Legacy remote charger

Yes, Shut the charger off and use alkaline or lithium batteries in your remote.

I've been using rechargeable batteries in my Legacy for years.  It must have lost it's appetite.

I do recharge them in the #993 charger as it doesn't have all the extra electronics to heat up the CAB2.

I am still using the original batteries in my two 990's since 2013......however they both had the charging unit tweaked by Lionel.

Since LIONEL did the Charging Circuit UPGRADE (at no cost), My 990 & 993 Charge my Batteries great!! Don't have a problem any more!!

FREDSTRAINS

Does anyone know if the latest 990 units (the ones that that were delayed by all the other recent problems they had) have this charging circuit fix? Would think they would have made the change by now, considering how long the charging issue has been around? I have had no problems so far, just curious here.

I suspect that it's HIGHLY UNLIKELY that they didn't put in the upgraded circuit.

The fix was in the batch prior to the latest batch

I just purchased a NEW 990 & 993 for our Club Layout and the Charging Circuit in both work GREAT!!!

For what it's worth.

FREDSTRAINS

Thanks guys, I kind of figured it was fixed by now, but you never know.

Gentlemen,

    Thanks for the good news, I have a new 990 Legacy that I have not unpacked yet, glad to hear the latest up dates are in my new Legacy unit.   In another couple weeks a I will have time to unbox it and look it over.

Thanks for the info

PCRR/Dave

(Belated reply).  I have a new Legacy 990 set.  New product.  Rev 1.52.  The charger circuit works as specified.  And doesn't seem to get hot.  So what? 

This is an ancient story and has been beat to death, but my original Legacy set got so hot it seemed to almost be a fire hazard.  Back then we just taped over the prongs in the base and used alkaline batteries.  We're still doing this on the club layout.  Just don't want to mess with headaches and expense associated with rechargeable batteries.  

There's nothing holy IMO about using rechargeable batteries.  The alkaline batteries last for a long time in typical use.  And you can always easily change them.  No need to wait for one precious set of relatively expensive rechargeable batteries to -- well -- recharge  -- or buy another set of relatively expensive rechargeable batteries to have in reserve and - oh yes -- a relatively expensive high tech battery charger so the backup set will be Johnny on the Spot ready.

And guess what. Rechargeable batteries have a life expectancy based on recharge cycles and other use factors.  You WILL replace them sooner or later.

Just saying why bother. No drama.  Use alkaline batteries.  

And please don't give me the save the planet angle.  We've been thru that too.  Too hard to figure the relative cost of the stuff that goes into alkaline batteries as contrasted with the stuff that goes in rechargeable batteries not to mention all that current and heat involved in the charging circuit.  So that dog won't hunt for me.  

I gotta believe that Lionel wishes they had never heard the word "battery charger" at this point.  It's been a painful experience for them.  Of all the Command System manufacturers in "2 rail and 3 rail" I think I'm correct in saying Lionel is the only one who offers the rechargeable capability.

Just sayin' go low tech reliable. Go alkaline.

Uhh... How about all the rechargeable batteries in MTH PS1 and PS2 locomotives? 

Odd that MTH went with standard batteries in their remote and Lionel went with rechargeable ones.  The really odd part is Lionel uses the alkaline battery to support RailSounds and MTH uses the rechargeable batteries to support their boards.

Oh, let's save the planet as well.

John, 

Yep.  Agree.   Both companies suffer from depending on the unnecessary complexity of rechargeable batteries.

But, giving credit where credit is due.  MTH fixed their problem with the intro of PS3. No batteries.

Yet Lionel continues to hold on to their Legacy Base charging capability which has got to be a thorn in their side.

For you newbies out there, consider taping over the Legacy Base charging circuit prongs.  Forget about expensive rechargeable batteries and go get a pack of alkaline batteries for your CAB2(s).  Simplify.

Well, for folks that don't like rechargeable batteries, Lionel offers full compatibility with alkaline batteries in the CAB2.  So, it's simply a personal choice whether you use the rechargeable batteries.

I personally have had no problems since getting the base charging circuit repaired in both the #990 and #993 bases.

Thanks for making my point about unneeded complexity.  You, and many, many others have had to send your Legacy bases back for charging circuit repair if they want to use rechargeables.  Why bother?  I'll stick with alkalines in my CAB2, CAB1 and DCS Remote and 2 rail DCC Remotes.  Same for our modular club.  

Yes, the option is there.  To each his own.  Over and out.

Gentlemen,

    I look at this in a different way, in fact I just had Bill up grade my DCS hand held remotes to make them fully rechargeable units.  I also like the BCR's instead of conventional batteries, and recommend using them all the time.  Different strokes for different folks, either works just fine.  I am hoping my new Legacy 990 unit will recharge correctly and not over heat.

PCRR/Dave

Agree. The BCR for Proto 1 and Proto 2 engines is a wonderful thing. I have them in all of my Ps2 engines. 

MTH essentially uses BCR technology in Proto 3 engines which have no batteries because they learned their lesson with the RECHARGEABLE batteries in their Proto 1 and Proto 2 engines.  Pain in the ......

That is,  the BCR replaces a RECHARGEABLE battery which has a charge/discharge duty cycle that eventually leads to failure.  This is not a "conventional" battery. 

And most of us remember the grief surrounding starting up a Proto 1 engine when it's rechargeable battery had lost it's charge due to a long period of inactivity and the chip inside lost it's mind and had to be (hopefully) reset.  So much for rechargeable batteries.

As for upgrading your DCS Remotes for rechargeable batteries. Whatever works for you. Enjoy our hobby!!  Let us know how it works out for you.

Bill,

   In fact I have had two DCS remote Controls up graded in this manner, one will sit on the charger while I use the other, when the batteries start to loose power, I will simply switch to the other fully charged remote control.  I 1st used the rechargeable batteries and switched every time the batteries got low, got real tired of switching batteries all the time, as far as I am concerned MTH should have engineered a charging station long ago for the hand held remotes.  Lionel got the concept right, but under engineered their product design, I am hoping Lionel finally has it engineered and produced correctly.  MTH on the other hand needs a kick in the butt, to design a rechargeable

remote control.   I will definitely let you know how both work out on the Christmas

layout.  Bill I meant no disrespect to your opinion, sometimes I look at things in a different way than other people.  I happen to like rechargeable stuff, including tools like my 24 Volt rechargeable B&D Mini Chan Saw.  My one big gripe about new Cell phones is that they are now to small, to have great rechargeable batteries.

PCRR/Dave