fixing DCS remote shutting down

Engineer-JoeOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

So I was having issues. The remote would just shut off whenever I asked it to do something? I was getting messages sometimes that didn't make sense to me fully. I had the low battery pop up when I swear I had just changed them out with new ones last week?

The remote was full and I had sold off an engine and swapped the board set out in another set of them. So I deleted a few things and that's when the remote acted up. So I was blaming the remote.

I totally reset the remote and the problem stayed. I reloaded DCS 6.1 into it and the problem stayed. I did get a clue that when I pressed the smoke off, the engine volume went off? Because I had the remote apart, I took it apart again and made sure the buttons were hitting correctly. Not much can go wrong there I believe?

First off, I then checked the battery connections. Even though I swear this was good, there was one spring that wasn't perfect. I centered that spring and then the remote seemed to work. Now I got low battery again?

I put my meter across the two top outside batteries and it only read something like 4.3 volts. So I installed brand new batteries again. I checked each and they all were over 1.5 volts. I checked the total and it now was much better.

I fired up the remote one more time and it stayed on and seemed to work better. I cycled engine smoke, volume up and down, headlight on and off, and they seemed to work correctly. I just got no response from engine sounds on and off?

At least the remote stayed on and didn't shut down anymore.

I now have to reload every O scale engine I have. I could have saved the list but several have come and gone. I am also in the process of teaching our grandson everything the system can do so he can fully take charge. I used to do all the complicated stuff for him. Recently he started building his own consists.

I also did not want to add any issue from software incase the remote still acts up. So I have more testing to do top see if it stays working. I also want to watch battery life incase it's eating batteries. Looking at the dates on the batteries I removed, I believe I just made the mistake of re-using old batteries that I thought were new. A lot of extra work on an assumption.

12/10/201:00 PM

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AGHRMattOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER

I think it's a battery problem, but not run-down batteries. The DCS remote battery carrier has a contact problem where the contact with one or more of the batteries is broken and the remote shuts off. This, of course, means you have to find the engines again or do another READ. What I did with my remotes was put a little extra padding on the battery cover and tape it closed to maintain pressure on the batteries.

12/10/201:22 PM

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Engineer-JoeOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

@AGHRMatt posted:
I think it's a battery problem, but not run-down batteries. The DCS remote battery carrier has a contact problem where the contact with one or more of the batteries is broken and the remote shuts off. This, of course, means you have to find the engines again or do another READ. What I did with my remotes was put a little extra padding on the battery cover and tape it closed to maintain pressure on the batteries.

I did that years ago in another remote and assumed it was there in this one. Well the stock foam seemed better.

I just plain forgot. I will add a shim for the batteries.

Edit, I added thicker soft foam.

12/10/203:37 PM

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gunrunnerjohnOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Dave Hikel was selling a cool little device a few years back at York, he was 3D printing them. They work really well. It lays over the batteries under the cover, it doesn't interfere with the foam in the cover, and it holds the batteries from coming loose. This doesn't risk springing the little latch for the cover and breaking it, no tension on the cover at all. Pretty slick little device. I still have one I haven't used in a remote, I put a couple in the remotes I actually on a regular basis.