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43 replies

Batteries for Legacy Handheld Remote?

SG Steam GuyOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Any suggestions for replacement batteries for the Legacy Handheld?

 

Last night I attempted to run a Legacy engine on my 10 ft test track.  I assumed that the remote batteries were charged.  I started up the engine and it ran fine with all functions working.  As it approached the end of my test track I attempted to slow down and stop the engine.  NOTHING HAPPENED!  No response from the engine at all.  As the transformer was about 10 ft away and the end of the test track was 1 ft away I had to quickly remove the engine from the track to prevent it for reaching the end of track.  

 

So I'm assuming the batteries were dead in the handheld at that time.  It was fully charged a few days before.  Again, I assumed that there was enough charge in the batteries to start the engine and allow functions to be operated. But then they were quickly drained of charge and went dead in that very short period of time.

 

So I'm considering getting replacement batteries for the handheld.

 

Does anyone have a recommendation for replacement batteries?  And what does one do to ensure that this does not happen again?  That is, what is the life of these rechargeable batteries? And the care and feeding of them?

 

Oh, I need to find a "kill switch" to kill the transformer power when I'm a distance from it.  A remote gadget that one could have on their person and just click a button on it to kill the power to the transformer would do the trick.

 

Thanks in advance,

Steve

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Rayin"S"Rayin"S"OGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by Steam Guy:

Any suggestions for replacement batteries for the Legacy Handheld?

 

Last night I attempted to run a Legacy engine on my 10 ft test track.  I assumed that the remote batteries were charged.  I started up the engine and it ran fine with all functions working.  As it approached the end of my test track I attempted to slow down and stop the engine.  NOTHING HAPPENED!  No response from the engine at all.  As the transformer was about 10 ft away and the end of the test track was 1 ft away I had to quickly remove the engine from the track to prevent it for reaching the end of track.  

 

So I'm assuming the batteries were dead in the handheld at that time.  It was fully charged a few days before.  Again, I assumed that there was enough charge in the batteries to start the engine and allow functions to be operated. But then they were quickly drained of charge and went dead in that very short period of time.

 

So I'm considering getting replacement batteries for the handheld.

 

Does anyone have a recommendation for replacement batteries?  And what does one do to ensure that this does not happen again?  That is, what is the life of these rechargeable batteries? And the care and feeding of them?

 

Oh, I need to find a "kill switch" to kill the transformer power when I'm a distance from it.  A remote gadget that one could have on their person and just click a button on it to kill the power to the transformer would do the trick.

 

Thanks in advance,

Steve

When the batteries in my 990 went bad I replaced them a set of Energizers. I had a set with their own charger which I used also to try to recharge the Lionel batteries. The Energizer charger showed one of the original batteries to be bad. After a charge I checked the Lionel batteries with a volt meter and found one of them to have less voltage than the others, .2 volts lower. This did show up on the Legacy charger though the red flashing LEDs never went to steady green, so they did not show a completed charge. After inserting the  the new batteries all was as it should be.

Hope this helps you.

Ray

P.S. If you go to the TMART website you can purchase a wireless remote to kill power to your transformer for about $20.00

cbojanowercbojanowerOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER

For what it's worth, Lionel Service flat told me to not use the Sanyo Eneloop batteries in my CAB2. This are the long storage life types of batteries that are being sold now saying how they hold a charge years in storage. Duracell and Eveready both sell similar batteries

They didn't say why not to use them, but the did Eneloops are only rated 1900 mah, so I wonder if that is too low to trigger the recharge circuit to switch off.

I did search last month for the GPC batteries that are in my CCAB2 and they seem to have been changed or discontinued. I would like to see what the new generation of CAB2's shipped with

Last edited by cbojanower
cbojanowercbojanowerOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER
Originally Posted by Larry Sr.:

Hi John

I have the energizer AA. Your set says 2000 mAh. Mine says 1400mAh on one charger set the other charger set says 2300mAh.

 

Would you please advise what that difference means in reference to mAh?

 

Thanks much

Larry

Basically mah is the batteries capacity, the higher the mah, the longer the battery will last between charges

"An ampere-hour or amp-hour (SI symbol A·h or A h; also denoted Ah) is a unit of electric charge, equal to the charge transferred by a steady current of one ampere flowing for one hour, or 3600 coulombs.[1]"

Last edited by cbojanower
G grazOGR Forum Member

I've used Energizer Lithiums with good results. They seem to last a long time and they are also happen to be lighter in weight than regular alkaline batteries.

 

When purchased new a few years ago, our Legacy base had to go back for charging circuit repair. When it came back, I went straight to the Lithiums as the charging circuit seemed like more hassle than it was worth considering my long gaps between run sessions.

 

Sean's Train DepotSean's Train DepotOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by cbojanower:

For what it's worth, Lionel Service flat told me to not use the Sanyo Eneloop batteries in my CAB2. This are the long storage life types of batteries that are being sold now saying how they hold a charge years in storage. Duracell and Eveready both sell similar batteries

They didn't say why not to use them, but the did Eneloops are only rated 1900 mah, so I wonder if that is too low to trigger the recharge circuit to switch off.

I did search last month for the GPC batteries that are in my CCAB2 and they seem to have been changed or discontinued. I would like to see what the new generation of CAB2's shipped with

The Cab2's still come with the same batteries.  I bought another 990 set in this last batch to have as a backup set.  Same batteries as my original set.

SG Steam GuyOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Guys,

 

Thanks so much for this information!

 

I will, for now, just use non rechargeable batteries in the CAB2 remote.

 

Now correct me if I am wrong.....one is running a Legacy engine.  They do not realize that the batteries in the CAB2 remote are fading fast and die while the engine is still running.   Does this now mean that whatever command/s were set in place before the batteries die are still in effect?  That is, the engine will continue to run if it was programmed to run right before the batteries died?

