Substitute for RG4?

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steve howe
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Substitute for RG4?

Postby steve howe » Wed Apr 13, 2022 8:06 pm

With the demise of the Portescap or RG4 coreless motor/gearboxes, are there any substitutes on the market? quite a few of the Watermouth locos have RG4s which suit the Pictrollers perfectly, but some of the older locos have open frame motors which I would like to replace at some point in the future as they don't seem so happy on the Pictroller.

Steve

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Jol Wilkinson
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Re: Substitute for RG4?

Postby Jol Wilkinson » Thu Apr 14, 2022 6:39 am

Steve,

the High Level range includes coreless motors to fit with their drive systems. I have one to try but not yet installed and tested.

Other members may have some more experience of them but I expect that Chris at HL will have selected some decent motors..

Jol

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Serjt-Dave
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Re: Substitute for RG4?

Postby Serjt-Dave » Thu Apr 14, 2022 5:50 pm

Steve. I've got this one if it's any good. I was about to put it up on the to sell thread. Let me know if your interested.

Dave
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Horsetan
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Re: Substitute for RG4?

Postby Horsetan » Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:38 pm

One combination that is supposedly available but which I've never seen reviewed or tested is Slaters SG4 motor and box combo. The gearbox runs on crossed helicals and spurs rather than bevels and spurs. The motor is a Mashima.

For big Pacifics, there's also the Comet MGB1: a Maxon coreless combined with crossed helicals and spurs. This is still available via Wizard Models.
That would be an ecumenical matter.

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Jol Wilkinson
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Re: Substitute for RG4?

Postby Jol Wilkinson » Tue Apr 19, 2022 7:04 am

Horsetan wrote:One combination that is supposedly available but which I've never seen reviewed or tested is Slaters SG4 motor and box combo. The gearbox runs on crossed helicals and spurs rather than bevels and spurs. The motor is a Mashima.

For big Pacifics, there's also the Comet MGB1: a Maxon coreless combined with crossed helicals and spurs. This is still available via Wizard Models.


The motors available from Slaters, Comet and DJH (much favoured by Tony Wright) tend to be for larger prototypes and also are between £92 and £122. Some use Mashima motors which are apparently no longer manufactured so presumably "while stock last" .Portescap motor/gearbox combinations are generally less than that when they infrequently appear on eBay.

Coreless motors are available from the far east at quite low prices. I have been given a couple to assess, together with some iron cored motors but have no way of testing them for speed, etc. They also don't fit any of the existing available motor mounts/gearboxes, making the task somewhat harder.

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steve howe
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Re: Substitute for RG4?

Postby steve howe » Tue Apr 19, 2022 9:35 am

I emailed Chris at High Level with regards to his coreless motors' compatability with the Pic/Pentroller, and he says that although they have not tested that particular controller, the specification for his coreless motors is the same as for RG4/Portescaps so there should be no reason why they should not be fine. Given the choice of motor sizes and gearbox variations available from HL seems to make it a no brainer for me. :thumb

Steve


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