Can I use this?

These are the front and back views of the control unit i removed from an electric fan that the motor had burnt out on. An on/off switch and three speed controls.
1. how does it work? and
2 Can i use it to control the speed of a train?

The sheathed cable in pic 2 went to the motor and the other cable (with the connectors) came from the mains

mikey

Highly debatable I would think Mikey, it would need checking out with a multi meter at least, and things that work with ac tend not to be compatible with low voltage dc.

You actually threw something away ?

I think you have got 4 on / off switches, the speed control bit is probably to do with the motor windings. My guess is that the brown (from mains) is the live and when blue is pressed it feeds to the others which when pressed feed to a seperate winding or a third brush on the motor. Doubt you can really make much of it - but knowing you , you'll turn it into something.

Patrick sounds about right.

Nothing very sophisticated by the looks of it Mikey. AC motors are controlled differently than DC ones.

BTW I managed to reach the bottom of the garage today, cleared a number of boxes and lo and behold I found a few bits for you including the plastic tram body and....a miniature transistor speed controller that we talked about on here.

Send me a PM with your address and I will post them this week.

les interrupteurs fonctionnent de la même façon en DC et en AC !!!!!!!!
le câblage du moteur fait que celui-ci peut fonctionner à différentes vitesses .
Ces interrupteurs peuvent faire fonctionner du courant A C / 240 Volts maximum .

The switches work same manner in DC and in AC !!!!!!!! The wiring of the motor done that this one can work to different speeds. These switches can let current work A C / 240 Volts maximum

Merci a tous! I'm sure I'll find a use for them

mikey