On more than one occasion, the rechargeable Nimh batteries I use in my DCS Remote have given me heart palpitations as they run down.
I was running my Rail King EP5 (PS2) with a string of passenger cars yesterday, and I remembered that this locomotive has Freight Yard Sounds. So I used the "Mic" function on the Remote to make a passenger train arrival announcement.
The EP5 abruptly stopped and the speaker made a horrible loud buzzing sound. The Remote lost all control of the EP5 which went dead, and the Remote gave a "Engine Not On Track" alert. However, the Remote still had a display so the batteries were not immediately suspect. I thought that I fried a circuit board. After my heart recovered, I noticed that the Remote could not startup another locomotive, so ah-ha it must be the batteries.
Yes, it was the batteries, but they still had enough energy to operate the Remote's display. I am guessing that the "Mic" function uses a significant amount of battery energy, in this case enough energy drain to bring the batteries down quickly.
On other occasions I have experienced the Remote going OFF without warning causing a train wreck or two. Does the DCS Remote have a low battery warning?
