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You boring f###er

DRD

DRD

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I know this is an old story. But there is no harm repeating it.

USE REMOTE BATTERY HOLDERS or otherwise protect your games

The recent battery discussion regarding alkaline batteries leaking, which were best etc prompted me to check my herd

This was shadow. I put a remote battery holder in a couple of years ago. A cheap battery holder from ebay. Cheap two pin connector. 2 small self tapping screws. This £2 investment has just saved me a serious headache ...

IMG_20170629_1629399.jpg


IMG_20170629_1634235.jpg
Replaced with these ...

IMG_20170629_1634310.jpg

And I built another battery holder which took less than 5 mins ...

IMG_20170629_1644038.jpg
 
Recently swapped out Congo's WPC95 CPU for another with NVRAM fitted. Took me ages to get around to it, but needed to be done.

Just say 'no' to AA batteries kids.
 
Where is cost effective for these nvram things pls ?

Do they cover the different generations of wpc games 89, security, 94 etc. System 11 ?
 
Looked into getting NVRAM for my wpc games but was put off as you have to remove a chip and solder in a socket.
 
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I got my NVRAM from @lukewells. Think it was around £20-ish which considering it should never need replacing was fine by me.

Of course if you've got more machines then it could start to get a little more expensive; but it's hardly Color DMD prices.
 
I dunno.

But I do know that standby batteries like this that give a low current 24x7 are particularly prone to leaking

I own countless things that have batteries in. But I have only really had a battery leakage problem with two of them ..

  • My 90s Bose Wave Radio. This has three AA batteries which act to maintain the clock and saved stations in the event of a power cut
  • Pinball machines
I think that the tiny current draw is the source of the problem
 
DRD said:
I dunno.

But I do know that standby batteries like this that give a low current 24x7 are particularly prone to leaking

I own countless things that have batteries in. But I have only really had a battery leakage problem with two of them ..

  • My 90s Bose Wave Radio. This has three AA batteries which act to maintain the clock and saved stations in the event of a power cut
  • Pinball machines
I think that the tiny current draw is the source of the problem
Click to expand...
Had AAs leak in my handheld Tomy Tron game. I foolishly left them in there for years. Sad Story [emoji47] Cleaned up the mess and it all still works. Happy ending [emoji38]
 
Why stick with alkalines at all, even if using a remote battery box, if they're so flaky?

Probably a DMD-era thing, but on my Bally solid-state pins I replace the nasty NiCd rechargeable battery on the MPU (responsible for all those acid damamged boards) with a "Supercapacitor". These never leak as they're not batteries but super high capacity capacitors. They're ideal for maintaining settings/scores in memory and take just a few moments when the machine is turned on to gather enough charge to last months (my GOLD BALL settings lasted at least 9 months).
 
Supercaps are the absolutely the way for me - once installed you'll never have to even consider them ever again.

For the extra cost and complexity of NVRAM, I think supercaps win out, as a game that doesn't get played at least once in a long enough period of time whereby it discharges, is not really a game that needs the scores or settings saved, in my humble opinion.
 
The problem with remote battery holders is the vapours from leaked batteries will still ruin boards if left unattended for too long. Just because the fluid isn't in direct contact with the boards doesn't mean there still won't be any damage.

Best option is Lithium or NVRAM. Both options will protect the boards and also keep them looking pretty much perfectly original (if you like that sort of thing).
 
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