DSR 920 Battery Question

[chevydiesel]

About 8 years ago I replaced the battery in my DSR 920, I soldered in a Radio Shack AA battery holder and installed a new battery. I want to change the battery again but before I do I want to make sure I understand the procedure. As long as the unit remains plugged into household AC its safe to remove the old battery and install a replacement battery without erasing the memory, is that correct?

[rainman]

About 8 years ago I replaced the battery in my DSR 920, I soldered in a Radio Shack AA battery holder and installed a new battery. I want to change the battery again but before I do I want to make sure I understand the procedure. As long as the unit remains plugged into household AC its safe to remove the old battery and install a replacement battery without erasing the memory, is that correct?

this site should help on battery replacement.DSR-920 Battery Replacement Instructions

[chevydiesel]

That info is very helpful thanks for the link however, they don't mention leaving the unit plugged into house current while changing the battery.

I wish I soldered in two AA battery holders when I originally did the job, that would have made battery replacement much easier.

There must be someone out there who knows if the battery can be disconnected for 3 seconds as long as the unit remains plugged into AC house current.

I appreciate any and all help.

[rainman]

check over at satforums in their 4dtv section a lot of good guys with a lot of knowledge.

[pmb1010]

There must be someone out there who knows if the battery can be disconnected for 3 seconds as long as the unit remains plugged into AC house current.

I appreciate any and all help.

I would NOT trust that "3 second" statement.

What I would do:
1) leave your existing battery in there.
2) carefully strip the wires going to existing battery with a razor blade.
3) solder on NEW empty battery holder wires to existing wires.
4) put in new battery.
5) remove old battery.

That way you keep voltage via battery all the time.

Keeping it plugged in to 120v might be an option. Be careful. You can die working on live equipment. I also think you need to unplug something internally to get to the battery - but I might be wrong on that. It's been a while since I had my 920 apart.

[chevydiesel]

I would NOT trust that "3 second" statement.

What I would do:
1) leave your existing battery in there.
2) carefully strip the wires going to existing battery with a razor blade.
3) solder on NEW empty battery holder wires to existing wires.
4) put in new battery.
5) remove old battery.

That way you keep voltage via battery all the time.

If I can't get a definite answer from anyone your remedy looks like the best option...Thanks

[chevydiesel]

Come on people, somebody out there knows the answer to this question. You tech guys must know if the power cord remains connected to house current the battery can be temporarily disconnected without erasing the id.

[StevenS]

When in doubt, check the manual. I can only say that typically in modern day equipment you can change the batteries within a short time frame but something that old it is unclear.

[1captain]

About 8 years ago I replaced the battery in my DSR 920, I soldered in a Radio Shack AA battery holder and installed a new battery. I want to change the battery again but before I do I want to make sure I understand the procedure. As long as the unit remains plugged into household AC its safe to remove the old battery and install a replacement battery without erasing the memory, is that correct?

I have changed several of these battery's, in receivers, vcII modules, as well as being a bench tech for years, an this does not make sense to me here.

a 4dtv receiver needs 3.6 volt for memory back up, a single aa-battery is 1.5 volt an sure death to that receivers memory, now 2 in series will give you 3.0 volts (maybe 3.2 with fresh hot battery's) but on the edge of memory death. an from what I have learned, any voltage drop below 2.9 volts in the DSR receiver will resort to memory loss. an now you have a battery holder that can poor connection to its battery's an also open the door for memory loss, to me this way would be a poor choice, solder them in is the best way.

now the way to do this saftly, is solder another battery in on the leads from you're battery holder, now change you're battery, then remove the solder in battery. then put receiver back together an power up, you will be good as long as you don't short anthing out. I would solder a battery in, an cut that aa holder out, but that is me.

an by no means any one that doesn't know what they are doing, should "NEVER" go into a power up receiver it is asking for trouble, either to them or the receiver. techs are trained an use a isolation transformer, an yes we do get bites an hits some times, all part of the job.

[chevydiesel]

I couldn't wait any longer, last night I soldered in a second AA battery holder and installed a new AA 3.6 volt Lithium battery and removed the old battery. Job done and its working fine. Next time the battery needs changing all I need to do is pop in a new battery and pop out the old one. I should have installed two battery holders in the first place.