Originally posted by rgourley@... on the RailPro Users Yahoo! Group on Jun 12, 2015
Hi Kevin,
Although, I have not taken the plunge yet, I'm a huge fan. I'm extremely impressed with the engineering, so I didn't think they would take the easy/cheap route of using average consumption and timer method. If the consumption varies to that degree, you'd already be aware if they'd used a consumption rate/timer. I'm sure someone would have already been surprised by a unit "dying" during heavy usage, while still indicating a fair amount of remaining charge.
I checked out the link and saw where the throttle was opened. It states that the batteries are Rayovak Platinum double A's. I quickly checked and it appears they are spec'd around 2100 mAH, which is already at the upper end of the capacity for an AA NiMH. There are other brands that are closer to 2600 mAH, which would extend the runtime slightly. The photo also explains why they require factory replacement of the batteries. Not only must the throttle be "opened" up, but the touch panel must be lifted out of the way to gain access to the batteries. Not only putting the electronics at risk of being zapped, but those ribbon connectors are extremely fragile. I'm sure this was done for space saving purposes. I understand, but it's unfortunate. If they could have designed it with a battery access plate, then the user could easily swap out the batteries without risk of damaging the unit. This would also help solve the runtime issue. The batteries are cheap enough to have a couple extra sets. That along with purchasing an external charger, one could have an extra set already charged and ready to go. When the set in the throttle gets low, they could simply be swapped out with a fresh set and you're good to go. The only other thing that would prevent this, would be if all the programming was stored in volatile memory, without some sort of battery backup, to maintain the RAM state during battery change out. However, I have to believe they used non-volatile memory to store the settings, so this should not be an issue. Are at the very least, have a coin battery to maintain the memory state.
Have a great weekend,
Rian