Newbie-Can't set tod clock

[bitt7462]

Connected the Indigo monitor, keyboard and mouse and powered.
Message:
Initiliazing tod clock
settings secs=0 min=0 hour=0 day=1 month=1 year=0
Can't set tod clock

On a Sun system, this would indicate a dead boot prom battery. What is the
solution with SGI? Any pointers would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Dave

[JCS]

Post by bitt7462
Connected the Indigo monitor, keyboard and mouse and powered.
Initiliazing tod clock
settings secs=0 min=0 hour=0 day=1 month=1 year=0
Can't set tod clock
On a Sun system, this would indicate a dead boot prom battery. What is the
solution with SGI? Any pointers would be appreciated!

There's a removable battery on the motherboard that powers the clock.
You'll need to replace it.

JCS

[Brent Casavant]

Post by bitt7462
Connected the Indigo monitor, keyboard and mouse and powered.
Initiliazing tod clock
settings secs=0 min=0 hour=0 day=1 month=1 year=0
Can't set tod clock
On a Sun system, this would indicate a dead boot prom battery. What is the
solution with SGI? Any pointers would be appreciated!

It's a dead battery on an Indigo as well.

If you look under the CPU module on the processor board you'll see a
button-type battery. Unfortunately this battery is soldered into
place, which makes it a bear to replace.

On my home machine I attempted to fix this by wiring in an identical
voltage battery across the dead one. This worked for a while, but
apparently the dead battery caused the new one to drain, and just a
few short weeks later I was back in the same situation.

I went to Radio Shack and special ordered the correct replacement
battery, intending to do the job correctly. Unfortunately the very
day I received the battery in the mail, I managed to zap the processor
board with static electricity and destroy it. I ended up ordering a
processor board from one of the vendors you see posting from time to
time in c.s.s.marketplace, and that board fortunately had a good
battery (at least last time I powered on the machine).

I suggest reading:

http://sgistuff.g-lenerz.de/documents/indigo-battery-faq.txt

Hope that helps,
Brent Casavant

[JCS]

Post by Brent Casavant

Post by bitt7462
Connected the Indigo monitor, keyboard and mouse and powered.
Initiliazing tod clock
settings secs=0 min=0 hour=0 day=1 month=1 year=0
Can't set tod clock
On a Sun system, this would indicate a dead boot prom battery. What is the
solution with SGI? Any pointers would be appreciated!

It's a dead battery on an Indigo as well.
If you look under the CPU module on the processor board you'll see a
button-type battery. Unfortunately this battery is soldered into
place, which makes it a bear to replace.

It's trivial on the R4k - it's in a socket. At least mine was.

JCS

[thegoldbug]

Post by JCS

Post by Brent Casavant

Post by bitt7462
Connected the Indigo monitor, keyboard and mouse and powered.
Initiliazing tod clock
settings secs=0 min=0 hour=0 day=1 month=1 year=0
Can't set tod clock
On a Sun system, this would indicate a dead boot prom battery. What is the
solution with SGI? Any pointers would be appreciated!

It's a dead battery on an Indigo as well.
If you look under the CPU module on the processor board you'll see a
button-type battery. Unfortunately this battery is soldered into
place, which makes it a bear to replace.

It's trivial on the R4k - it's in a socket. At least mine was.
JCS

Some are socketed and some are soldered. Make sure you have a good
soldering iron as you need to heat both pins in order to pop it out. I've
done it with an el cheap iron but it's a lot more fiddling trying to get
them both warm.

thegoldbug

[Thomas Jahns]

Post by thegoldbug
Some are socketed and some are soldered. Make sure you have a good
soldering iron as you need to heat both pins in order to pop it out. I've
done it with an el cheap iron but it's a lot more fiddling trying to get
them both warm.

There are pumps for desoldering. With them one can do the pins one by
one.

Thomas Jahns

[thegoldbug]

Post by Thomas Jahns

Post by thegoldbug
Some are socketed and some are soldered. Make sure you have a good
soldering iron as you need to heat both pins in order to pop it out.

I've

Post by Thomas Jahns

Post by thegoldbug
done it with an el cheap iron but it's a lot more fiddling trying to get
them both warm.

There are pumps for desoldering. With them one can do the pins one by
one.
Thomas Jahns
--
"Computers are good at following instructions,
but not at reading your mind."
D. E. Knuth, The TeXbook, Addison-Wesley 1984, 1986, 1996, p. 9

I've seen those pumps for sale but don't really get how they work without
clogging all the time. I learned to operate a cutting torch and an arc
welder as a kid so my self taught soldering skills are 'rough' compaired to
most peoples. Okay bloody crude if you want to know the truth. However,
I've learned that having the correct tools for the job
helps a lot.

thegoldbug

[Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler]

In article <WbEvd.8718$***@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com>,
"thegoldbug" <***@prodigy.net> wrote:

: I've seen those pumps for sale but don't really get how they work without
: clogging all the time. I learned to operate a cutting torch and an arc
: welder as a kid so my self taught soldering skills are 'rough' compaired to
: most peoples. Okay bloody crude if you want to know the truth. However,
: I've learned that having the correct tools for the job
: helps a lot.

Solder doesn't stick to things well enough to clog the pump. The tip is usually
made out of teflon or some sort of slippery plastic that's reasonably heat
resistant, and once the solder reaches the inside of the piston bore it's far
too cold to adhere to anything.

When the pump is reset, a small rod is pushed out through the tip to dislodge
any solder that might have hardened there.


Cheers - Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler :)

[Brent Casavant]

Post by Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler
Solder doesn't stick to things well enough to clog the pump. The tip is usually
made out of teflon or some sort of slippery plastic that's reasonably heat
resistant, and once the solder reaches the inside of the piston bore it's far
too cold to adhere to anything.
When the pump is reset, a small rod is pushed out through the tip to dislodge
any solder that might have hardened there.

