ProtoSound Battery replacement

I agree re GRJ's input.  He's the best!

You say these are "original ProtoSound equipped engines that haven't been run in quite some time"?  I'm going to assume, then, we're talking PS-1, QSI equipped?

If so, I will testify that I have about a dozen of that vintage of MTH engine.  A couple years...or more!...ago I decided to do a wholesale conversion to BCR's.  Now, as you've stated, my flock had mostly been dormant since acquisition...I won't bore you with the excuses thereof.  So, without even firing them up at all, I made the exchange...diesels and steamers...and they ALL survived and are working perfectly to this date.

The most significant in that group was/is the Big Boy 4-8-8-4 of the original Dealers Appreciation package of the late 1990's.  It had never been run.  I replaced the battery with the BCR, let it idle at 10 volts for about 3 minutes, and away she went...perfect in function, sounds, lights, the whole magilla! 

So, yes, I'm a believer in the use of BCR's for those earliest sound systems.  I haven't had occasion to apply BCR's to the 3v PS-2 engines...but maybe I should!  So much to do, so many priorities.

Just another man's experience/opinion...FWIW.

KD

@dkdkrd posted:

I agree re GRJ's input.  He's the best!

So much to do, so many priorities.

Just another man's experience/opinion...FWIW.

KD

I agree about the " so miuch to do  "  KD.

I've gone from running trains all the time to  '  WORKING  ( playing )  ON THE RAILROAD.  It still is an interesting hobby.

If you want to stick with batteries, use the Tenergy low self discharge NIMH 9v battery, available on Amazon.  I’ve installed over a hundred of these batteries in customer’s engines. At $3 each, it is a better battery than what MTH sells.

Joe- I'm sold on BCR's. Planning to start making my own too.

But if you bought the batteries already then they should be fine.

Bob

@coach joe,

Joe,

I have about 10 MTH PS1 engines that I've been running with BCRs for more than twenty years with no electronics failures or problems with the BCRs. Rechargeable 9-volt batteries should be OK too but BCRs seem like a permanent solution to me.

MELGAR

The only "snag" I found in replacing the original MTH (white) battery with a BCR in the very early PS1 QSI boards is that some of these boards will only "start" on a low voltage - a lot less than 10V.

The BCR requires the start-up power to be around or just above 10V for one minute, for the super caps to be properly charged.

Powering down from 10V to zero, and then back on again to get the loco out of the "re-set" mode can sometimes not work, and it stays locked in the "re-set" mode. I then have to shut the power off completely, let the board go through its shut-down sequence, right up to that funny little "fart" sound right at the end.

I then power the loco up again, keeping the voltage around 5V, and then go through the normal start-up procedure again, and it comes out of "re-set" and starts to move forward.

Other than that one little glitch, I love the BCR's, and have converted all of my PS1 and PS2 3v & 5V boards to them, and have had no issues with any of them.

Hope this is of some help to you coach joe.

Peter.....Buco Australia.

I read that PS1 engines must be started with track power less than 10 volts and then pressing the direction button or interrupting the voltage to come out of neutral and move forward. I start my PS1 engines with track power set to 9 volts for at least one minute to charge the BCR, and then press the direction button.

MELGAR

To answer the original question, the PS-1 and PS-2 5V boards were designed to use 8.4V rechargeable batteries.  So replacing with a new rechargeable battery will not harm the engine.  The 8.4 seem to last around 4-5 years.

I am not sure who made a comment about blue or green, but all the latest 8.4V are green.  The PS-2 3V came blue or green, with blue being NiCad type.  Nothing wrong with them, but industry moved away from Cadmium for environmental reasons.  G

@Buco posted:

The only "snag" I found in replacing the original MTH (white) battery with a BCR in the very early PS1 QSI boards is that some of these boards will only "start" on a low voltage - a lot less than 10V.

The BCR requires the start-up power to be around or just above 10V for one minute, for the super caps to be properly charged.

Powering down from 10V to zero, and then back on again to get the loco out of the "re-set" mode can sometimes not work, and it stays locked in the "re-set" mode. I then have to shut the power off completely, let the board go through its shut-down sequence, right up to that funny little "fart" sound right at the end.

I then power the loco up again, keeping the voltage around 5V, and then go through the normal start-up procedure again, and it comes out of "re-set" and starts to move forward.

Other than that one little glitch, I love the BCR's, and have converted all of my PS1 and PS2 3v & 5V boards to them, and have had no issues with any of them.

Hope this is of some help to you coach joe.

Peter.....Buco Australia.

You forgot to include the part about standing on one foot and touching your nose while doing this.  It is rumored that it helps to play Stairway to Heaven backwards during the procedure.

I know of a prominent dealer who has a LOT of PS-1 engines and swears by rechargeable batteries.  But I'll stick with the BCR for simplicity - install it once and you're good forever, with no risk of failure or leakage, and some can be tricky to replace.  If cost is an issue, there are plenty of posts on the forum showing how to roll your own for minimal cost.  Also, the manufacturer offers a discount when buying 10 or more.

I mentioned the "  blue / green  battery issue  "   George.    Cadmium being toxic might be why I was told to go with the green battery  ?     As a matter of fact the acrylic polymer paints I use on my canvas paintings have moved away from cadmium bases.

Thank you all for the responses.  I have 4 engines with Proto 1 that need battery replacement.  I was all set to go the BCR route but as I said a MTH tech recommended the rechargeable 9 volt much like Jon G uses.  I guess to save me some money.  Now that I've a permanent loop of track it's time to start lubing the engines and replacing those batteries and I was just looking for confirmation.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

I mentioned the "  blue / green  battery issue  "   George.    Cadmium being toxic might be why I was told to go with the green battery  ?     As a matter of fact the acrylic polymer paints I use on my canvas paintings have moved away from cadmium bases.

I suspect it's pretty hard to even buy NiCad batteries nowadays.  NiCad batteries are outlawed in most parts of the world.

Mallard4468........made me laugh and laugh, and then laugh some more !!!!

And all this time I thought I had to play "Paperback Writer" backwards to get these boards to work properly??

Peter.....Buco Australia.