Need to replace battery HOLDER on Virus TI2

    While replacing the CR2032 battery inside my Virus TI2 Desktop, the small metal arm that holds the battery tightly in place snapped off. I did my best to solder it back on and it worked fine in my studio for a few weeks, but this past week I took the synth on a long drive and when I turned it on again the memory had been lost. The ROM reset to factory patches and the RAM was wiped, all patches being named "- Init - ", and all Multi's named "Init Multi". Luckily I had just done a backup, but I have a few performances coming up and must solve this issue ASAP.


    I need to find a place to purchase the component that holds the battery in place. Can anyone please advice?


    Thanks in advance.

    -w

    Since you're on tour, I'm guessing that shipping is out of the question. Do you even have soldering gear with you? Big props if you do :)


    Personally, what I'd do is try to get a (copper) paper clip and cut/bend it in a suitable shape and solder it to the existing holder.


    One thing you must not do under any circumstance is solder a wire to the battery directly - heating up the battery with a soldering iron is likely to make it explode. You may already have known that but I figured I'd mention it just in case.

    Thank you for your replies GESchwalm and abraxa. I am not on tour but just was traveling with the synth last week to do some composing. Access recommends that I get the repair done by a pro, but the closest official repair person to me in New York is in Dallas Texas! Would probably cost a fortune, think I should go for the repair myself?

    Depends on your soldering skills. Changing a battery holder is one of the more forgiving tasks one can perform, so I'd try. Just make sure you don't cook off one of the pads, which can happen if you heat up the same pad too much (iron too hot), too often (10x+) or too long (10+ seconds). Shipping it somewhere appears to be overkill to me.


    If you don't feel confident, you could also order the item mentioned by GESchwalm, take out the Virus main PCB and bring both to a laptop/notebook repair shop. I'm sure they'd gladly help you. I mean... you're in the city of Louis Rossmann after all ;)

    abraxa , I made the repair yesterday and so far so good. At the very least I can confirm that the component I ordered is the exact same one that Virus uses. Most CR2032 holders I saw on the market have 20mm between the terminals, but this one has 20.5mm.


    I had one hiccup tho, while applying pressure with the soldering iron i accidentally slipped and the iron slid over a few lines on the circuit board. It was only an instant so there's no burn but it did leave a little scrape. Everything seems to be working fine, but I can't help but wonder what kind of breakdowns I could have onstage....

    Thanks for the feedback! There's nothing to worry about regarding the scraping if you didn't leave tin around that could detach and short something if it comes off later. The scratch mark itself is no issue but if you're unsure, feel free to follow up with a picture.


    I wouldn't be concerned and enjoy the working Virus :)