Legacy Handset Icons Go Dark

Other than making sure the batteries are fully charged or fresh, sounds like a trip to Lionel maybe in order.  I know some folks have pushed the small reset button on the rear but I suspect that wouldn't solve your issue.

Just out of interest, does your handset feel warm or even hot when the display goes dark? LCD displays can darken in high temperatures. If your batteries are getting hot, or the ambient temperature is quite high, this could (in theory) cause a darkening of the screen/keypad.

I'm with Marty, send it back to Lionel.

Had the same issue with my buttons and screen on my legacy remote.  I sent it back to lionel and they fixed it for free.  They said the screen cable was bad. 

Send it to LIONEL. They will make it good and you will only be without it for a week or two at the most. AND the best part ,they will not charge you. Mine did the same thing. It was over three years old and they sent me a brand new one!! KUDO's to Lionel (and Mike Reagan)!!!

FREDSTRAINS

Thanks for the information everyone! I tried resetting the handset via the small button on the back, reloaded Ver. 1.52 on the handset and the base, switched out the chargeable batteries with regular AA's and turned off the charger on the base.  None of this fixed the issue.  While running some trains I noticed that if I press any of the bottom icon squares while they are blacked out the icons come back and are normally visible for a few minutes before they black out again.  This was repeatable each time it happened.  I will give Lionel a call tomorrow.  I purchased this a few years ago but didn't actually use it until last week because I didn't have anything set up. 

Send it back.  I had the same problem and a week later I got it back, good as new.