014 : 01:21:44 AM
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It must be the difference in how many idlers are between the worm and the axle. The extra reduction gears result in the final axle gears turning the opposite direction of the stock gearing.
I've only used the Hustler kit with mixed results. The motor generates noise and vibration at high RPM's, and the worms and flywheels weren't machined right so that they were an incredibly tight fit on the shaft (I bought the kit shortly before they closed their doors, so I guess there were issues). There's no way to remove them to balance the motor.
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Posted - July 11 2014 : 06:38:18 AM
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Nelson - thanks. Had not considered that additional gear but now it makes sense. Could not fathom how changing plastic gears would change polarity.
And yes I hear you on your assessment. I think it's something that grows on you, or you either love them or hate them. At first I didn't think I cared that much for them but as I ran that Alco more maybe the gearing settled in or something because it seemed to smooth out.
I like to watch that Alco crawl around the layout with a huge train. At this point, the only thing I don't like about it is that it does tend to induce a slight 'pogo' effect back at the caboose.
Definitely a freight-only thing to have, where they look good running slow - not so much on a passenger unit.
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Posted - July 11 2014 : 2:31:57 PM
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Jerry,
Yup, the gearing has nothing to do with the wiring, it's just a mechanical equation. For e.g., if you have a steamer where the worm drives the axle gear and repower it with a gearbox that has an idler gear between them, it's going to run backwards unless the polarity to the motor is reversed.
Another way to do it is to pop the Athearn motor apart, turn the magnets 180 degrees, and reassemble it. Same result. 
quote:At this point, the only thing I don't like about it is that it does tend to induce a slight 'pogo' effect back at the caboose.
Originally posted by JNXT 7707 - July 11 2014 : 06:38:18 AM
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Is this due to speed variations, or just from coupler slack?
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Posted - July 11 2014 : 3:15:05 PM
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Guys,
I remember reading, some where several years back, that the shaft on some Athearn motors could be guilty of moving back and forth. This would cause bucking. The solution was taking the end off of the motor and adding thin washers as shims. That is all I know about that.
Regards, John ******************
He who knows best knows how little he knows. <> Thomas Jefferson
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Posted - July 11 2014 : 5:34:13 PM
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I have one loco with the Ernst Regear and am planning on one other unit. Both are yard units.
I've only run it on a test track. For yard switching, these seem like the trick. Or maybe hauling a coal drag up a long grade.
Shimming the motor shaft on an Athearn motor is a good practice. NWSL sells shims. Also, this pogo effect maybe be from other factors, too. Such a freight car weight. Does it meet NMRA standards? Decent trucks with metal wheels, helps, too.
Unspoken expectations are premeditated failures.
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Posted - July 11 2014 : 6:44:35 PM
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quote:
Is this due to speed variations, or just from coupler slack?
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Now that I don't know. The cars are all weighted correctly and are free rolling. I can put another loco on the head end and eliminate the effect, so I'm looking at the loco. It's very subtle but it's there...almost like a pulse. I do have a few extra shims from some NWSL repower kits, so I might try adding some and see what happens. Will be interesting to see how the SD45 runs when I get the gears installed in it.
Even with all that, I enjoy the way it runs, and with the motor turning faster at slower speeds, it puts out a sound something like a diesel pulling a heavy freight.
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Posted - July 11 2014 : 7:23:27 PM
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The most likely culprit is some kind of binding. The instructions say to be sure that the gearing turns freely, and even says the gears may need to be thinned by sanding to fit the truck housing. Could also be flash or an uneven gear.
http://www.hoseeker.org/ernst/ernst6axles.jpg
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Posted - July 11 2014 : 11:43:33 PM
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Installed the new gears in the SD45, runs pretty good. I think I could MU it with the Alco even. 
Nelson you could be right about the binding, the instructions do point out the need to do some sanding with the Alco install. Have no idea if the previous owner paid attention to that as it was an ebay buy, and it wasn't even noted in the description as having the Ernst gears.
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Posted - July 12 2014 : 01:02:16 AM
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Jerry, the Ernst gears were certainly a bonus, but I'll lay wager that the prior owner wasn't that thorough about the installation. He probably just popped them in and was done with it.
A good Teflon grease like Super Lube really helps too, once everything's freed up.
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Posted - July 12 2014 : 4:40:05 PM
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I'd say you were right Nelson.
I've had a tube of Super Lube in the garage for years, never thought of using it on the railroad.
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