I know this is beating a dead horse but I want to make the jump . Is this in anyway going to hurt my engines? How do t know if I need a 9 volt battery or the triple style battery? I also seen somewhere on here where you can get these Bcr at a good price just can't find it. Someone school me!!!!
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The 9 volt battery either has a round charging port or, on early engines, no charging port at all.
The 3 volt systems have a rectangular charging port, usually white, with two pins visible.
Joe
Your locomotive manual will also tell you which type of battery the engine has.
Jeff,
In no way will a BCR damage your Engine, in fact the P3's come with their own on board BCR and no battery at all, unless used for a different purpose. Can't remember just who the inexpensive dealer was, however you are correct there was a thread long ago about where to purchase them, at a really reasonable price.
PCRR/Dave
All mine are 3 volt boards so any cheap places to get these
All mine are 3 volt boards so any cheap places to get these
Just my opinion but, I have yet to find "cheap" BCRs, unless one wants to purchase more then 10 pieces at a time. Thus, when I'm fed-up with the original battery in one of my MTH models, I simply go to my local hobby shop and purchase the proper BCR for that model. It comes down to, I really don't care about the price, because my local hobby shop keeps them in stock, and I can purchase one WHEN I NEED IT!!!
The "cheapest" method is to make your own. Susan Deats has the info here.
"BCR" is a trade name. The generic name is supercapacitor, which is a commonly available device. The BCR replacements for 8.4 volt batteries contain zener diodes to balance the charge on each of the series-connected capacitors. The BCR marketer does have quantity discounts. Many of my locos' batteries were approaching the 10-year mark, so I just lined up the fleet and upgraded 20 or so using supercaps from Digikey.
Prices I've paid directly from the MFG. for BCRs are $25. for a 5V and $20. for a 3V plus shipping. Never a problem and a good investment for one or a hundred engines.
Laidoffsick,
You are absolutely correct sir, great way to save money and one of the best ways to spend $7.00 I know of.
PCRR/Dave
I recommend the 2.5F supercaps frpom Digikey, which is what gunrunner advised me to use, rather than the 1.5F $1 more and work fine.
The 2.5 where my push at that time of discovery. G
Since I help maintain the TMB Model Train Club Member's engine's, I replaced the original battery(ies) with either the BCR-1 (looks like a 9-Volt Battery) or the BCR-2 (either it looks like two AA batteries or two AAA batteries in a wrap). The members never have had a problem since the switch and a minute to a minute and a half of re-charge time and there consists is on the way. We try to get a list together and order from our source to keep the cost down. But whatever you pay, it is worth it.
I recommend the 2.5F supercaps frpom Digikey, which is what gunrunner advised me to use, rather than the 1.5F $1 more and work fine.
I'm sure those will work just fine, they just take a little longer to charge up.
The 1.5F came about from testing various supercaps about 10 years ago by a friend of mine. I was the first to post a pic and a link about where to buy them so I do think I know a thing or two about them. I actually got booted from this forum for posting that info and cease & desist emails from the folks that sell the same thing at inflated prices.
No thanks necessary 
All ya need:
All ya need:
So do I solder this right to battery wire
I remove the plug and as much wire as possible from a 2.4 volt battery. I slip heatshrink tubing down the plug wire; place a clampon heatsink on the cap lead close to supercap, to protect it from heat; solder plug wires, red to +, black to - ; slide shrink tubing over the bare legs until it's up[ against supercap, so no wire is exposed; touch it with a fire lighter to shrink the tubing.
Alternatively, you can clip the wire going from charge port to PS2 board, and solder that to the supercap, using same procedure.
Watch polarity!!!!!
I don't know if I'd say BCR prices are inflated. The manufacturer can't undersell his dealers, so when you add up: supercap, zener diodes on the 8.4, plug & wire, labor to assemble, transportation from manufacturing site, mfr's overhead (including forum sponsorship), profit, transportation to dealer, dealer markup, the price for a BCR makes sense. Just like a car repair: if you do it yourself, replacing brake pads is cheap & easy; if you're not sufficiently knowledgeable, or are getting decrepit
, then the cost is much more.
Ok great you guys sold me on this. I am going to make the jump and start changing all the engines over
If you want to get tricky, put heatshrink tubing ove the legs, except for the ends, and try to get the supercap to stay in the battery socket on the board.
Again, if you lack the skills or confidence, go with the BCR. I have not heard of any problems with them.
