Finding the cmos battery

Cursitor Doom · 2021-01-06T18:00:32+00:00

Hi all, I have a Roberts Stream 105 internet radio which I bought about 9 years ago. It's been fine up until maybe 18 months ago when it could no longer remember my preferred settings. I'm guessing it has a little backup cell in there somewhere that's gone way past its sell-by date. I've opened up the case and it must be very well hidden indeed. I asked Roberts for info on where it is but they obfuscated and told me to return it to them and they'd fix it for 40 quid! There are no manuals for this model on line (not service manuals anyway) and I *do* like to fix things for myself as a matter of course anyway. The inside consists of only 3 boards apart from the display: an audio board (as it describes itself) the wireless card (I deduce from the fact that although it's fully screened it's got a MAC address label on it) and controller board interfacing to the user controls. The only place this battery could be hiding is within a screened enclosure on the "audio board". Now, I should have done this sooner obviously, but time shortages and whatnot, I've probed the underside of the screened area and found a persistent 0.3V above ground on some of the joints. Does that sound like the sort of voltage a backup cell would fall back to after 9 years? This 0.3V is with all external power removed and after shorting out any capacitances.

Jan 06, 2021 62 Replies

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Cursitor Doom 5 years ago

Exactly. They sold out to get rich (or should I say *even* richer).

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Bertrand Sindri 5 years ago

In some instances, it was bankruptcy liquidations that resulted in a rent-seeker buying the "brand name" from the bankrupcy proceedings (to gain the "brand recognition" for their junk until enough people learn the "new X" brand is just junk).

So the original company owners never got rich, and a rent-seeker is just taking advantage of the "brand recognition" that name had built up over the years to make a quick buck for as long as they can squeeze blood from the corpse.

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Cursitor Doom 5 years ago

That certainly has the ring of truth about it; many thanks.

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