Hints & Tips needed to replace apollo battery

[Felix]

Hi, I need some help/adivce about replacing the battery on an apollo 040 acllerator board, is it safer just to remove it and not replace it. If it is possible to replace it is it replaced with a rechargeable battery if so what type?

any help would be great!

Richard

[prowler]

Hi Felix,

I'm sure I can help you with this, but I don't have an Apollo 040 accelerator card myself. Could you possibly post pictures of the battery in question to give me an idea, please?

Thanks,

prowler

[StevenJGore]

I replaced the battery on my Apollo with a Panasonic VL1220-1HFE rechargeable coin battery. You can get them from Farnell in the Uk for about £4 each.

[Felix]

Hi Steven, is the battery you mention a pin for pin replacement or did you fit a coin cell holder

Felix

[Felix]

Hi Prowler, Ive tried to take some pictures but they are very blury, and I don't know how to upload them to this site, If its any help its a small white round battery,

Felix

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Felix

Hi Prowler, Ive tried to take some pictures but they are very blury, and I don't know how to upload them to this site, If its any help its a small white round battery,

Felix

Hi Felix,

That's not much help, I'm afraid

But, hey, don't worry; I'll Google for it instead.

[prowler]

@Felix:

Well, Googling only brought up pictures equally as blurred as those you described (they only show a small, white or silver battery).

However, I have found some information on the Panasonic VL1220-1HFE rechargeable coin battery recommended by StevenJGore above.

It is a 3V, 7mAh rechargeable lithium battery with tagged terminals.
External height:2mm; External diameter:12.5mm.

Here is a datasheet:
http://sigma.octopart.com/560116/dat...L1220-1HFE.pdf

I would suggest you confirm these details with Steven, and then get one as a replacement for your old battery.

Good luck,

prowler

[rkauer]

The Apollo battery is used just for time keeping.

But if it had leaked, then you need to unsolder the SMD TTL chip near it and re-do the two underneath traces who probably get corroded away.

Any rechargeable battery with 3V and at least 7mA can be used (or the good, old CR2032 hack). Prefer Lithium-ion batteries instead those ready-to-leak NiCd ones.

[Felix]

@rkauer can you please point me in the direction of the good old CR2032 hack I have heard of it but have never looked it up! Cheers Felix

p.s. cheers for your help and for prolwer's help

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Felix

@rkauer can you please point me in the direction of the good old CR2032 hack I have heard of it but have never looked it up! Cheers Felix

p.s. cheers for your help and for prolwer's help

Had too much to drink, have we?

[Felix]

yeah sorry prowler must remember to check my spelling

[Felix]

Hi, I have just removed the battery I had just caught it in time it had just started leaking on the underside of the battery, and a couple of pins on the really small chip by the battery have turned green what is the best way to clean this off.

Cheers Richard

[prowler]

Water will get it off. Make a stiff brush by cutting the bristles of a ½-inch paint brush short, pour some water in an egg cup and brush it around the area with the green deposit. Use enough water to clean the area thoroughly, tilting the board so it drains to the corner where the battery goes. Then shake off and dry thoroughly with a hair dryer on low heat. Should then be okay.

[Felix]

Thanks again prowler

[rkauer]

http://aminet.net/package/docs/hard/LithBatt

Since you say the battery already leaked, you must unsolder the 74F74D chip (surface mounted) and check the pair of traces under it. The Apollo might stop working, or even ruin the CPU by lacking crystal clock. Be warned!

Also to stop corrosion, use vinegar or lemon juice brushed on the affected areas. The battery leakage is a base, so any soft acid will neutralize it. Wash the board with pure water after the procedure.

[StevenJGore]

Hi Steven, is the battery you mention a pin for pin replacement or did you fit a coin cell holder

It comes with tags ready for soldering. You just have to bend the tags to fit the hole spacing on the Apollo and then solder it into place.

I've done this on my Apollo 1240 and 1260, both work perfectly:





Steve.

[prowler]

Thanks for the detail in those pictures, Steve. There's nothing like this posted anywhere else.

[StompinSteve]

Hello all,

Sorry to tear open such an old thread. The Apollo 1240 I purchased recently had a missing battery so I bought a Panasonic VL1220 HFN 3V 7mAh, the same as StevenJGore uses.

I measured the voltage of the battery when I took it out of it's packaging: 2.988 V
I then soldered it in, in the exact same way as StevenJGore has (see his photo above). The + and - are written on the board, the orientation of the battery is therefore clear.

Before I inserted the card back into the trapdoor slot, I measured the voltage again against the two solder-points on the other side of the board (where I soldered). Still 2.988 V.
I then had the Amiga on for a couple of hours to give the battery time to charge.

However, when I set the date and do "setclock save" the time is maintained during soft reboots but is always reset to 2007 when I power-cycle. It behaves as there is no working battery on the Apollo...

Any ideas what could be wrong?
The previous owner desoldered the battery and cleaned the board up. The Apollo runs perfectly stable. I have no other issues outside this battery not doing it's job.