Date/Time: January 21, 2004 10:19 AM Posted By: Bob Oursler

Subject: More on BCR "Battery Component Replacement" Regarding the article on the MTH battery replacement, I have had two PS1 locos go scrambled irreparably because of low battery charge. What happens is not the whole PS1 board, but the primary controlling firmware chip that makes the whole engine useless. The chip cannot be repaired only replaced, according to qualified techs. The article in OGR was pretty close to reality. The clarification should have been that the chip is smoked that is resident on the board, not the whole board. It is still a serious inconvenience for us occasional operators and adds expense that should not be necessary. Operators need to be advised by MTH that if the loco has not been operated in some minimum time frame from manufacture, then it needs to be "recharged over some specified time". Currently their procedure advises to place the loco on the track and turn on initial voltage to 12 volts (?? I'm not certain) and leave it in that state for some 8 hours (?? again not certain). We old time operators do not relish the idea of turning on ou transformers and leaving them for long periods unattended. Make that leaving them unattended period, for any length of time. Safety First!!