I got my Digitrax DT402 converted to Duplex, and two UT4D “Buddy” Throttles today. They will need 9V batteries to run and I thought that I would need to get rechargeable batteries. Did the web search thing and now I’m really confused on Type, mA size, rechargability and etc. Any suggestions and past experiences?
Dave2-8-0
Be careful with 9 volt rechargeables.
Typically they are not 9 volts. Often they have just 6 cells in series insde which makes them 7.2 volts.
Better to go with a battery that has at least 7 cells (8.4 volts) or 8 cells (9.6 volts).
The MA rating means very little. The higher the MA the longer they will last before needing a recharge.
A good quality Alkaline battery will last longer before needing to be replaced.
I agree with Tony. Unless your throttle really is hard on batteries (they go dead quickly) I would go with a good quality Alkaline. It’s Apples-to-Oranges, but I get nearly a year out of a set of Alkaline batteries in my Arstio TE Hand units.
Thanks for the replies. I don’t know how much of a power hog the Duplex radio controls are. I assumed that they didn’t last as long with the two way signals. Does any one that uses the Duplex controls know how hungry they get, and what kind of life to expect?
As for the standard 9V, were talking like a Duracell or equilvment. would there be any value looking into Li cells?
Dave2-8-0
New Mexico Northern RR.
Go to Harbor Freight, buy a $5 digital multimeter, and measure the current.
Then you can calculate exactly how long it will run, based on the mah of the batteries.
I would guess if the throttle use the 9v “transistor radio” batteries, the drain is low…
Overall I have found, that swapping rechargeables into a throttle of any type that was designed for alkalines was not a great experience, the batteries did not last as long, and they tend to go from OK to “out” with less warning.
We have had the same thing on NCE throttles over and over, and few people convert to rechargeables.
Greg
Thanks Guys
I have a really good Multimeter that does a lot more than I know what to do with it, It even has a socket to test Transistors, Don’t know why I would ever need to do that but I could. I’ve got to get the UR92 Transceiver Wired up and installed under the eaves to give it some weather protection and fire things up to test the system. I’ll pick up 6-8 Duracell 9V to run with, and monitor the usage rates.
Greg WOW! what a wealth of good stuff on your site…Thanks for keeping it up and helping all the rest of us out here in the wilderness.
Thanks Dave, it’s about 440 separate web pages and still growing every day.
If you go to the home page, or the main trains page, you will see the most recent 15 pages worked on.
Regards, Greg