So, the EE geek in me comes out. Anyone know of a good desoldering
station available at a reasonable price? I used just such a station
during a summer job at a hospital, and have coveted one ever since.

The bulb devices and solder-sucker pens, well, suck. And solder
wicks often fail me. Heck, I've had the most luck blowing solder
away through a modified ballpoint pen body -- but I'm afraid the
cops will think it's a crack-pipe. :)

Thanks,
Brent

[SkyWriter]

Post by Brent Casavant

Post by Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler
Solder doesn't stick to things well enough to clog the pump. The tip is usually
made out of teflon or some sort of slippery plastic that's reasonably heat
resistant, and once the solder reaches the inside of the piston bore it's far
too cold to adhere to anything.
When the pump is reset, a small rod is pushed out through the tip to dislodge
any solder that might have hardened there.

So, the EE geek in me comes out. Anyone know of a good desoldering
station available at a reasonable price? I used just such a station
during a summer job at a hospital, and have coveted one ever since.

they are a blessing for a short time, then you realize there is a lot of up keep; if
you use one on a regular basis. they also get clogged, etc... however, i'll look at
what we use on the floor, and recommend a brand (i'm sure it's darn expensive).

Post by Brent Casavant
The bulb devices and solder-sucker pens, well, suck. And solder
wicks often fail me. Heck, I've had the most luck blowing solder
away through a modified ballpoint pen body -- but I'm afraid the
cops will think it's a crack-pipe. :)
Thanks,
Brent
--
Brent Casavant If you had nothing to fear,
Silicon Graphics, Inc. -- Queen Dama, Source Wars

[Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler]

In article <***@kzerza.americas.sgi.com>,
Brent Casavant <***@sgi.com> wrote:

: So, the EE geek in me comes out. Anyone know of a good desoldering
: station available at a reasonable price? I used just such a station
: during a summer job at a hospital, and have coveted one ever since.
:
: The bulb devices and solder-sucker pens, well, suck. And solder
: wicks often fail me. Heck, I've had the most luck blowing solder
: away through a modified ballpoint pen body -- but I'm afraid the
: cops will think it's a crack-pipe. :)

I've had good luck with this style solder-sucker:

Loading Image...

Though obviously mine isn't hot pink. ;)

A friend of mine has a much more powerful version of it. It's about a foot long
and will put a hole in the PCB if you don't control the recoil well, and he much
prefers it to the desoldering stations.

Of course, the best plan is to just not need to desolder in the first place. ;)


Cheers - Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler :)

[Brent Casavant]

Post by Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler
http://www.apogeekits.com/images/sucker_2h.jpg
Though obviously mine isn't hot pink. ;)

I've only ever seen them in blue. Hmm, maybe if I'm ever blessed
with children I'll hand these out rather than cigars! ;)

Anyway, those are the very type of one that I have the most problem
with. The recoil is so strong that I can't hold it in place during
the sucking operation.

Plus, I've usually got a soldering iron in one hand, the board being
desoldered in the other, and holding some wire or other out of the
way with my teeth (or more likely swearing up a blue streak ;). Short
of growing prehensile toes, it's difficult to hold the solder-sucker
in place. A desoldering station combines the heating and sucking
into one element, which is a godsend.

Anyway, I'll find a good used station someday.

Brent

[SkyWriter]

Post by Brent Casavant

Post by Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler
http://www.apogeekits.com/images/sucker_2h.jpg
Though obviously mine isn't hot pink. ;)

I've only ever seen them in blue. Hmm, maybe if I'm ever blessed
with children I'll hand these out rather than cigars! ;)
Anyway, those are the very type of one that I have the most problem
with. The recoil is so strong that I can't hold it in place during
the sucking operation.

those usually clog quick, lose vacuum, and rip the pads off. station is
the way to go, at least in production environment.

Post by Brent Casavant
Plus, I've usually got a soldering iron in one hand, the board being
desoldered in the other, and holding some wire or other out of the
way with my teeth (or more likely swearing up a blue streak ;). Short
of growing prehensile toes, it's difficult to hold the solder-sucker
in place. A desoldering station combines the heating and sucking
into one element, which is a godsend.
Anyway, I'll find a good used station someday.
Brent
--
Brent Casavant If you had nothing to fear,
Silicon Graphics, Inc. -- Queen Dama, Source Wars

[SkyWriter]

Post by Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler
: So, the EE geek in me comes out. Anyone know of a good desoldering
: station available at a reasonable price? I used just such a station
: during a summer job at a hospital, and have coveted one ever since.
: The bulb devices and solder-sucker pens, well, suck. And solder
: wicks often fail me. Heck, I've had the most luck blowing solder
: away through a modified ballpoint pen body -- but I'm afraid the
: cops will think it's a crack-pipe. :)
http://www.apogeekits.com/images/sucker_2h.jpg
Though obviously mine isn't hot pink. ;)
A friend of mine has a much more powerful version of it. It's about a foot long
and will put a hole in the PCB if you don't control the recoil well, and he much
prefers it to the desoldering stations.
Of course, the best plan is to just not need to desolder in the first place. ;)

come on, tony. I think by now it's obvious you know nobody ever gets it right the
first time.
although it was a good marketing gimick.

Post by Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler
Cheers - Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler :)
--
-- http://nicoya.feline.pp.se/ -- http://www.ubb.ca/ --

[h***@aracnet.com]

Post by Thomas Jahns
There are pumps for desoldering. With them one can do the pins one by
one.

I typically use solder wick for such things (basically a copper wire braid
that soaks the solder up, when you put it between the board and iron).

Zane