Varta Batteries

[Unicorn]

Hi Folks,

I am new to this forum but been using Amigas since the beginning.

I was ratting around in my storage trying to find my A4000, first off I found 4 A2000's all with leaking batteries.

Then I found the A3000T but I am unable to get the cover off.

I finally found the A4000 which is a desktop board in a PC tower with a Micronik Zorro expander.

So after removing Emplant, Tocatta, Vlab Motion and Ariadne cards to get the Micronik board out I find the the battery has not yet leaked.

After searching the forums here it seems the best replacement is a new NiMH Varta or a ML2032-T25 direct conversion.

It seems the only way to get these is from the UK.

Which is the best replacement idea. I think remote installation is the only safe way, though the damage I have seen indicates even vapour is corrosive.

Also what is the best way to clean up the A2000's, I have seen videos of A4000's eaten alive by their batteries. My A4000 seems unscathed and the A2000's only seem to have light damage considering their age.

Thanks for any help.

[A4000Bear]

Most people these days fit a CR2032 non rechargeable battery with a series diode to prevent charging. These are far less likely to leak than the old NiCd batteries.

Some information here, showing how it is done in an A2000. http://members.iinet.net.au/~davem2/overclock/batt.html

[Vypr]

First, clip the batteries off and scrub the area with white vinegar to neutralize any remian alkali.
Check the pins on any nearby chips for sign of corrosion. On the A2000, pay particular note to the 68000 chip as it is usually the first component to be damaged. It may be advised to replaced the socket if the damage is bad.
Get a multimeter and check continuity from the pins on the 68000, especially the ones closest to the battery, it is common for the traces underneath the chip to be destroyed by the leak. Normally I would recommend looking up http://amigapcb.org but they don't have any listings for the A2000 so you may have to get a hold of the schematics and check where the traces lead from there.
For heavy corrosion,get a fibre glass pen to clean the corroded areas. I found that on mine, even thought the corrosion was light, it was doing funky things to the mouse port where after a few minutes the right mouse button would stop working. Cleaning the corrosion off fixed that.

[Hewitson]

I wouldn't even bother replacing the battery. If having correct time & date is really important to you, you could consider ntp.

[zipper]

That's what I did when my A500T's Siren Clock module stopped working. Facts afair.

[Unicorn]

Thanks Vypr,


I will go about cleaning the A2000's, the most damage seems to be green fur on the keyboard ports. One machine has a 2630 installed maybe that will work if the 68000 is not working.

As for not replacing the battery NTP is not hard to do on the networked machines, but the others it could get annoying. I do have a lot of network cards lurking around that I might have to test out or repair. I probably still have 10-base2 coax and a 10mbit hub.

I swear I also have a 2500UX somewhere.

[grond]

Originally Posted by Unicorn

Then I found the A3000T but I am unable to get the cover off.

The A3000T is some of the rarest Amiga gear there is. Be sure to keep it in good condition.

[Jope]

Originally Posted by Unicorn

Then I found the A3000T but I am unable to get the cover off.

Take the front panel off, there are more screws for the side panels behind that.

[Unicorn]

Originally Posted by Jope

Take the front panel off, there are more screws for the side panels behind that.

OK thanks for that. The front panel has a broken clip so I was being very careful with it.

I have a warp engine 040/40 I was thinking of installing in the 3000T I never got around to finding the requirements to make it work.

[Unicorn]

Good news and bad news on A3000T.

No screws in the cover just requires crow bar to remove.

PSU is AT or ATX oldy with 240V wire run to front switch.

The barrel key fell apart into the case when touched.

The PSU is not connected to MB.

A3000T seems to have 24 pin MB Power.

Battery has already been removed.

CPU expansion slot has white fur on and around the connectors and plastic.

Plus a hint of discolouration around 030.

Half populated with static column Zipps. I think I have lots more around.

Noy many screws in the machine.

[Unicorn]

Found these as a simple fix.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Amiga-Li...AAAOSw1iNa2xPf

[Unicorn]

This is like mining for gold.

I found 2 more A2000 motherboards. Once again with batteries and damage. These 2 have more damage than the full machines.

I found 2 very unhealthy A500's another A500 with mods and a A1200HD/40 sticker on it.

I found an A1200HD/40 that is in bits but seems complete though floppy drive looks dead.

I found a paravision SX1.

a single and double external floppy drive

2x 2065 network cards
1 hard drive card with 8mb
2 Qnet cards

and some weird PC on an ISA card

I found 2 Full Motion video cards for CD32.

I think I have 2 CD32's somewhere, well I am sure one is in the lounge room. The other belongs to my sister.

I also saw my CDTV keyboard that is wired for the A4000 Tower.

[Unicorn]

Still looking for support on my A2000's with Varta battery damage.


If any one has attempted this let me know what you tried.



The following threads contain my problems.


http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=101400

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=101414

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=101418

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=101415

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=101416




This last thread is more of a "What can I do with this machine" question. It is a 4.0 german machine, which I suspect is limited in what can be installed in it.

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=101413

Any way I am about to throw caution to the wind and experiment with ideas from youtube instead of this forum.


Wish me luck.