Wanted: Kato FEF-3 Motor

[Sdynamo]

Hi All,

Trying to help out a Friend. He was trying to dcc his FEF and the negative lead got pulled out of the motor. I tried soldering a leg to the back of the motor but no dice.

Kato is sold out. Anyone buy an extra motor they're willing to part with?

Thanks!

Wiley

[peteski]

Hi All,

Trying to help out a Friend. He was trying to dcc his FEF and the negative lead got pulled out of the motor. I tried soldering a leg to the back of the motor but no dice.

Kato is sold out. Anyone buy an extra motor they're willing to part with?

Thanks!

Wiley

Yes, modelers quickly bough out those motors.  Good news is that Kato H0 P42 coreless motor motor is a same motor as the FEF-3 motor.  Order it from Kato USA - part # X037-2193. The only differences are the clips and the plastic coupling on the end of the shaft. Just pull the coupling from the P42 motor and install the one taken from the defective FEF-3 motor.  Then solder the FEF-3 clips to the P42 motor.

[prdave]

You can also try here;
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Kato-N-FEF-Coreless-Motor-p/kat-926056.htmT
They still have a few listed in stock.
 
-Dave

[peteski]

And almost 4 bucks cheaper than Kato direct!

[Sdynamo]

Thanks Peteski!

[reinhardtjh]

and now sold out.  lol

[Mark5]

I had one of these motors in my hand today ... man these are tiny!

Wish I had an FEF to see how it operates.

Mark

[peteski]

I had one of these motors in my hand today ... man these are tiny!

Wish I had an FEF to see how it operates.

Mark

Very high torque motor and no cogging.  I would call it a HEMI of N-scale.  I have only given my FEF-3 short test run, but it is very smooth-running (even at very slow speeds).  The high motor's torque enables it to run so smoothly.

[Mark5]

Very high torque motor and no cogging.  I would call it a HEMI of N-scale.  I have only given my FEF-3 short test run, but it is very smooth-running (even at very slow speeds).  The high motor's torque enables it to run so smoothly.

Sounds amazing. Opens up a whole world of possibilities for steam re-powering.

[peteski]

Sounds amazing. Opens up a whole world of possibilities for steam re-powering.

Yes, it would be very good for re-powering steam locos.  But a  possible problem is it's length.  Many steam locos need a very short motor or it will stick way out past the cab.  Not very pretty.  These motors are quite long.  The other possible problem is longevity of its brushes. They are thin metal fingers (not carbon blocks) and aren't replaceable.

[mmagliaro]

As a long-time proponent of coreless motors, I generally don't worry about the brushes wearing out because
I have never had that happen to me.   I don't run my engines in a store window 8 hours a day every day,
or for 8-hour NTrak show marathons, either.  But I'm sure I've got some that have over 100 hours on them.

I'm dying to see how that FEF motor stacks up against the venerable Faulhaber 1016, but I will soon find out. (I believe I bought the
next-to-the-last FEF motor Klein's had    )

[peteski]

I was really surprised by its torque, even at slow speed. Also remember that the Kato H0 P42 uses the same motor - they still seem to be in stock at Kato (haven't checked M B Klein).

[Nick Lorusso]

I was really surprised by its torque, even at slow speed. Also remember that the Kato H0 P42 uses the same motor - they still seem to be in stock at Kato (haven't checked M B Klein).

Thanks Peteski,
One is on the way to fix the FEF issue.

[mmagliaro]

Soooo....
I got mine in the mail
Just doing an informal "watch the volt and ammeter and hold your finger on the shaft"  test...

Wow..
This motor is only 7mm by about 20mm long.   It starts and runs at about 0.5 volt.
By 1.0 volt, it is making significant torque, meaning you have to press on the spinning shaft more than just "lightly"
with your finger to make it stop.
Comparing it to a Faulhaber 1016 (which is 3mm wider, but 4 mm shorter), it's a mighty close call.
They seem to have about the same shaft power at low speed, where it really counts.

The 1016 can be had by itself these days for under $40, so the price points are converging.
And you can get beautiful precision screw-on gearheads for the 1016.

But... recall those plastic "tiny tot" gearheads that Motorman and Gizmoszone sell.  They make them
in tiny 7mm sizes.   I have some of them.  I'm going to see if I can fit one onto the FEF motor.

Zoinks... a 7mm diameter, powerful, coreless gearmotor for $30 or so + another $10 for the gearhead...
40 bucks?  For a 5:1 reduced 7mm coreless?   (and one that presumably won't burn out
in 20 hours).
This could really be something in the world of mechanisms.   Critters and small steam switchers alike would really
benefit from this.

[peteski]

It is a great little motor (with a reasonable price) but its length the a big limiting factor when trying to shoe-horn it into small locos.