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Generic PRAM batteries
- Thread starter Quadraman
- Start date
Wow! That's a good price! 
Do you leave all of your systems setup and plugged in? If not, I wouldn't bother leaving a battery in them anyway. I've lost several computers to exploded batteries that destroyed the motherboards. Needless to say, I pull all the batteries from my computers in storage... even the ones where the battery is hard to get to.
Do you leave all of your systems setup and plugged in? If not, I wouldn't bother leaving a battery in them anyway. I've lost several computers to exploded batteries that destroyed the motherboards. Needless to say, I pull all the batteries from my computers in storage... even the ones where the battery is hard to get to.
I've been replacing the 1/2 AA batteries with a two AA or two AAA battery holder held on with either double sided foam tape or hard locking tape for ages, like so:
There are two good things about doing it this way. One is that batteries are much easier to find, and the other is that you have your choice of the kind of batteries. The ones in the above picture have been replaced with lithium AAAs and should be good for ten or more years.
There are two good things about doing it this way. One is that batteries are much easier to find, and the other is that you have your choice of the kind of batteries. The ones in the above picture have been replaced with lithium AAAs and should be good for ten or more years.
I wanted to do something like that but don't know how. Would I have to solder the wires to the existing battery socket? If I could attach the wires without soldering, that would be better. It would help because I use rechargeable AA's so I wouldn't have to buy batteries very often.
Yes, all the Macs still have the batteries on the boards but none of them looks like they've leaked yet. Hopefully once they are changed the machines will be in somewhat active use.
I got them from ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200444749458&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
You can get larger quantites from other sellers but I don't think many of us really needs 50, 100, or 1000 batteries lying around. This 10 pack price seemed reasonable without any of the batteries going to waste.
Yes, all the Macs still have the batteries on the boards but none of them looks like they've leaked yet. Hopefully once they are changed the machines will be in somewhat active use.
I got them from ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200444749458&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
You can get larger quantites from other sellers but I don't think many of us really needs 50, 100, or 1000 batteries lying around. This 10 pack price seemed reasonable without any of the batteries going to waste.
Yes, it'd be more permanent to solder them. Soldering a single wire at a time is pretty easy. It's much easier than soldering components.
You've got the wrong idea about rechargeable batteries. They don't hold a charge long even when there's no draw on them, and the idea of taking them out every couple of months to charge them defeats the whole idea of maintaining the power when the system is off in the first place.
In reality, the shelf life of AA or AAA batteries is approximately equivalent to the amount of time they'd last on a motherboard because the draw is so low as to be almost insignificant.
Sorry, I've seen it too many times in Mac's left in storage. This is from my most recent conquest. It had been left in storage for over 10 years. I've lost two 6100's that had much more damage than this and were in storage for only a couple years. I've seen batteries start leaking in dozens of other Mac's. It's not just a random occurrence - it's a hazard.
Oh! I thought you were talking about AA or AAA batteries leaking when used on motherboards. I've had one AAA battery leak most likely due to the fact that the machine was stored in a place that was above 120 degrees Fahrenheit for a while. But because it leaked in the battery holder, I just swapped out the battery holder and the motherboard was untouched.
Yes, this is part of the reason I use AA and AAA batteries.
Yes, this is part of the reason I use AA and AAA batteries.
For me it really doesn't matter because my machines are mainly display pieces that only get checked to see if they are working every couple years. 76 computers takes a while to go through and I certainly don't have the room to set them all up. Though, I am remodeling my computer room so maybe I can have up to 10 of my vinatge machines setup. Everything else will be on display, and possibly rotated in to the working setup occasionally.
Damn! Seventy six computers?
You and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum, I believe. I have what I thought was a decent amount of machines, but I try to get them to justify their existence by doing useful things (NAT, DNS, email, static web, offsite backup, et cetera). For me, the idea of a machine not coming back up when it's shut down (if it's ever shut down when it's in New York and I'm in California is not a a nice idea to contemplate.
For you, you might consider something like a capacitor and a couple of diodes (to both make sure the capacitor doesn't discharge from the 5 volt rail and to drop the voltage) so that you'd only have to turn on the machine for a few moments, then reboot to have a working machine.
You and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum, I believe. I have what I thought was a decent amount of machines, but I try to get them to justify their existence by doing useful things (NAT, DNS, email, static web, offsite backup, et cetera). For me, the idea of a machine not coming back up when it's shut down (if it's ever shut down when it's in New York and I'm in California is not a a nice idea to contemplate.
For you, you might consider something like a capacitor and a couple of diodes (to both make sure the capacitor doesn't discharge from the 5 volt rail and to drop the voltage) so that you'd only have to turn on the machine for a few moments, then reboot to have a working machine.
76 I believe is accurate. It's easy to lose track. The link to my machine list in the 68kmla wiki is in my sig.
The machines I have setup, 6 for me and 2 for my wife, are all setup for specific reasons. I'd like to at least setup another 5 once my remodel is done. Most of my collection are "rescues" that were going to be thrown out, or ones that I received as payment for computer work I've done. I've only bought (either new or used) maybe 20 of them.
Interesting suggestion about the capacitor and diodes... I'll have to give that some thought.
The machines I have setup, 6 for me and 2 for my wife, are all setup for specific reasons. I'd like to at least setup another 5 once my remodel is done. Most of my collection are "rescues" that were going to be thrown out, or ones that I received as payment for computer work I've done. I've only bought (either new or used) maybe 20 of them.
Interesting suggestion about the capacitor and diodes... I'll have to give that some thought.
Wow... If I were to count, I have less than twenty, most doing something useful. I'm still trying to find a useful place to host two m68k Macs - one is a Quadra 610 for which I need a NuBus adapter so I can have two ethernets so it can do NAT...76 I believe is accurate. It's easy to lose track. The link to my machine list in the 68kmla wiki is in my sig.
The machines I have setup, 6 for me and 2 for my wife, are all setup for specific reasons. I'd like to at least setup another 5 once my remodel is done. Most of my collection are "rescues" that were going to be thrown out, or ones that I received as payment for computer work I've done. I've only bought (either new or used) maybe 20 of them.
Thank you. I like to keep old machines running, although I'm not super-sentimental about keeping them completely original. Many of mine have added oscillators, m68040s with permanently attached heat sinks, QuadDoublers, batteries, et cetera. But seventy six... Damn! That'd be around $450 just for the lithium batteries if you put two in each machine!
Macs and PC's added together I probably have about 50 but most of the PC's are for future parts salvage. There's only a few that I intend to keep intact like my Dell GX 1's. I'm retaining them because I really like the styling. They are very reminiscent of the beige desktop Powermac cases and sturdily built to place large screens on top, though only the PSU tips up for access. They have three RAM slots like the beige G3 desktop with the same official RAM capacity though the Dell uses PC100 RAM instead of PC66, ATi Rage graphics like the G3, and I really like the look of the case. (did I mention that already?) 
