Retro-Kit Battery Change Schedule

Below is a list of the all the computers in the Retro-Kit collection that have batteries fitted describing the type of battery and the dates when they should be changed. It's intended as a centralised memo for the collection to track the battery changes.

Acorn computers

Early Acorn computers used a battery backed CMOS to store default configuration settings and power a real time clock to maintain the time. In the early machines, the batteries were typically non-rechargeable 'AA' types although the Acorn Master could support rechargeable batteries too. With the advent of the BBC A3000, Acorn began fitting rechargeable batteries to the motherboards of their computers which if left unchecked for long periods of time could have devastating effects on the machines.

Machine Battery Type Rechargeable Next change due Change every
Acorn Master 128 1x 3.6v Lithium No April 2014 3 years
Acorn Archimedes A310 2x 1.5v AA alkaline Duracell No October 2014 1 year
Acorn Archimedes A410/1 2x 1.5v AA alkaline Duracell No October 2014 1 year
Acorn Archimedes A410/1 (8MB)  2x 1.5v AA alkaline Duracell No Apr 2019 1 year
Acorn Archimedes A440/1 2x 1.5v AA alkaline Duracell No May 2015

1 year

Acorn A3000 1x 3.6v 150mAh Varta NiMH Yes May 2014

3 years

Acorn A3010 1x 3.6v 150mAh Varta NiMH Yes May 2016

3 years

Acorn A5000 1x 3.6v 150mAh Varta NiMH Yes March 2015 3 years
Acorn RISC PC 600 1X 3v CR2032 No Mar 2019 3 years

Commodore computers

Many of the Commodore Amiga computers shipped without a real time clock circuit and don't have batteries fitted on board. All of the "big box" Amiga's do have batteries on the motherboards and they must be changed regularly to prevent significant damage to them.

The Amiga A1200 in the Retro-Kit collection does not have a real time clock circuit as standard. Instead it is provided on the Blizzard 1230 Mk IV 68030 accelerator board.

Machine Battery Type Rechargeable Next change due Change every
Amiga 1200 (Blizzard 1230 Mk IV) 1x Panasonic VL2020 Yes May 2014 3 years

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Commodore Kit