I went to radio shack with a proto 2 battery and they didnt ever see in that store this battery before does anyone have the radioshack number for this battery so i can get a new one.
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radio shack has enercell now , no more radio shack batterys
If your near a Harbor Freight Tools, they have the 8.4 rechargeables
Mort
cool thanks i am right down the road from a harbor freight
Is this the battery
That interest me. Please let us know how that works. Before you put it in the locomotive could you please put your volt meter on it with a load. Good find, and thank you for sharing.
Wal-Mart sells an Energizer version too. G
FYI, that battery is 160 mAh as opposed to the MTH battery which is 120 mAh, and bigger is better.
Why not just install a BCR2 and forget about batteries?
Kerrigan,
Why not just install a BCR2 and forget about batteries?
Perhaps because a BCR (not a BCR2, which is the 2.4 volt rechargeable battery replacement) is several tines (about 3) more expensive than a battery.
Originally Posted by Barry Broskowitz:
FYI, that battery is 160 mAh as opposed to the MTH battery which is 120 mAh, and bigger is better.
ok what about this one
The upside is never having be concerned about a battery going bad, nor having to replace one again.
Originally Posted by Jim Teeple:
Originally Posted by Kerrigan:
Why not just install a BCR2 and forget about batteries?
$5.99 vs $19.99
From the J and W Electronics website:
Buy 10 BCRs for $249.50($24.95 each) and receive one free
That's $22.68 per BCR
or a savings of $24.95
Where are you seeing $19.99 as a purchase price?
Kerrigan,
The upside is never having be concerned about a battery going bad, nor having to replace one again.
As always, it's cost vs. benefit.
With over 90 PS2 engines, at $20 each it would cost me about $1,800 to replace all of my engine's batteries with BCRs, along with the time it would take to do so, which at 15-20 minutes each is about 22.5-30 hours.
If I keep each engine an average of 8 years or so before selling it and assuming a 5 year battery life, the cost for 90 replacement batteries (at $9 each) is about $810 and the time to install them is the same 22.5-30 hours.
The net cost of BCRs for my roster would be about $990. I can buy 2-3 new PS3 engines for that money - and they won't need batteries! 
Originally Posted by Lionel J:
Originally Posted by Barry Broskowitz:
FYI, that battery is 160 mAh as opposed to the MTH battery which is 120 mAh, and bigger is better.
ok what about this one
Is this too big with 100mah
That one's worse than the other two - it's only 100 mAh.
Like I said, bigger is better. The first one that you posted is the best of the three at 160Ah. The MTH is second at 120 mAh. This one is the worst of the three.
$19.95 is for the BCR2, for Proto2.
Originally Posted by Mark V. Spadaro:
From the J and W Electronics website:
Buy 10 BCRs for $249.50($24.95 each) and receive one free
That's $22.68 per BCR
or a savings of $24.95
Where are you seeing $19.99 as a purchase price?
True.
In my case, I'm replacing the battery with a BCR2 on my Proto -> Proto2 conversions as I'm already into the locomotive and can eliminate the charging port drilling task.
Originally Posted by Barry Broskowitz:
Kerrigan,
The upside is never having be concerned about a battery going bad, nor having to replace one again.
As always, it's cost vs. benefit.
With over 90 PS2 engines, at $20 each it would cost me about $1,800 to replace all of my engine's batteries with BCRs, along with the time it would take to do so, which at 15-20 minutes each is about 22.5-30 hours.
If I keep each engine an average of 8 years or so before selling it and assuming a 5 year battery life, the cost for 90 replacement batteries (at $9 each) is about $810 and the time to install them is the same 22.5-30 hours.
The net cost of BCRs for my roster would be about $990. I can buy 2-3 new PS3 engines for that money - and they won't need batteries!
NiMH batteries don't have a "memory effect", which means they'll endure far more partial charge/discharge cycles while retaining full capacity. The only downside is they'll self-discharge if left unused for extended periods of time (usually measured in weeks/months)
NiCd batteries hold onto their charge longer, but are less tolerant of partial discharge/charge cycles and will eventually charge only up to a certain point short of their rated capacity--meaning less runtime.
One practice I've heard is for engines that are run frequently get NiMH, and those that sit on a shelf for months at a time get NiCD. Either way, more MaH (milliamp-hours) is better. There are even LiPO (lithium polymer) 9V batteries with up to 520MaH, but those are expensive (over $20) and require special chargers to avoid blowing them up 
---PCJ
can bcr`s go bad?????
Anything electronic, even a capacitor (like the BCR) can go bad. Of course, so can a brand new battery. The issue is what is the mean time before failure (MTBF).
Barry, do you really sell your locos after 8 years? Given all you have, they must be low mileage & good buys.
Well, if you do go to HF for that NiMH battery don't forget your coupons from the Sunday paper and many magazines. Another 20% off plus a free DMM so that you can measure the voltage on the battery.
Their return policy is very good:
100% Satisfaction Guarantee! If for ANY reason you are not satisfied with this item, you may return it within 90 days for a full refund or replacement.
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As an aside, I recommend getting a few of those HArbor Freight test meters. I got a few at $2.99 special. Obviously, they don't have the accuracy of a Fluke, but it's close enough for model train work, or to keep in a toolbox aboard a boat, in a car, or elsewhere, or to test 1.5 or 9-volt batteries. If it breaks, throw it out. They don't measure AC amps, but do measure about anyting else you'll encounter on a layout.
I temporarily withdraw the above. I checked 2 HF meters against two pricier meters I have, and they were unacceptably off on low AC voltages. I'll have to do more tests when I get back to VA (I'm on SB AutoTrain).
ok i went and bought the battery from harbor freight and it works fine. it was on sale for 5.99 and coupon for 20% off
Originally Posted by Marty Fitzhenry:
That interest me. Please let us know how that works. Before you put it in the locomotive could you please put your volt meter on it with a load. Good find, and thank you for sharing.
marty how do i check with volt meter with a load i will do that if you say how to do so i am not electronic smart so just explain
i have been running it for three or four days now blowing whistle playing sounds and all features and battery holding up just fine so its now how long will the battery going to last. I am hoping it gets as many charges that the package says, if so it should last a long time. Cost is less then mth battery so this is a +.
Harbor Freight has it on sale thru 4/15 for $5.59. At that price, if it only lasts 3 years you're ahead of the game. I'll be interested in hearing how it holds up.
