SGI: Hardware

R3000 Indigo CR2032 hack

jan-jaap avatar
jan-jaap
Donor
From Wijchen, The Netherlands
Who joined June 17, 2004, 11:35 a.m.
Wrote the following at Oct. 2, 2014, 2:27 p.m...
I had two Indigo R3000 boards run out of battery (the infamous 'can't set TOD clock' bug) in a matter of days.

The original batteries (Tadiran, Sonnenschein) are pretty expensive so I decided a CR2032 hack was appropriate. Here's the result:
DSC_4328.JPG


Chyron Centaur Video option board mounted again. As you can see, clearance is not a problem.
DSC_4331.JPG


Oh, and they work fine again of course. The CR2032 a somewhat lower voltage (3V versus 3.6V) but considering the price of CR2032 cells I don't really care if they last a little shorter :)
To accentuate the special identity of the IRIS 4D/70, Silicon Graphics' designers selected a new color palette. The machine's coating blends dark grey, raspberry and beige colors into a pleasing harmony. ( IRIS 4D/70 Superworkstation Technical Report )
alicekruchf11
Who joined Oct. 3, 2014, 12:56 a.m.
Wrote the following at Oct. 4, 2014, 3:05 a.m...
jan-jaap wrote: I had two Indigo R3000 boards run out of battery (the infamous 'can't set TOD clock' bug) in a matter of days.

The original batteries (Tadiran, Sonnenschein) are pretty expensive so I decided a CR2032 hack was appropriate. Here's the result:
DSC_4328.JPG


Chyron Centaur Video option board mounted again. As you can see, clearance is not a problem.
DSC_4331.JPG


Oh, and they work fine again of course. The CR2032 a somewhat lower voltage (3V versus 3.6V) but considering the price of CR2032 cells I don't really care if they last a little shorter :)


How long do you think the battery will last? Nice job though. By the way, you have some really high quality photos.
twix
From Delft, the Netherlands
Who joined May 17, 2005, 12:52 p.m.
Wrote the following at Oct. 4, 2014, 11:41 a.m...
Nice. My soldering skills are totally inadequate, so I went out and bought the Tadiran (ouch!) for my Indigo.
BTW, you don't happen to have a spare keyboard for the Indigo?
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thegoldbug avatar
thegoldbug
From AZ, hot like Crematoria
Who joined July 12, 2003, 8:36 p.m.
Wrote the following at Oct. 5, 2014, 6:47 a.m...
How are you attaching the battery holder to that IC?
thegoldbug
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jan-jaap avatar
jan-jaap
Donor
From Wijchen, The Netherlands
Who joined June 17, 2004, 11:35 a.m.
Wrote the following at Oct. 5, 2014, 12:40 p.m...
thegoldbug wrote: How are you attaching the battery holder to that IC?

Two component glue. It's an SMD style battery holder so all it takes is a surface without circuit traces or via's. There are several via's in the PCB area around the original battery location so I opted for the nearest IC large enough to glue it to.

twix wrote: Nice. My soldering skills are totally inadequate, so I went out and bought the Tadiran (ouch!) for my Indigo.
BTW, you don't happen to have a spare keyboard for the Indigo?

Last time I looked (and that was several years ago), cheapest 'genuine' was the Sonnenschein which cost me ~ 14EUR I think + shipping from Germany. Now I don't have to wait two weeks for a battery to arrive, I can simply got to the 'Action' discounter during lunch break and buy five CR2032 for one EUR, or close :mrgreen:

It's possible I have a keyboard, I'll have to look.
To accentuate the special identity of the IRIS 4D/70, Silicon Graphics' designers selected a new color palette. The machine's coating blends dark grey, raspberry and beige colors into a pleasing harmony. ( IRIS 4D/70 Superworkstation Technical Report )
Pontus
From Uppsala, Sweden
Who joined May 8, 2008, 12:12 p.m.
Wrote the following at Dec. 9, 2015, 3:51 a.m...
I brought out my Indigo yesterday which I previously swapped the battery on. Aaand the "new" battery was dead. I had of course used the more expensive "proper" part for the job... quite a bit of wasted cash since I haven't used the machine much. Today I'm buying a CR2032 holder and battery :)

Luckily I didn't solder the new battery in place.

Thanks jan-jaap for info and detailed photos.
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