# Question About Different Armatures



## TUFFONE (Dec 21, 2004)

I am looking at available gear plates and armatures of recent manufacture. There are 2 lam, 3 lam, and 4 lam armatures available. What is the actual difference in how these will run in actual use. Slower? Faster? Different voltage requirements? What does this mean to how the car will perform? Thanks!


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

I presume that you are talking about Dash armatures. The first Dash armatures had three laminations and are 14 ohms. Those would tend to be a bit faster than the NOS Aurora 16 ohm armatures that are available today. The next ones to come out were the 2 lamination 16 ohm armatures that were intended to match the performance of an Aurora 16 ohm armature. My experience with those is that they are faster than the average Aurora 16 ohm armature, but not quite as fast as the very best Aurora armatures. When I build cars for other people I use Dash armatures unless the rules forbid it because many Aurora armatures are junk. Right now I pay $28 for a good worked up Fray style Aurora armature. Those have gotten so expensive because the people that do the armatures have to sort through a hunderd armatures to find a few that are worth working up. Some suppliers are not so fussy and their armatures are not always competative.
The latest Dash armatures to come out are the four lamination ones and those are 4-4.5 ohms. The four lamination armatures have similar performance to the average Aurora "Mean Green" 6 ohm armature, but their performance is much more consistant. Some Mean Greens are little faster than a regular 16 ohm arm, others can be real rockets. If you want to get the most out of the four lamination armatures you will need a power supply with at least 2 amps per lane.
I have posted more detailed info on Dash stuff, if you do a Google search for Dash you may be able to find those, or you could PM me with your e-mail address and I can send you PDF versions of the ones that I can dig up.


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## TUFFONE (Dec 21, 2004)

Thanks for the reply and information. I am looking to find out which one of these, if any, would be best for low speed smooth operation. I use steering wheel controllers and usually keep the cars at a set speed on a long track layout. Each lane has it's own power supply rated at 3 to 4 amps, 12 to 18 volts. Thanks!


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## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

Low Speed smooth operation. Any older TJET motor and magnets where the gear train has been lapped should do the trick. The newer Dash and Johnny lightning/Autoworld armature for low speed will work better with the older original magnets. I would lap their gear train also.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

It would have been nice if you had said what you were intending to do. How long do you intend to run the cars? Pancake cars will not run for long periods of time without oiling the lower armature shaft. If the oil goes dry the car will start to squeek and will soon overheat and possibly burn up. At very slow speeds that might take a lot longer than it would with normal use. You do not need high performance cars, either the 14 or 16 ohm armatures will do. Sounds like the cars will be part of some sort of display. You will have to keep an eye on the pickup shoes, they will evenyually get grooves worn in them and the cars will start to stall out.
You might have posted about this elsewhere. Somewhere out there, possibly in Germany, there is a huge display that includes moving cars and I believe that it is computer controlled.


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## TUFFONE (Dec 21, 2004)

Thanks again for the information. The cars are run at lower speeds on a lengthy layout combined with an electric train line and also an operating monorail. The cars are always lubricated and I change cars all the time. This is just the way I usually run my cars...sort of like a display I guess. I had just wondered if one of these Dash set ups would be any better than the other. I usually do combine these new gear plates and arms with older Aurora chassis and magnets. I have lots of spare empty chassis and small parts that I am getting around to turning into complete running chassis. All replies greatly appreciated.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

Here is the display that I referred to:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ACkmg3Y64_s?rel=0


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## TUFFONE (Dec 21, 2004)

I would go and see that if it was around here...crazy good. There used to be a model railroad museum and display in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio when I was a kid. It was a large display similar to what you see here but without all the modern technology to help it out. Sadly, this place has been gone for decades now. I actually have a couple of scenery pieces from the original display as it was sold off over the years after it closed. Thanks for posting the link.


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## Dushkwoneshe (Apr 27, 2012)

*American HO Roads'n'Rails - Part1...*

.
*Life-Like trains, Tyco US-1 & Faller AMS...*






.
John
.


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## GT40 (Jan 18, 2014)

*:thumbsup:RICH GREAT VIDEO:thumbsup:*

Thanks for the link, My Grandkids 0:nerd: will love it, me too.

GT40 :freak:


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## dave632 (Jun 24, 2016)

Rich Dumas said:


> Here is the display that I referred to:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/embed/ACkmg3Y64_s?rel=0


I have seen this on youtube over the years and it keeps growing. Amazing.


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