djo7613@blake.acs.washington.edu (Dick O'Connor) (12/14/89)
As I watched a repairman cut out the old dead lithium battery from a Kaypro XT and solder in an inexpensive battery pack that takes 3 AA batteries and keeps the clock running just fine, I began to wonder about similar surgery for 286 or 386 machines. Lithium batteries are pretty expensive. Is there any built-in capacity in 286/386 machines to replace them with cheaper, more common batteries with an equivalent power rating? Is the price of lithium batteries so high because you have extended life and the convenience of not having to pop the top every few months? I'm not eager to solder *anything* inside my machines, but some of the stuff this tech said made me wonder. Like he said that lithiums go out all at once (I've seen this in one or two cases), but that standard batteries go slowly, so that before CMOS memory is affected, you notice little things, like the clock time slowing down. True?? "Moby" Dick O'Connor ** DISCLAIMER: It would Washington Department of Fisheries ** surprise me if the Olympia, Washington 98504 ** rest of the Department Internet Mail: djo7613@blake.u.washington.edu ** agreed with any of this!
ron@woan.austin.ibm.com (Ronald S. Woan) (12/15/89)
In article <4923@blake.acs.washington.edu>, djo7613@blake.acs.washin (Dick O'Connor) writes: > > As I watched a repairman cut out the old dead lithium battery from a > Kaypro XT and solder in an inexpensive battery pack that takes 3 AA > batteries and keeps the clock running just fine, I began to wonder > about similar surgery for 286 or 386 machines. > > Lithium batteries are pretty expensive. Is there any built-in > capacity in 286/386 machines to replace them with cheaper, more > common batteries with an equivalent power rating? Is the price > of lithium batteries so high because you have extended life and > the convenience of not having to pop the top every few months? You can always replace the lithium batteries with some simple combination of standard batteries, but for most computers the lithium batteries are still cost effective. The lithium batteries used in the original IBM-AT and clones can be got for <$15 from RayOVac(sp?), Duracell or Panasonic these days. They last 3 to 5 years as well. It is only those that are soldered on the add-on boards that may be better replaced with standard batteries. Ron +-----All Views Expressed Are My Own And Are Not Necessarily Shared By------+ +------------------------------My Employer----------------------------------+ + Ronald S. Woan (IBM VNET)WOAN AT AUSTIN, (AUSTIN)ron@woan.austin.ibm.com + + outside of IBM @cs.utexas.edu:ibmchs!auschs!woan.austin.ibm.com!ron + + last resort woan@peyote.cactus.org +