->Who is talking about depleting batteries? It is only for a short time (while the mag is pulled out and reinserted a few seconds later) and during this time, the PIC in the mag has to continue running................
By the way, mag is not simple at all, the managment of this little ******* fills all the 1048 words of the PIC...
Yes, I get it... And again, how much power do you think a PIC uses just sitting there? Just use the blocking diode and those watch batteries. It'll take awhile to drain those out and if you're careful, it could take QUITE AWHILE to drain them out.

And as far as how simple the 'mag' is...it doesn't matter if the PIC is empty or full, it's still going to draw the same current. It's sounds fairly simple to me...
Either the mag really is just that simple, or you're making it entirely too complicated.
But then again, I'm not trying to zap or fry anybody either...