mrapple@uop.edu (Nick Sayer) (01/07/89)
This should be of interest to those of you with Apple //gs's whose lithium batteries are starting to get old. FLAME ON!! It makes me really angry that Apple decided to use SOLDERED IN AND ODD SIZED lithium cells in their computers, thereby insuring that their dealers can make you pay $50 for the privilage of letting you store your computer on their shelf for two days and have them replace a $10 part. Planned obsolecense! Flame off. It turns out that the part in question is a 3.6 volt cell. Two AA batteries is 3.0 volts. The difference, it turns out, does not appear to be significant. Go to Radio Shack and get two single-cell AA battery holders (276-401), and two AA alkaline cells. On one of the holders, cut the black lead to about a half an inch. On the other, similarly shorten the red lead. Solder these two together and add some electrical tape. DO NOT INSTALL THE AA CELLS YET. USING EXTREME CAUTION, cut the leats on the lithium battery close to the battery. LITHIUM BATTERIES ARE DANGEROUS. BE CAREFUL. Using some needle-nose pliars, melt the solder at the base of the leads left behind after removing the battery and CAREFULLY pull out the leads. Throw them away. Now look at the board. One of the holes where the battery was connected should be labeled with a "+". Solder the remaining long red lead from the battery holder here. Solder the black lead to the other hole. Using some double-side foam tape, or glue, or somesuch, attach the battery holders to the chasis adjacent to the main board. Be sure you leave some clearance for the power supply. NOW install the AA cells in the holders. Button everythin up and re-attach peripherals. Boot up and get into the control panel. Change the display paramaters to some non-standard color set (just for testing). Set the clock. Turn the gs off. Wait a minute or two. Turn it back on. You should notice that your non-standard color set is still there. No word yet on how long the AA cells will last. Probably not as long as the lithium cell did (probably about a year), but it doesn't cost $50 to replace them either. No word on how the loss of .6 volts affects anything. Maybe the clock will be less accurate, but I doubt that it will have any affect. When the control panel defaults reappear suddenly, change the batteries. STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY! THIS WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY, AND PROBABLY DISQUALIFY YOU FOR APPLE CARE AS WELL! Hope this is helpful. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Nick Sayer | Packet Radio: N6QQQ @ W6FGC-2 | Fido: 161/31 uucp: ...!sdcsvax!ucbvax!ucdavis!uop!mrapple Disclaimer: "The BBC would like to appologize for that last announcement." cat flames > /dev/null
shawn@pnet51.cts.com (Shawn Stanley) (01/11/89)
mrapple@uop.edu (Nick Sayer) writes: >This should be of interest to those of you with Apple //gs's whose >lithium batteries are starting to get old. >[Flames and detailed instructions on how to install your own AA battery >setup]. One should note that if this is done on a machine that is covered by Apple Care, you'll be SOL if you bring the machine in for some Apple Care work. Also, this alteration will void any warranty. UUCP: {rosevax, crash}!orbit!pnet51!shawn INET: shawn@pnet51.cts.com