Day 742, This is not a language

The BBC Master, kit off, chips out.*

The BBC Master below is displaying all the signs of having lost its settings, the batteries are dead.

In fact the batteries aren't just dead, they are also giving off decompositional fluids.  How very delightful.

Leaking batteries?  No problem, first check to see whether the batteries are alkaline or acid - these are alkaline.

Use white vinegar to clean alkaline battery leaks.  Once the batteries were removed from the container I poured white wine vinegar (all I had available) over all the affected parts until they stopped hissing.  Once the fizzing and hissing stops that indicates that the alkali has been neutralised.

For situations where acid batteries have leaked then use bicarbonate of soda - bicarb can also be used to stop reflux if you've run out of a proprietary remedy, it is disgusting but better than reflux...**

Even though it wasn't possible to do any further testing until the battery compartment dried out after cleaning I did type the ROMS command.  This machine appears to be chock-full of add-ons, albeit ones it hasn't loaded due to the lost CMOS settings.

The battery compartment with it's payload of unpleasant alkaline residue, like the stuff left after a massive coal-fired party from the last century, is pictured below.  These batteries are dated January 1999.***

The BBC Master would originally have had a rechargeable Lithium battery but that has long since failed, this BBC has been modified to work with non-rechargeable batteries.  The cable connected to the top of the battery pack has had a resistor and a diode inserted in-line in the positive power cable, this is to prevent the BBC Master from being able to recharge non-rechargeable batteries.

To recover and reset the CMOS memory the BBC has to be powered on with the R key held down, then press CTRL F BREAK, then type in these three star commands (each followed by Enter):

*CONFIGURE LANG 12
*CONFIGURE FILE 9
*CONFIGURE MODE 7

Assuming you've also replaced the batteries then when you power it off and back on again it will present the standard BBC BASIC prompt.


* This is a Partridgism.
** Better still, prevent reflux by eating earlier, changing your diet (eat less fat), and getting more exercise.  Partridge, again.
*** Party like it's...


For official/internal use only:
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