> -----Original Message-----
>
> I am a new TRS-80 Model 100 owner and I had some queries that I was
> hoping that I might be able to get some help with.
Welcome! It's a ton of fun. I got my first eBay M100 about a year ago now,
although I didn't get on this mailing list until much later (I wish I had
joined sooner).
> [...]
> white vinegar but underneath the deposits, I see what looks like rust in
> some spots -- not places that contact the battery, but at the base of
> the spring coil contact, where electricity would at least need to flow
> through. I was wondering if there would be a way to replace the battery
> contact wiring without replacing the whole computer base?
I wouldn't worry about surface rust on the battery spring wire if it isn't in a
spot where the battery makes contact. If the corrosion is very bad, the spring
wire could be eaten through sufficiently to weaken it and let it break off, but
if it isn't that compromised it's not a big deal. If there's enough wire left
that it doesn't break off, there's more than enough wire to conduct the meagre
amount of power the M100 draws. :)
> The computer still has its NiCd battery and it looks like it's in good
> condition but I think it would be a good idea to remove it. Would that
> be recommended? And if so, I was wondering what method would be best? I
> was thinking to detach the motherboard from the case and de-solder the
> battery from the underside. Is that reasonable?
There are a couple of options people have been discussing lately. Some people
have been replacing it with a NiMH battery which is an exact fit, and some of
us (myself included) have been replacing it with a supercapacitor. I've heard
arguments for and against both methods so I'm not 100% convinced which way is
the best to go. Yes, you'll need to desolder it from the underside of the
motherboard.
My personal advice would be to either replace it or leave it be, rather than
removing it and leaving the spot empty. Without that battery you'll lose your
RAM contents unless you are religious about plugging in an external power
supply before changing batteries, etc. With a REX you can backup/restore the
RAM easily, or by using tback to a PC through a serial cable, but otherwise
it's annoyingly tedious to have to back up and restore for every power hiccup.
jim
