Q:Everything I read on the Internet says that AC drive systems on locomotives is so much better than DC systems in every way. Why then when you go to the EMD factory web site do they advertise their locomotives in DC versions? Why do customers want DC locomotives?

You might want to have a look at two of the major manufacturers before you ask this question. General Electric Locomotive Division and Electromotive Division of General Motors Corporation, (AKA: EMD) The newer model locomotives, 1990 and newer use an alternator in their system to generate the DC Power needed for the main traction motors. General Electric with their new Dash 9 AC4400CW are a Hybrid. Infact all Diesel Electric Locomotives since 1930 have been Hybrids! Bet you did not know that. The only ones that were not were the Krauss Maffei Locomotives. These were Diesel Hydraulic just like your automatic transmission in your car. EMD's Line-Up are the SD70MAC, SD75MAC and now their new SD90MAC-T Because they are using AC to DC power they generate more than 4000 horsepower. The other reason for using DC at the Traction Motors is a device called a Dynamic Brake. This device allows the polarity to be reversed in the traction motors, and act as a brake during down hill operations. This almost elminates the need for physical braking to control train speeds down hill. I hope that answers most of your question!

Q:And does a device that runs at alternate current only, mean that it will only run at a set number of cycles/frequency?

Yes, okorder /

Q:I have a smaller box fan with a quot;stuckquot; motor. When the motor is off I can freely spin the blades but as soon as I power it up it becomes MUCH more difficult to turn, as if the motor started acting like a giant electromagnet.Any idea what is wrong?

From the define you gave feels like the priority is with capacitor, or fan motor, yet considering which you replace them the two... it ought to be a vulnerable relay, that carry for couple of minutes and turns 'off'. Or the hot capacitor isn't effective enougch.

Q:Is the 380V single-phase AC motor the same as that of the 220V AC motor?

First of all, we should understand the meaning of alternating current, that is, the line of fire. There are four lines in the alternating current power supply 380V line, one of which is the zero line. Suppose that A, B, C [phase line], D [zero line], referred to as "three-phase four wire", in the three-phase any one phase line and D line [zero line] combination is referred to as "single-phase second-line"". Three-phase four wire power also referred to as "380V", also referred to as the single-phase two-wire 220V electricity; if it is 380V should be called the motor three-phase AC motor, if 220V motor can be called single-phase AC motor, the motor wiring is of course quite different. If the three-phase AC motor is not in phase (or bad), it can not work. If the single-phase AC motor is wrongly connected to the 380V, the second phase is very dangerous, and the motor will be burned immediately.

Q:How would I wire the AC cord just hot to hot and ground to ground like usual? Would this just vary the voltage or regulate speed by PWM? It's really just for testing something, so I need something cheap and accessible that will do the job, since they sell these down the street at Harbor Freight...

I don't think this will work at all for a DC motor. This type of speed control is meant for universal AC motors. To get good speed control of a DC motor you need a PWM (pulse width modulation) type of control. You can just vary the DC voltage applied to the motor but this can cause jumps in the motor speed if it has much of a load on it. One way is to get a variable 12 VDC power supply. Another option is to look into the speed controls for model train sets. They may work for you. Ask the sales person if they provide AC or DC and at what range.

Q:Does the DC motor work the same as the AC motor?

DC motor has fast response, large starting torque and rotational speed from zero to the rated speed with rated torque available performance, but the advantages of DC motor is a DC motor because of its disadvantages, to generate performance under rated load torque is constant, the armature magnetic field and the rotor flux to maintain constant 90 degrees, this by brush and commutator. Carbon brush and commutator motor rotates in sparks, so in addition to cause toner component damage, use is restricted.

Q:I found a cheap washing machine motor that I want to use in my ball mill. How do I wire it to work from the wall outlet?

It is a single phase 115 volts AC motor. It has a capacitor sit at the top of motor or install some other place. It connects in series with the motor winding. It has two wires,plug them into power outlet,it shall turn unless it was defective.

Q:is the capacitor a surge protector or a power factor corrector or ups or power divertor

It's for starting the motor. Many AC motors work fine as long as they are moving the least little bit. But from a dead stop, the capacitor provides a phase-shifted voltage to an extra winding that gives a little bump to get the motor going.

Q:theory of operation of synchronous motors?

In a synchronous AC motor a current is supplied onto the rotor. This then creates a magnetic field which, through magnetic interaction, links to the rotating magnetic field in the stator which in turn causes the rotor to turn. It is called synchronous because at steady state the speed of the rotor is the same as the speed of the rotating magnetic field in the stator. The alternative kind of electric motor is an induction motor, where the current in the rotor is generated by induction - similar to a transformer. Induction motors are far more common because they are simpler, but synchronous motors have certain advantages and are used in some applications.

Q:Hi, I was wondering how to connect my FASCO model K628 motor to a AC power plug. It says: brn- commonblk-208v Red, Orn,Orn 230v Its my first time doing this, and I'm really confused Thanks!

This is a single-phase motor for use on either 208 volts or 230 volts. You need either a 208 volt or a 230 volt source. For 208 volts, connect one hot wire to the brown motor lead and the other to the black motor lead. Tape the Red, Orn, Orn lead so that the bare end can's touch anything. For 230 volts, connect one hot wire to the brown motor lead and the other to the Red, Orn, Orn motor lead. Tape the black lead so that the bare end can's touch anything.