Be careful how you dispose of batteries [video=youtube;OSJH21WmALc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSJH21WmALc[/video]
Thanks for that posting. Batteries are not really dead when you dispose of them. They've just gotten to the point where you can't use them. Several times someone at my club has improperly reversed the batteries in our Digitrax throttles, puts it in the drawer with the manuals and other papers, and the battery gets so hot that the case is close to melting. It was a good thing that someone found it before it could get to the point of ignition.
I never understood the instructions saying to reverse the batteries in the Digitrax throttles. I always place the battery next to the throttle when not in use.
Yeah. It's kind of silly that they didn't install a toggle switch in the circuitry when the devices were assembled. I did install a small toggle on my two throttles and the throttles belonging to my club. With the cost of the throttles, for a few pennies more a switch could have been included. The funny thing is when you tell someone he did it wrong they get mad at you for reminding them and don't realize what could have happened. This also reminds me of the time I left a train running while I went downstairs to answer my phone. When I got back I didn't notice that the train had stopped until I smelled burning plastic. One loco had derailed on a switch and the wheels on the lead truck were bridging the rails on the frog. The truck and the ties melted down and the rails were glowing right at the spot the wheels were touching. The current never reached the trip point of the five amp command station. I don't know if it would have gotten to the ignition point of the foamboard.
I have always removed the batteries from my Digitrax throttles after any operation session. It is so easy and I only have to buy new RiteAid alkaline high end 9volt batteries every 6 to 9 months.
I recently purchased the Digitrax throttle. I am experimenting with leaving the throttle plugged into Loconet when not in use. I leave Loconet running all the time because if I shut it down then I end up having to shut down JMRI and sometimes reboot the PC. When the throttle is plugged in then it receives power from Loconet and the battery shouldn't discharge.
One of the reasons I installed toggle switches to shut the throttles off was that when you remove the battery cover to flip the battery you take the chance of breaking it (the cover). Digitrax didn't sell replacement covers because they do not make the cases of the throttles. They now sell the battery covers for $12. Each.
A few years back my boss gave me a 9volt battery for a piece of equipment I use. I was in a hurry so I threw it in my pocket and drove out. I stopped quick for a cup of coffee and threw the change in the same pocket. Again, not thinking.... A short time later as I was driving down the road my upper leg started to burn like crazy. THEN it dawned on me. THE BATTERY! All the change was making contact with the battery and acting as a big resistor. I stopped, jumped out of the truck and got that battery out of my pocket as fast as I could. No bad burn, no harm done.... But that was a close one!
