tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post7185672841024107680..comments2024-03-28T08:06:43.198-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: The Least You Should Know - DC Motors 1SiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-2933333642321387852012-05-06T18:36:22.270-04:002012-05-06T18:36:22.270-04:00Yow. These are the motors used to drive trains, r...Yow. These are the motors used to drive trains, right? They must be outrageously powerful.SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-71721328252537902982012-05-06T14:57:26.506-04:002012-05-06T14:57:26.506-04:00DC motors can have a lot of torque, as you mention...DC motors can have a lot of torque, as you mentioned. I've seen traction motors with 6" diameter shafts twisted off when they ran into something that kept them from turning.BobGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405172215849046373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-70827009449435707262012-05-05T17:40:01.812-04:002012-05-05T17:40:01.812-04:00That's an excellent question, Reg. I tend to ...That's an excellent question, Reg. I tend to get sloppy with that terminology, and this is <b>not</b> the place to do that! <br /><br />The hand controller I'm referring to was a variable resistor that acted to reduce the voltage at the motor. Because of the reduced voltage at the motor's pins, it's coil's resistance consumed less current. It is the current, not the voltage, that causes the magnetic field strength. So by reducing the voltage to a fixed coil resistance, you reduce the current. <br /><br />As an aside, the modern slot car controllers have gotten more complicated, so this might be a bad analogy, though. <br /><br />When I was 6th or 7th grade, slot cars were really popular, and saving coins from mowing lawns or rounding up bottles for the deposit bought a half or full hour of racing on the big track in the local shopping center. Can't say I've had one since then.SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-14884621756424072322012-05-05T12:51:47.586-04:002012-05-05T12:51:47.586-04:00SG,
Not picking nits, but you say that the slot c...SG,<br /><br />Not picking nits, but you say that the slot car controller changes rotation speed by changing the voltage, but then speak of a variable resistor doing so by changing the current. I admit to being pretty ignorant (resistive to learning, is more like it ;-) about electricity and electronics, but is it current or voltage? Does the voltage remain the same while restricting the current flow, or does it change too (at least in this instance)?RegTnoreply@blogger.com