Battery Upgrade, what is it ... (was Re: VarTech 7300 deal)

[Thad P Floryan]

Re: battery replacement in the UNIXPC ...

At last month's (Sunnyvale, CA) AT&T Computer User Group Meeting, UNIXPC SIG,
I replaced the battery in one member's UNIXPC as part of the evening's program.

The operation comprised:

1) opening the UNIXPC and stripping it down to the ground.

2) pulling the battery jumper pin

3) clipping out the old lithium battery

4) desoldering the two battery lead stubs, and cleaning out the holes with
   solder wick

5) mounting and soldering a lithium battery holder

6) slipping a new battery into the holder

7) inserting the battery jumper pin

8) reassembling the entire system

9) powering up, booting with the diagnostic disk, setting the real time clock

10) rebooting from HD

Total parts cost: $1.99 for the battery (at Fry's), and $1.29 for the holder
(also from Fry's).

Parts list:

1) RayOVac Computer Clock Battery.  "Lifex (tm) Lithium Replacement Battery for
   Expansion Board Real Time Clocks."   The generic part number is BR2325,
   which is identical to the stock battery in the UNIXPC except it doesn't have
   the two leads welded to it.  These batteries are about the size of a US
   quarter, and are claimed to have a 10-year shelf life; nominal 3 VDC.

2) Lithium battery holder.  I don't know the manufacturer (since these are
   bulk packaged by Fry's Electronics), but the underside of the holder bears
   these markings:

                MPD
               U.S.A.
             U.S.PAT.NO.
              4,487,820

Needless to say, considering the silk screen on the motherboard, it appears
(to me) the motherboard was DESIGNED to have a socketed battery holder identical
to the one I installed; it was a perfect fit (no bending, etc.).

Once the battery is so socketed, future replacement would be on the order of
less than 10 minutes (to open the case, lift the metal cover, exchange the
batteries, and close it up.)

Thad Floryan [ thad at cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]