 

Hence my question regarding having a remote device on ones person to kill the power to the transformer if one's transformer is some distance away from where the person is from the transformer to prevent runaways and collisions and such.

 

I would want to see some feature in the CAB2 that would automatically shut down the engine that was being controlled by it if it detected the batteries were about to lose all their power.

 

Steve

Andy HummellAndy HummellOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER
Originally Posted by cbojanower:

For what it's worth, Lionel Service flat told me to not use the Sanyo Eneloop batteries in my CAB2.

 

It probably does have something to do with the charging circuit.  I use the Eneloop batteries in almost everything now, including my CAB2 (same ones for 3+ years now), but I do not charge my CAB2 in the base.  I use a smart charger to charge all of my rechargeables.

 

Andy

MartyEMartyEOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER
From my years of experience, the batteries don't just up and die.  There are signs such as the back light not coming on or the battery indicator flashing.
 
Originally Posted by Steam Guy:

Guys,

 

Thanks so much for this information!

 

I will, for now, just use non rechargeable batteries in the CAB2 remote.

 

Now correct me if I am wrong.....one is running a Legacy engine.  They do not realize that the batteries in the CAB2 remote are fading fast and die while the engine is still running.   Does this now mean that whatever command/s were set in place before the batteries die are still in effect?  That is, the engine will continue to run if it was programmed to run right before the batteries died?

 

Hence my question regarding having a remote device on ones person to kill the power to the transformer if one's transformer is some distance away from where the person is from the transformer to prevent runaways and collisions and such.

 

I would want to see some feature in the CAB2 that would automatically shut down the engine that was being controlled by it if it detected the batteries were about to lose all their power.

 

Steve

 

cnwdoncnwdonOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Originally Posted by Andy Hummell:
Originally Posted by cbojanower:

For what it's worth, Lionel Service flat told me to not use the Sanyo Eneloop batteries in my CAB2.

 

It probably does have something to do with the charging circuit.  I use the Eneloop batteries in almost everything now, including my CAB2 (same ones for 3+ years now), but I do not charge my CAB2 in the base.  I use a smart charger to charge all of my rechargeables.

 

Andy

Re: smart charger choice.  Forum member "OKHIKER" just emailed me re: exact model number of the TeNergy Intelligent T4 I am using: FYI it is the "PN: 0430" per label on back of charger.  Again, bought from Fry's, where OKHIKER found the 0430 as well as a "0432", on their website.  Don't know anything about differences for the 0432, didn't see that in store when I bought the 0430.

OKHIKEROKHIKEROGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by cnwdon:
Originally Posted by Andy Hummell:
Originally Posted by cbojanower:

For what it's worth, Lionel Service flat told me to not use the Sanyo Eneloop batteries in my CAB2.

 

It probably does have something to do with the charging circuit.  I use the Eneloop batteries in almost everything now, including my CAB2 (same ones for 3+ years now), but I do not charge my CAB2 in the base.  I use a smart charger to charge all of my rechargeables.

 

Andy

Re: smart charger choice.  Forum member "OKHIKER" just emailed me re: exact model number of the TeNergy Intelligent T4 I am using: FYI it is the "PN: 0430" per label on back of charger.  Again, bought from Fry's, where OKHIKER found the 0430 as well as a "0432", on their website.  Don't know anything about differences for the 0432, didn't see that in store when I bought the 0430.

cnwdon,  Thanks for looking.

D Dennis2494OGR Forum Member
@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The charging circuit "should" have been fixed on it's trip to Lionel.  Have you tried a different brand of rechargeable batteries?

FWIW, I never charge in a #990 base as the internal electronics and the process of charging the batteries ends up really heating up the CAB2.  I use the #993 charging base to charge mine, the CAB2 doesn't heat up at all.

I tried Westinghouse and Panasonic Enloop , the remote does heat up but the batteries do charge but the lights never change to green.

RickORickOOGR Forum Member

I've saved myself alot of grief by turning off the base charger, putting a piece of tape over the contacts, and recharging some Energizer 2300NiMH batteries in a external charger. The very day my command set came out of the box.

I'm not a fan of leaving the base on all the time.  Another potential risk for failure if you have a power surge, or what have you. Not to mention , the electronics of the base produces heat whether charging or not.

I'm not able to run my trains 24 hrs a day ,so theres plenty of time to charge the batteries in another charger.

Last edited by RickO
D Dennis2494OGR Forum Member
@RickO posted:

I've saved myself alot of grief by turning off the base charger, putting a piece of tape over the contacts, and recharging some Energizer 2300NiMH batteries in a external charger. The very day my command set came out of the box.

I'm not a fan of leaving the base on all the time.  Another potential risk for failure if you have a power surge, or what have you. Not to mention , the electronics of the base produces heat whether charging or not.

I'm not able to run my trains 24 hrs a day ,so theres plenty of time to charge the batteries in another charger.

Thanks, I may resort to doing that

gunrunnerjohngunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
@RickO posted:

I've saved myself alot of grief by turning off the base charger, putting a piece of tape over the contacts, and recharging some Energizer 2300NiMH batteries in a external charger. The very day my command set came out of the box.

I'm not a fan of leaving the base on all the time.  Another potential risk for failure if you have a power surge, or what have you. Not to mention , the electronics of the base produces heat whether charging or not.

My base sleeps peacefully when I'm not running trains, I charge in the #993 charging base.  It doesn't produce any heat when it's not charging, and even during the charge, it's running very cool.

I alternate the two CAB2's into the charger so they're both reasonably well charged when they're needed.

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