What's the battery in the DSOne SDHC?

genistopitauniverfrocrami · Apr 27, 2024

Referring to the small, unmarked coin cell on the PCB of the DSOne SDHC. What's its designation?

After measurement by hand (6.5 to 7mm by 1.5 to 2mm), the closest I could find was the SR65. But that one is 1.55v (not 2.5v) and non rechargeable.

Reason for this is that I'm thinking of getting a lifetime supply of these carts (for when they inadvertently disappear). But it'd be rather pointless if the batteries in them would all die at the same time in a couple of years.

Anyway, I wonder if these batteries were a cost or space saving measure. Certainly the PSRAM doesn't need to be powered on all the time?

SylverReZ · Apr 28, 2024

genistopitauniverfrocrami said:
Referring to the small, unmarked coin cell on the PCB of the DSOne SDHC. What's its designation?

After measurement by hand (6.5 to 7mm by 1.5 to 2mm), the closest I could find was the SR65. But that one is 1.55v (not 2.5v) and non rechargeable.

Reason for this is that I'm thinking of getting a lifetime supply of these carts (for when they inadvertently disappear). But it'd be rather pointless if the batteries in them would all die at the same time in a couple of years.

Anyway, I wonder if these batteries were a cost or space saving measure. Certainly the PSRAM doesn't need to be powered on all the time?

Look at the battery and tell me what the markings are. Or a number of sorts to determine the type used, should be 'CR' or similar.

cearp · Apr 28, 2024

genistopitauniverfrocrami said:
Reason for this is that I'm thinking of getting a lifetime supply of these carts

What age do you think you'll reach? / How many were you planning on buying?

SylverReZ · Apr 28, 2024

cearp said:
What age do you think you'll reach? / How many were you planning on buying?

A bunch of clones have flooded AliExpress for very little, and most, if not all, are defective of the PSRAM issue. So, I really wouldn't bother buying that many, unless you really wanted to. Definitely not the first time that it happened, this also seems to be the root cause on genuine carts, too.

Apache Thunder · Apr 28, 2024

They are similar to the ones used in N-Cards....I'm not sure if they are actually batteries though. They may actually be super caps. Does the voltage on them go up when powered on in a console? If so they are likely super caps. I don't think lithium primary cells exist in this size or if they did they are currently unobtainium with super cap variants being the only ones available now.

SylverReZ · Apr 28, 2024

Apache Thunder said:
They are similar to the ones used in N-Cards....I'm not sure if they are actually batteries though. They may actually be super caps. Does the voltage on them go up when powered on in a console? If so they are likely super caps. I don't think lithium primary cells exist in this size or if they did they are currently unobtainium with super cap variants being the only ones available now.

They are slightly larger than the Super Caps, which are smaller in comparison.

Apache Thunder · Apr 28, 2024

Interesting well I do know the ones on my N-Cards are not diode protected. The voltage goes up when powered on. I have not tested with them disconnected....didn't feel like desoldering one to find out.

genistopitauniverfrocrami · Apr 28, 2024

SylverReZ said:
Look at the battery and tell me what the markings are. Or a number of sorts to determine the type used, should be 'CR' or similar.

I would but unfortunately there aren't any... (hence unmarked).

cearp said:
How many were you planning on buying?

If I get coupons and have nothing to spend them on, then another DSOne it'll be.

Apache Thunder said:
They are similar to the ones used in N-Cards....I'm not sure if they are actually batteries though. They may actually be super caps. Does the voltage on them go up when powered on in a console? If so they are likely super caps. I don't think lithium primary cells exist in this size or if they did they are currently unobtainium with super cap variants being the only ones available now.

That sounds quite plausible actually. To quote that comment,

> It was totally dead on arrival, and showed 2.5v after being in a powered-on NDSL for a while, but is quickly self-discharging.

Makes sense if it's a super cap.

Looking at the warranty stickers on these AliExpress 'clone' carts, if those prove their legitimacy then these would be at least 15 years old. That is 5 years more than the shelf life of any type of battery.

If these are batteries, then it's unlikely that whoever had these carts added in new ones (considering the availability) or made custom ones. Super caps like you mentioned would certainly be less prone to degradation.

I'll definitely examine further once I get the tools. Thanks for the replies

SylverReZ · Apr 28, 2024

genistopitauniverfrocrami said:
> It was totally dead on arrival, and showed 2.5v after being in a powered-on NDSL for a while, but is quickly self-discharging.

Sounds about right.

If the warranty stickers on these AliExpress 'clone' carts prove their legitimacy, then these would be at least 15 years old. That is 5 years more than the shelf life of any type of battery.

If these are batteries, then it's unlikely that whoever had these carts added in new ones (considering the availability) or made custom ones. Super caps like you mentioned would certainly be less prone to degradation.

I'll definitely examine further once I get the tools. If they are indeed super caps then my plan is a go

DOA as in the PSRAM or the cart doesn't recognise in the DS. You could probably go with reballing the PSRAM to see if it will work.

genistopitauniverfrocrami · Apr 28, 2024

SylverReZ said:
DOA as in the PSRAM or the cart doesn't recognise in the DS. You could probably go with reballing the PSRAM to see if it will work.

I didn't quote it but they were referring to the "small button cell". Perhaps they assumed that it should've held a charge. Anyway, I'll keep that in mind if I encounter any bad PSRAMs.

Janni9009 · Apr 30, 2024

This is in fact a supercap, not a normal coin-cell battery (hence it doesn't have CR/ML/VL or anything like that marked, and doesn't hold much of a charge for very long). It's not an uncommon form factor for them either.
@Archeychen also mentioned on the DSi Discord that EOS also doesn't use it at all. You can remove it and the diode right above it, then put a solder blob in the diode's place (might also fix some PSRAM issues not related to cracked solder balls)

genistopitauniverfrocrami · May 1, 2024

Janni9009 said:
This is in fact a supercap, not a normal coin-cell battery (hence it doesn't have CR/ML/VL or anything like that marked, and doesn't hold much of a charge for very long). It's not an uncommon form factor for them either.
@Archeychen also mentioned on the DSi Discord that EOS also doesn't use it at all. You can remove it and the diode right above it, then put a solder blob in the diode's place (might also fix some PSRAM issues not related to cracked solder balls)

Thanks for bringing the Discord info. Good to know that it can work even without the super cap, considering how that part would likely be the first to go.

I wonder if it serves a more obscure purpose, like to avoid random freezes (granted, that user would've still had his diode in place).

boots_n_cats · May 2, 2024

Janni9009 said:
This is in fact a supercap, not a normal coin-cell battery (hence it doesn't have CR/ML/VL or anything like that marked, and doesn't hold much of a charge for very long). It's not an uncommon form factor for them either.
@Archeychen also mentioned on the DSi Discord that EOS also doesn't use it at all. You can remove it and the diode right above it, then put a solder blob in the diode's place (might also fix some PSRAM issues not related to cracked solder balls)

Interesting. I'd always assumed it was needed for running ROMs in "Clean Mode". I wonder if the original (not EOS) DSONE kernel used it for something.

Archeychen · May 3, 2024

genistopitauniverfrocrami said:
Thanks for bringing the Discord info. Good to know that it can work even without the super cap, considering how that part would likely be the first to go.

I wonder if it serves a more obscure purpose, like to avoid random freezes (granted, that user would've still had his diode in place).

I was told that old version of kernel will use it ,works just like a gba flashcard, but eos will not use it

What's the battery in the DSOne SDHC?

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