Goodbye cell phone, hellooooooo tiny motor.

[craigolio1]

So my son dropped his iPhone on a friend's driveway, didn't tell me for a week, where it had been snowing, and upon hoingbt look for it I found that it met its end in his dad's snow blower.

The upside? I found the part with the tiny motor for the vibration. Presuming I can remove the weight, can this motor be used for a model railroad applications? Maybe a speaker or something? Or are they just too small? Any idea how I can figure out the voltage it runs on? Is it safe to just start at a really low voltage and see what happens up to say... 12 volts?

Thanks

Craig

[reinhardtjh]

The upside? I found the part with the tiny motor for the vibration. Presuming I can remove the weight, can this motor be used for a model railroad applications? Maybe a speaker or something? Or are they just too small? Any idea how I can figure out the voltage it runs on? Is it safe to just start at a really low voltage and see what happens up to say... 12 volts?

I'd start lower, say a 1.25v AAA cell just to see.  The LI-ION batteries common have a nominal cell voltage of 3.6-3.8v so it could be a 6vdc motor.  3vdc were common in pagers, but they used to 1.5v cells.  12v might burn it out if left on it too long.

[C855B]

Agreed, start with a single battery cell, it doesn't have to be a AAA. Any flashlight type battery will do since it's the voltage we're concerned with here. 12V isn't happening - it won't necessarily burn out, it will just fling itself to death internally. That's the basic issue with these super-small motors - very high RPM at relatively low voltages. @randgust is our local expert on MRR use of small motors, so maybe he'll chime in and set us straight.

Great story, BTW. A few years ago a city crew was digging in our front yard for water main work, and the excavator operator dropped his brand-new iPhone into the hole. Never found it, so we have a new iPhone5 buried somewhere in our yard. Maybe I can dig it up and use it with WiThrottle.

[peteski]

Craig,
Small vibrator (pager) motors are widely available in many styles and sizes (for very short money) from places like
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/departments.asp?dept=1103
http://www.allelectronics.com/category/400/motors/1.html
https://www.sciplus.com/s/c_15

Those are usually 3 Volt motors.

Also available (I get them on eBay) are slightly larger motors sold as replacements motors for those tiny quad-copters (drones).  Those are also 3 Volt motors.

[Cajonpassfan]

So my son dropped his iPhone on a friend's driveway, didn't tell me for a week, where it had been snowing, and upon hoingbt look for it I found that it met its end in his dad's snow blower.
Craig

Oh children, how I can relate...
I suppose the snowblower part would have invalidated the warranty?
Otto K.

[craigolio1]

Thanks for the input everyone.

The part I thought most humerous is that my son was upset the case hadn't protected it. I quickly explained a lesson in physics and also PERSONAL responsibility.

Craig

[Scottl]

I found a Samsung S5 in the plow bump while walking to work last year.  It still worked and only had a few scratches.

We haven't even had enough snow this year to use our snow blower....  Not a hint of ice on Lake Ontario yesterday.

[160pennsy]

Presuming I can remove the weight, can this motor be used for a model railroad applications?

Thanks

Craig

Has anyone successfully removed the weight from these tiny pager motors without causing damage to the case or motor shaft? If yes then can you enlighten us on your methods?  Would like to see some photos or web links showing how to cobble up gear or linkage attachment to the small diameter motor shafts and then where they can be used for model railroad applications or animations. I'm not that familiar with all the self help or online DIY resources available showing how to utilize these tiny motors & gears or where to find the necessary robotic parts, servos, electronics, supplier websites, YouTube videos, maker faires, etc...but I'm sure some Railwire members have crossed over this territory before.

[PGE_Modeller]

I found a Samsung S5 in the plow bump while walking to work last year.  It still worked and only had a few scratches.

We haven't even had enough snow this year to use our snow blower....  Not a hint of ice on Lake Ontario yesterday.

We can send you some of our snow from Vancouver, Scott!

Cheers,

[Scottl]

Watching Vancouver get a few days of snow each year is what gets the rest of the country through the winter 

[peteski]

Has anyone successfully removed the weight from these tiny pager motors without causing damage to the case or motor shaft? If yes then can you enlighten us on your methods?  Would like to see some photos or web links showing how to cobble up gear or linkage attachment to the small diameter motor shafts and then where they can be used for model railroad applications or animations. I'm not that familiar with all the self help or online DIY resources available showing how to utilize these tiny motors & gears or where to find the necessary robotic parts, servos, electronics, supplier websites, YouTube videos, maker faires, etc...but I'm sure some Railwire members have crossed over this territory before.

It depends on the assembly. If the shaft is welded to the weight in the middle of it then no. If the end of the shaft is welded to the top of the weight then the weld can be ground down with a Dremel took and the shaft pushed out.  If weight is only crimped onto the shaft then yes. In those last 2 examples I use my mini arbor press and a piece of music wire which has a diameter slightly smaller than the motor shaft. The removal procedure is similar to removing a worm from a regular N scale motor.

In my experience those motors are of very limited use. Not only they have very high RPMs, they have very little torque. Without a gear-head they are pretty much useless for animations unless you like whatever you are animating to move at 10,000 RPMs.

I use larger motors with gear-heads for animations.  Those can be made to run very slowly.

[craigolio1]

Watching Vancouver get a few days of snow each year is what gets the rest of the country through the winter 

Well played sir.

[craigolio1]

It depends on the assembly. If the shaft is welded to the weight in the middle of it then no. If the end of the shaft is welded to the top of the weight then the weld can be ground down with a Dremel took and the shaft pushed out.  If weight is only crimped onto the shaft then yes. In those last 2 examples I use my mini arbor press and a piece of music wire which has a diameter slightly smaller than the motor shaft. The removal procedure is similar to removing a worm from a regular N scale motor.

In my experience those motors are of very limited use. Not only they have very high RPMs, they have very little torque. Without a gear-head they are pretty much useless for animations unless you like whatever you are animating to move at 10,000 RPMs.

I use larger motors with gear-heads for animations.  Those can be made to run very slowly.

I was thinking of applications like the Burro crane that Randgust powered a few years ago.   I thought Randgust had used a pager motor in his Burro crane but I looked it up on Youtube and it was a power truck. Maybe something like a Fairmont speeder just for cool factor.  But to your point, without a gear head and at 10,000 RPM it's apt to hit 88mph and never be seen again.

Craig