Another mystery item from the box of stuff in our clubrooms - a chunky skew-wound French motor.
Dating, according to the writing on the box, from 1981, the configuration is a bit odd. A large permanent magnet sits over the armature. There are a couple of contacts on the back. Touch a 9v battery on these, and the motor kicks, but doesn't revolve. I wondered if it was designed for AC current, but the instructions, translated by Google Lens, don't mention this.
This is a heavy-duty unit, but I can tell you no more than that hence the post here. Should I spirit away for a project? What would I use it for?
The interweb isn't much help either. I found one other example - an expired auction on French eBay.
Suggestions?
6 comments:
I'm guessing an oscilloscope is a bit to techy to be lying around in your workshop, but in theory connect that to the terminals and then spin the shaft to see what comes out the other side. If it's an AC waveform then it's an AC motor, if it's a DC voltage then it isn't.
In the absence of something like that, then could possibly try measuring the output with a digital voltmeter: Try both DC and AC ranges and see what gives the higher reading? Much depends on the spec of the meter though.
Other possibility is to measure the voltage across the 9V battery when you touch it to the motor terminals. Your standard PP3 battery doesn't hold a great deal of power, so if the motor needs rather more current to turn, then you may find the voltage on the battery collapses when connected to the motor - try a 12V sealed-lead acid battery on it as those should be able to deliver a good kick.
If all else fails, position it at the bottom of a model boat and use it as ballast!
20v for French coarse scale O gauge?
Possibly, although I feel it's a commercial motor, not designed for model railways. There's no mention of trains in the instructions.
some guy using it in his model boat !https://www.laroyale-modelisme.net/t31424-cabin-cruiser-40-restauration-rc-de-gphilips
That's an interesting read. Nice looking boat too.
Some educated guesswork:
It’s almost certainly d.c. as a permanent magnet a.c. Motor would need several magnets to allow it to work. It would also require a variable frequency drive unit to start and control it. I think I’m right in say the 1980’s are too early for such tech to be commonplace.
Next guess: input voltage is either 12V d.c. or 24V d.c. possibly something between the two. Likely to draw more current than a standard 4mm scale 12V d.c. controller would be happy to supply. You might get away with the output from an O Gauge controller. For 24V d.c. you could try two well charged car batteries linked in series.
Disclaimer: I’m taking no responsibility if any experimentation ends in sparks, smoke, pops, bangs or a molten fiery mess!
Chris TGG
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