Macintosh Classic II Battery

[funkytoad]

I recently bought a couple of Macintosh Classic II's. When I got them, I quickly noticed that they couldn't keep time. I guess the battery is dead. Does anyone know what kind of battery this machine takes, and where I could get it?

 

[bluekatt]

3,6v lithium again try radio shack but i dont know the form factor

 

[funkytoad]

Okay, thanks

 

[equill]

3,6v lithium again try radio shack but i dont know the form factor

Half-AA, primary (non-rechargeable). Try the eBay seller ronaldo101 if you can wait for the post.

de

 

[funkytoad]

Okay, thanks

 

[phreakout]

funkytoad:

If you have a nearby Radio Shack, ask for Catalog number 23-026. It is a 1/2AA size; the same type used in most Macs. 3.6V Lithium.

73s 8)

 

[funkytoad]

Perfect, thats just what I needed to hear! Thanks a bunch!

 

[funkytoad]

Yeah, here it is!

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2104707&cp

 

[iamdigitalman]

if I remember correctly, it's a purple and green and black thing. It costs $15 at rat shack. more expensive than the one in my plus. And to make things worse, I need about 5 of the buggers.

good luck.

-digital

 

[phreakout]

The 23-027 is used in almost all desktop Macs except iMac G5, the newer Intel-based Macs and portables. The Macintosh Plus uses the 23-037, which is a 3.6V Lithium AA.

73s 8)

 

[equill]

if I remember correctly, it's a purple and green and black thing. It costs $15 at rat shack. more expensive than the one in my plus. And to make things worse, I need about 5 of the buggers...

All the more reason to pay USD5 each from an eBay seller. The colours will depend as you buy French SAFT (green and white), Israeli Tadiran (purple and green) or US Maxell (bright red and white). At that price, who needs Ratty Shark?

If you can find a 4.5-V cylindrical alkaline battery (128K to Plus) anywhere, you may find yourself looking at USD30 each.

de

 

[The Macster]

If you can find a 4.5-V cylindrical alkaline battery (128K to Plus) anywhere, you may find yourself looking at USD30 each.

That's ridiculous, the machines themselves aren't worth that much - they seem to work fine without the battery, cheaper just to buy a watch if you need to know the right time when using the Mac!

 

[equill]

... That's ridiculous, the machines themselves aren't worth that much - they seem to work fine without the battery, cheaper just to buy a watch if you need to know the right time when using the Mac!

You are at perfect liberty not to use batteries if you choose to do so. Your decision in no way, however, changes the scarcity or the price of the relevant batteries for the early 68000 Macs, which alone was my point.

de

 

[The Macster]

I was just expressing surprise at how a small battery could cost so much, and also why anyone would buy one for an old Mac (presumably someone does? I don't know - do these batteries have any other common uses?).

 

[equill]

I was just expressing surprise at how a small battery could cost so much, and also why anyone would buy one for an old Mac (presumably someone does? I don't know - do these batteries have any other common uses?).

You can probably quite safely wager your retirement fund that they were not made specially for use in Macs. Several companies, which Apple used to list in its Knowledge Base, made such batteries (eg Eveready 523), but it is probably safe to believe that the batteries were designed for another purpose than for Macs. It is also probably safe to believe that the demise of those other uses is the reason why the batteries are now scarce and pricey. Last time I bought one, there was a Chinese-made equivalent that was obligingly labelled with the type numbers of all the brands that it could replace: A21/A133, 523, PX21, EN133A and PC133A.

de

 

[MacMan]

I used to think the batteries were too expensive, but eventually I bit the bullet and bought a batch of 3 new ones from eBay. I'm glad I did as the machines are now much more reliable than they were with my homemade 3.6V batteries! However they cost me more than I would have liked, but the seller was selling them cheaper than Maplins and Radioshack do (in the UK at least).

It is always good when you liberate a Mac and find that the battery still works, although with most 68K's that is a very rare occurance.

 

[The Macster]

Are you referring to the standard Pram batteries though that most Macs take, as opposed to the special ones that early compacts take? Those ones are just about affordable if you have one of the particular Macs that won't work without one - as we were saying, the ones for early compacts are ridiculously expensive (especially given that those Macs are not the ones that don't work without a battery). Finding a Mac with a working battery seems very rare - my only find that had one was my 6100, though that died after a few months - even the G3's was dead, and that will have been plugged in for pretty much all of its life and so not draining the battery (though I guess the batteries do go bad with time even if not being used)

 

[equill]

... It is always good when you liberate a Mac and find that the battery still works, although with most 68K's that is a very rare occurance.

That's very true, although it is so easy to prevent by leaving the Macs with wall and rear mains switches (68030s and older, with what Apple calls 'passive power control', and the CC and other LCs with pseudo-soft or 'active power control') left permanently on.

It is also part of the reason for Apple's use of no rear switch for Macs ever since then, because maintenance of the 5-V TRKL supply for true soft power depends on that continuous connection. It just also happens that the PRAM battery is 'spared' by that continued connection, but only if the connection is maintained.

So easy to do, and 20+ Macs in a room take the edge off the cold, in winter, very well.

de

 

[MacMan]

... 20+ Macs in a room take the edge off the cold, in winter, very well.
de

Last autumn I had 6 old Macs running all afternoon in a room and the temperature of the room got to 35 degrees Celcius (according to a thermometer on the wall), even though it was about 15 degrees outside. I also had my G4 running in that room with a 17" CRT, which both kick out a bit of heat when they've been on for a while.