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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Fade on December 19, 2003, 08:38:24 PM
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With a leaking battery in my A4000 DT, I am thinking of removing it permanently and using some kind of software to "Auto-magicly" get the time & date off the net.
Anybody got a setup like this?
What software do you use?
Any drawbacks?
I have 3 Amigas networked that have old batterys so it will be an ongoing problem.
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FACTS is a nice ntp client. availible on the aminet.
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You can use FACTS, or Miami supports an automatic time set function if you can find a remote server with a Daytime service (tcp port 13).
There are drawbacks to either method. First, the clock will obviously be wrong before you go online and fix it. That's not a problem to most but you must obviously run chron/timer stuff after this, if you have any. Second, some apps theoretically don't like having the time set forward by years. I've never heard of anyone having any real problems, though.
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Or you could install a new battery. Use Ni-Mh kind as those don't leak when they die (Ni-Cd do).
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Remove the battery from the motherboard and install some jumper type pins in its place. Solder or make a "plug in" type of connection for wires. Run the wires to the new battery and mount it somewhere off of the motherboard. That's what I did.
The clock in my A4000T (converted from a desktop machine) loses 9 seconds every 15 minutes. So, I also use FACTS to keep it on track. No idea why it does that losing time thing.
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The clock in my A4000T has a similar problem, except it GAINS about 9 seconds every 15 minutes :-P
In this case I believe it's my PicassoIV changing the VBlank timing signal frequency which the internal clock (not the RTC) is timed from. The RTC has it's own seperate crystal for this.
Since it's online 24/7, I use FACTS to automatically correct the time every 30 minutes.
As for replacing the battery in your computer, I'm in the middle of writing a do-it-yourself guide to this. My work so far is online at:
http://amiga.serveftp.net
Look in the battery replacement section.
The fault finding section is scheduled to be written next, should get onto that in the next few days.
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Thanks guys for the info. At this point I'm going the software route, as I have one problem machine that I can't fix.
This despite having the battery replaced, one trip to the shop, and three OS upgrades.
The save function in set Time is ghosted thereby I have to set the time at each use.
Funny what you can get used to!
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The ghosted "save" in the set time preference means that the system cannot see the RTC.
This is covered in the repair manual I'm writing, which will tell you how to find and fix the problem.