Note the above is only for 3-volt PS2 systems. 5-volt systems bring in other considerations, which the BCR mfr has addressed. For myself, I replaced all 5-volt boards with 3-volt.
Would the 5.4 volt, 2.5F supercap work for the five volt PS2 boards?
No, you need 4 2.7 in series or 2 5.4 in series. G
Okay. Good. That's still a small package to insert. Thanks for your reply.
Been following this thread and bought 5 of the 5v 1.5F capacitors from Digikey and just replaced an older 1.5 v battery in a RailKing SW1500. Works well and was easy to do as RJR stated. I desolder the original connector from the battery instead of cutting it off so the ends of the wires are already tinned with solder. I hold the capacitor and battery leads together in a adjustable clamp leaving my both hands free to do the soldering. Took me about 10 minutes to finish the job. Sorry I did not take photos but I have another to do and will get some shots to add for those who may need more encouragement.
Gentlemen,
Even though doing the job your self is probably a little cheaper, I purchased the BCR's. I do not have 100 engines either!
PCRR/Dave
Pennsydave, I would not touch a soldering gun to any batteries. They might explode from heat, or at least I can't be sure that is not possible. I just clipped the wire as close to the battery as I could.
So if I install a BCR or the supercap .......when checking "info" of the locomotive.....I read chrono,trip odometer, odometer, and battery. The battery will read "low". Is that correct? I assume this is due to the fact there is no battery? Proto 3 always read "low battery".
I have BCRs in all PS2 my engines sometimes they read low but for the most part high.
jini5 posted:So if I install a BCR or the supercap .......when checking "info" of the locomotive.....I read chrono,trip odometer, odometer, and battery. The battery will read "low". Is that correct? I assume this is due to the fact there is no battery? Proto 3 always read "low battery".
PS-2 will read high with BCR if all is well. G
I have purchased several from J and W Electronics at the York shows. I did have one quit ( 9 volt style ) after around 3 years of use. It would not hold its charge long enough anymore, for the engine to remember it's address, upon shutting down. Took it to the next show and J and W replaced it no problem. Something to consider, this was much easier then having to build another.
jini5 posted:So if I install a BCR or the supercap .......when checking "info" of the locomotive.....I read chrono,trip odometer, odometer, and battery. The battery will read "low". Is that correct? I assume this is due to the fact there is no battery? Proto 3 always read "low battery".
So I installed a supercap in a proto 2 engine and it reads low.....I then installed a BCR, and it read low.....Then a 9volt alkaline and it reads ok. So whats going on. Do the electronics know there is no battery when using a supercap or BCR? Is there a possible engine problem. All memory seems fine.
jini5 posted:jini5 posted:So if I install a BCR or the supercap .......when checking "info" of the locomotive.....I read chrono,trip odometer, odometer, and battery. The battery will read "low". Is that correct? I assume this is due to the fact there is no battery? Proto 3 always read "low battery".
So I installed a supercap in a proto 2 engine and it reads low.....I then installed a BCR, and it read low.....Then a 9volt alkaline and it reads ok. So whats going on. Do the electronics know there is no battery when using a supercap or BCR? Is there a possible engine problem. All memory seems fine.
Did the BCR actually work? Play shutdown sounds? If not, and the reading stays low, your PS-2 5V board has a charging system issue and it is not charging the bcr, or battery. G
Gentlemen,
All my P2 Engines with BCR's give a Maintenance Required notice on the screen when the engine 1st start up, it immediately goes away and every thing is normal there after.
PCRR/Dave
Interesting observation, Dave. I get that stupid/useless message frequently, but never noticed if its on an initial startup. Do you also get it if you've let loco sit on a powered track for a minute or so before hitting startup?
RJR,
It all depends on the engine, some yes some no, got a question for you. Is there enough room in the P2 Pittsburgh Street Car to install a BCR, I have not taken it apart to see the inside set up, and from GGG's response to one of my posts, it looks like the Street Cars have limited space under the shell? Will the BCR fit, like in a normal train engine?
PCRR/Dave
Dave, I can't answer your question, for I don't have any streetcars and have never used a BCR. I use 2.5F Digikey supercaps in lieu of 2.4 volt batteries and feel that they can be fit anywhere a battery can. I suspect that the 1.5F Digikey supercaps, which some have used, would be even smaller. I no longer have any units that use 8.4 volt batteries.
Dave,
If the PS1 PCC has an 8.4 volt battery, a BCR should fit fine since it has the exact same form factor.
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