# Batteries for a USA Trains S-4?



## mocrownsteam (Jan 7, 2008)

Hi Guys,
Before re-inventing the wheel I thought I would ask about a battery, or plural, for the USA Trains S-4 switcher. I plan on a Dallee sound system and the Arisrto Revolution system. Has anyone done this conversion with NiMH batteries? The Li-po batteries look good, but $$$$. This is the old $175 Ebay loco and I really want to do this on the cheap as the Dallee card set me back $100 and the Revo set-up $217. Any runtime over 60 minutes is probably just fine.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Mike
mocrownsteam
Hudson, Massachusetts


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## Bill Swindell (Jan 2, 2008)

I am putting a custom made NiMh battery pack. It uses 4/3A-FAUX cells. They are awt up as 6, 2 cell packs. They are arranged 2 wide bu 3 high. It is rated at 14.4V and 4500 MAH. I have not used the Revolution but I am installing an AirWire receiver, Phoenix P8 and speaker, all inside the body shell.


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## todd55whit (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Mike. I have done a few of these conversions using rcs and dallee sound. I have used nimh battery packs from batteryspace.com 14.4 volt seems to be good for me. I got a pack that was 2.2ah for around $30? Two hours works for me. There are longer run batteries but are a little more $$$$. I have got all of this under the hood with Dallee sound. Good luck...


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## s-4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Mike, 
(I've gotta chime in on this one!) 

For my S4 I bought 12 NiMH solder-tab AAs from batteryspace.com to make my own 14.4v pack. 
http://www.batteryspace.com/nimhrechargeablecellaa12v2200mahflattopwithtabs1pc.aspx 

You also might consider putting 2 of these in series: (if they fit with your boards) 
http://www.batteryspace.com/nimhbat...acks6xaaforhpimicrors4carandwalkingrobot.aspx 

The shrink-wrap packs are beneficial in avoiding shorts...(you never know what could come loose under the shell)...but you are limited to their design shapes. 
For this reason, I sometimes like to use the solder tab cells to make my own custom shapes. To prevent problems with the exposed leads between each cell, I merely apply short sections of electrical tape to each. I then wrap the packs with 3M Strapping tape to hold the cells together leaving some openings for airflow. The strapping tape also helps to keep the electrical tape in place through varying humidity levels. 


For control, I used the Airwire900.


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