SGC successor brainstorming

[Dave]

I'll keep my eyes open for you.

[tetroid]

I'll keep my eyes open for you.

Thank you.

[Cristian]

Another useful improvement would be a 5+ year battery clock

[Peter]

Another useful improvement would be a 5+ year battery clock

As mentioned at the start of this thread, if a SGC successor was designed by me, it would come with a re-chargeable buffer. That would most likely be a supercap like on the Q68, just larger.
It would probably not hold time for 5 years if the machine is never switched on, but it could simply be recharged by powering on for a while. There would be no battery, no end of life, just the need to use the machine now and then - or to set the time manually if not used for years.

Is that sufficient for you needs?

[tofro]

My experience with rechargeables to keep the RTC alive in retro computers is mixed:

I'd rather have a clock that loses time every now and then than a battery that potentially destroys the PCB by leaking when not used for half a year.

That was probably an obvious note.

Tobias

[Cristian]

a re-chargeable buffer.It would probably not hold time for 5 years if the machine is never switched on, but it could simply be recharged by powering on for a while. There would be no battery, no end of life, just the need to use the machine now and then - or to set the time manually if not used for years.

Is that sufficient for you needs?

Excellent!

[Cristian]

I'd rather have a clock that loses time every now and then than a battery that potentially destroys the PCB by leaking when not used for half a year.

Yes this is wise.
Anyway, in my limited experience, I've never seen one leaking battery in a PC motherboard, even if left off and alone for 10+ years. My old Pentium4 battery lasted for about 13 years. So, why not to utilize a PC type button cell? Or maybe the QL clock power consumption is higher and tends to damage the batteries?

[tofro]

That experience is mainly based on old Amigas, Ataris and Macs older than 20 years .

I never owned a PC long enough to have the battery leak - They're just not worth to be kept that long.

Tobias

[stephen_usher]

Lithium coin cells do burst and leak but I've only ever seen this once and it's extremely rare. This is totally unlike the NiMH and NiCd rechargables or the half-AA lithium batteries which seem to eat through their casings very quickly.

Coin cells are by far the best solution.

[Cristian]

They're just not worth to be kept that long.

...unless you have to run a QL emulator