To make a long story short, My 920 was purchased in 1997 when I replaced an old chapparal receiver. I recently upgraded to the 922, since I was becoming concerned that the battery would soon die. I measured the Voltage and it was 3.7V after 8 yrs! NOT BAD....but with Lithium, here today and gone ....you never know.
Well, I took the 920 apart and decided to make the battery swap while it was plugged into AC power (instead of the parallel battery approach).
Keeping myself well insulated and wearing thin gloves and safety goggles, I removed the old battery and soldered in a new one. (I do not advocate what I did because the batteries can blow causing injury). Having been around electronics most of my life, I figured that the battery area was low voltage anyway. There were even extra pads on the board if you wanted to try the parallel approach...nice touch by General Instrments (Now Motorola)
I left it unplugged for about an hour (while I cleaned up the 8 yr accumulation of dust with compressed air)and tried it out...Voila, the Unit ID was intact and it still worked!!! Now I have a spare 4dtv or I may Ebay it....Feels pretty good to have saved the 920 since it still performs well. may try the parallel approach on my old VCII + when its replacement arrives. That unit has the yellow Panasonic 3.0 Volt battery and it measures 3.1V today! (made in 1992!...13 yrs..wow!). Sure made my day!
Well, I took the 920 apart and decided to make the battery swap while it was plugged into AC power (instead of the parallel battery approach).
Keeping myself well insulated and wearing thin gloves and safety goggles, I removed the old battery and soldered in a new one. (I do not advocate what I did because the batteries can blow causing injury). Having been around electronics most of my life, I figured that the battery area was low voltage anyway. There were even extra pads on the board if you wanted to try the parallel approach...nice touch by General Instrments (Now Motorola)
I left it unplugged for about an hour (while I cleaned up the 8 yr accumulation of dust with compressed air)and tried it out...Voila, the Unit ID was intact and it still worked!!! Now I have a spare 4dtv or I may Ebay it....Feels pretty good to have saved the 920 since it still performs well. may try the parallel approach on my old VCII + when its replacement arrives. That unit has the yellow Panasonic 3.0 Volt battery and it measures 3.1V today! (made in 1992!...13 yrs..wow!). Sure made my day!
