I can't remember the last time I used the READ function, in normal operation it's not required.
FWIW, I really doubt this is the engine batteries unless they're very old. The engines will work with no batteries, they just won't deal with even a brief power glitch unless the battery is at least partially charged. Also, you didn't just get a bunch of bad batteries all at once, I think you're looking in the wrong place. I'd be looking at signal strength issues.
