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I've been using the rechargeable batteries that Lionel provides for the LEGACY Remote. They worked well for a while but don't seem to hold a charge that long and when battery strength starts to weaken after about 2 hours the remote commands don't always get to the engine. I use the LEGACY base for the recharging. Has anyone tried using an external charger for the batteries? And what type of rechargeable batteries do you use?

Some members in my club are using Duracell non rechargeable AA's exclusively. I'm about to change for myself but am curious what everyone else is using. Appreciate any advice here  THANKS :-)

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Steve,

     I replaced mine with Panasonic Eneloop rechargeables. They are supposed to be the best rechargeables since they don't develop a memory like most. I know longer use the base charger I have a Panasonic smart charger that I bought with the batteries. You can find them on Ebay or Amazon. Never saw them in stores.

also what you can do to improve the battery memory is totally run them dead with a light bulb or small motor. once the batteries are all dead, you have to discharge them totally one at a time and then recharge them over night, you'll usually find out they will hold the charge longer.  the secret with all rechargeable batteries is not to use them for say 10 minutes or half hour and then put them immediately back on the charger. that will cause to develop a short memory cycle. I had the same problem with the NiCad batteries that came with my legacy remote, after cycling as I stated above they held a full charge! another problem is when you let your batteries in the remote for long periods of time and sometimes will cause them to go dead and then they  wont hold a charge at all!

Alan 

After many many efforts to find a good solution, I settled on Lithium Ion rechargeable AAs.

I like having my screen light on and as we know this really drains the batteries.  The Lithium batteries last so much longer even with the screen light on.

You MUST charge these batteries with the appropriate charger.  They charge at 5 volts.  You cannot use the Legacy base to charge them.

I stopped using the Legacy charger.  It took too long to charge with quite a bit of heat build up that I did not care for.

Now a note here.  The icon on the Legacy remote indicating battery strength DOES NOT show the customary 3 bars.  It is always at one bar.   Most likely due to internal electronics, this option does not work with Lithium Ion batteries, at least for me.

I use the tenerengy batteries recommended by GRJ. They work well just have to remember to charge them before using the remote. 

I'll replace one word from my previous comment. They work "ok". I didn't like the fact that I had to charge them EVERY time I wanted to use them. I switched to Energizer Max batteries, they work better but it seems like they die quickly and I'm replacing them like every 2 weeks. Any Ideas? It did go back to Lionel in 2018 for an unrelated issue. Also, it did have a fall to the (concrete) floor once. After that happened, I couldn't (and still can't) use the remote in the base, it rocks a touch to the right and restarts.  

Last edited by Trainlover9943

Also, it did have a fall to the (concrete) floor once. After that happened, I couldn't (and still can't) use the remote in the base, it rocks a touch to the right and restarts.  

If it will complete charging you could plug the base into a timer or better yet a smart plug to turn off after an hour or 2. However, I don't know if the batteries will discharge while the remote is sitting on an non-powered base.

I use two sets of Energizer lithium batteries and never use the Base charger. The batteries hold their charge well and I always have a second set ready to go, if necessary. At the end of each run session, based on the indicated battery level, I plug the charger into the wall outlet and recharge the spent set. The second,  always fully charged  set, is ready to go Total cost for the entire package is less than $25.00.  Sure beats the cost of a Lionel #993. I have never had a battery problem.

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