# Super geared?



## Mseav (Jul 30, 2015)

Ive seen several engines advertised as super geared. What does this mean?


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Not a clue, maybe scale,and makes would help?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

They have really good gears? 

I'm with the previous post, I think we'd need specifics, I've never heard that term either.


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## Mseav (Jul 30, 2015)

I cant share the link but you can go to Ebay and search- ho engine supergeared- . Ive seen them advertised before. As far as I can tell it's a different gear ratio. It would either give you more top speed or it would give you low end torque. Maybe


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I assumed that it was something to do with the gearing, but I haven't heard the term.

I'm guessing it's something like this Gear Kit.


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## Mseav (Jul 30, 2015)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I assumed that it was something to do with the gearing, but I haven't heard the term.
> 
> I'm guessing it's something like this Gear Kit.


That must be it. Thank you


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## higgsbosonman (Nov 17, 2014)

Athearn sold their older engines as "super geared" to distinguish them from their rubber band drive locomotives. There were also slight variations in the terms for if an F7 had rubber bands, a gear drive, or a gear drive with flywheels and the huge weight. I don't remember those names. This could be it as well.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

Athearn made the Hi-Fi (rubber band drive). Then Super Geared, no fly wheel. If I remember right there are two versions of that. One is like the BB without fly wheels, other uses courser gears. Then there is the BB.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

So, Super Geared is actually not really a good thing, at least without the flywheel.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Could be a good buy then, particularly if grj hasn't heard of it!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Since I'm not really that well versed in HO things, that's not much of a recommendation.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

If it is one of the later super geared models you can drop a BB motor in it that has the fly wheels. If the price is right and you have momentum on your DC controller just use that. The train will coast to a stop no issue. Only issue not having a flywheel is that if you have a bad section of track that it needs to coast over. With 8 wheel pickup that is not as much as an issue as it could be.


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## Mseav (Jul 30, 2015)

I got an Athearn F7a Super Powered engine in the mail. It has 2 brass flywheels, 8 wheel drive and a heavy weight. It doesnt move as fast as my other engines. I thought something may be wrong with it. Maybe this is by design and it may pull a heavy load. Maybe I should fix the coupler and try it. It does roll for about 14'' when you kill power. Maybe this is another name for super geared


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## higgsbosonman (Nov 17, 2014)

If the flywheels are brass, then it is a newer engine (the old ones had pressed iron flywheels). They are kinda slow and coast a bit. That's pretty normal. They should also shake the table when they run and howl. That's just how they are.


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## Mseav (Jul 30, 2015)

higgsbosonman said:


> If the flywheels are brass, then it is a newer engine (the old ones had pressed iron flywheels). They are kinda slow and coast a bit. That's pretty normal. They should also shake the table when they run and howl. That's just how they are.


 Yes, that sums it up. Curious to see how long of a train it will pull.I would like to try to calm the shaking and noise down a bit


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

Mseav said:


> Yes, that sums it up. Curious to see how long of a train it will pull.I would like to try to calm the shaking and noise down a bit


Is the motor grey and rounded or silver and squared? The older flywheels and motors are interchangeable with the newer ones. Often excessive vibration can be due to a loos motor. The mounts dry-out over time. Replacing them with the rtr screw in type will help. 

Just an FYI, most of the parts starting with the one you described up to the RTR are interchangeable. 

I have a few F units like you described and they pull allot for their size. Just keep the wheels clean, the steel wheels tend to collect dirt.


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## Mseav (Jul 30, 2015)

tkruger said:


> Is the motor grey and rounded or silver and squared? The older flywheels and motors are interchangeable with the newer ones. Often excessive vibration can be due to a loos motor. The mounts dry-out over time. Replacing them with the rtr screw in type will help.
> 
> Just an FYI, most of the parts starting with the one you described up to the RTR are interchangeable.
> 
> I have a few F units like you described and they pull allot for their size. Just keep the wheels clean, the steel wheels tend to collect dirt.


The motor is actually covered with a brass strap and has flat sides and a rounded top. Thanks for the tips. Do you have any experience with the older Athearn belt drives? I wonder how they compare to the newer brass flywheel type in regards to performance.


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## higgsbosonman (Nov 17, 2014)

If it has flat sides and a rounded top it is a newer motor. The older ones are dark grey and have an oval cross section magnet. 
The older athearn hi-f locomotives (the belt drive engines) are interesting beasts because they handle loads differently than the gear driven engines. They don't spin their wheels as easily from what I can figure out, and they run as good as geared engines if you go through the time to carefully clean the motors, make sure the drive shafts are straight, and other stuff. They lack flywheels so they don't carry over interruptions in power well, and slow speed is harder because the rubber bands have higher resistance to rotation than gears (usually).


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

Mseav said:


> The motor is actually covered with a brass strap and has flat sides and a rounded top. Thanks for the tips. Do you have any experience with the older Athearn belt drives? I wonder how they compare to the newer brass flywheel type in regards to performance.


Sounds more like you have a Blue Box generation locomotive, or one that has been upgraded over the years to use the newer Blue Box motor. From you description you have a bullet proof drive train that will pull allot bu not be a speed demon by any means. If yours is like mine it will take a long line of cars before you notice any effects on the locomotive. I have an A-B-B-A set with 2 powered and 2 dummies. never an issue. Just keep the wheels clean.

I have limited experience with the Hi-Fi. The few I had did run OK at mid to hi speed. They could not do the lower speeds that I wanted. They also have an interesting bounce when stopped suddenly.


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## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

Mseav said:


> The motor is actually covered with a brass strap and has flat sides and a rounded top. Thanks for the tips. *Do you have any experience with the older Athearn belt drives?* I wonder how they compare to the newer brass flywheel type in regards to performance.


I once had an A-B set of Hi-Fi drive Athearns that I had repowered with Tan Can flat can motors and flywheels, I believe they were 18 - 33's but that was many years ago. I stepped the speed down by using belts to a shaft above the motor with a step down pulley and then a second set of belts to the trucks. The speed was more in line with other Athearn gear drive engines, and this set was just about the smoothest and quietest engines I had. I got my other Athearns to run much quieter by exchanging the couplings from the motors to the trucks with silicon tubing. You just had to make sure there was no longitudinal tension in the couplings. I also used some brass rod in the middle of the silicon tubing to keep it from winding up. FYI, the flywheel helped to control the "bounce" when you tried to stop or start too quickly.


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## Mseav (Jul 30, 2015)

Great info. Thanks guys


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