Author Topic: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?  (Read 1090 times)

SignOfZeta

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What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« on: May 25, 2017, 06:54:55 PM »
The battery in my Neo Geo memory card still works.

I've owned it since 1995 when a friend of mine gave it to me. It was new from a shipping box of the things that I'm pretty sure were years old even then.

Conservatively this thing is 23 years old, presumably rated for 5-7 years. I've probably fed 60 batteries to my Saturns in that time.

Can anyone beat that?

esteban

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2017, 12:14:11 AM »
Nothing.
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TheClash603

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2017, 01:04:00 AM »
Do battery backups in NES games count?  As far as I know, all of my games from the 1980s which had batteries are still holding saves.

Sega must've been doing something wrong.  My Saturn and DC VMU feel like they needed monthly batteries.

Zero_Gamer

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2017, 01:55:37 AM »
My original Zelda cart battery is still going. I've had the thing since January 88. Pretty impressive!

Necromancer

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2017, 02:05:23 AM »
The oldest are my Tennokoe Bank hueys.  I got 'em 10 or 15 years ago when they were already at least a decade old.
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Gredler

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2017, 02:07:30 AM »
Do battery backups in NES games count?  As far as I know, all of my games from the 1980s which had batteries are still holding saves.

Sega must've been doing something wrong.  My Saturn and DC VMU feel like they needed monthly batteries.

I was going to post the same thing. I pop a new battery whenever I start a new Saturn game to make sure I dont lose a save.
« Last Edit: May 26, 2017, 02:09:43 AM by Gredler »

Lost Monkey

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2017, 02:18:57 AM »
Do battery backups in NES games count?  As far as I know, all of my games from the 1980s which had batteries are still holding saves.

Sega must've been doing something wrong.  My Saturn and DC VMU feel like they needed monthly batteries.

I was going to post the same thing. I pop a new battery whenever I start a new Saturn game to make sure I dont lose a save.

I don't even bother with Saturn saves anymore... I would be putting batteries in that thing like quarters to a slot machine..

Gypsy

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2017, 02:19:54 AM »
Do battery backups in NES games count?  As far as I know, all of my games from the 1980s which had batteries are still holding saves.

Sega must've been doing something wrong.  My Saturn and DC VMU feel like they needed monthly batteries.

The Saturn definitely requires a lot of replacements, but not nearly as bad as those damn VMUs.

bob

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2017, 02:24:03 AM »
My original Zelda cart battery is still going. I've had the thing since January 88. Pretty impressive!

same here

gheebee

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #9 on: May 26, 2017, 02:47:28 AM »
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins still had all the saves on it when my brother gave me his copy a little while back, he probably got it not too long after it was released too. Watch all the saves be gone the next time I play it since I posted this...

Gentlegamer

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #10 on: May 26, 2017, 04:12:23 AM »
My Zelda II cart still has my completed save game from 1989.

ClodBuster

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #11 on: May 26, 2017, 04:41:26 AM »
I don't really know which of my games held the longest, but I know that my F-Zero cartridge can't hold a save for more than a week ever since I got it at SNES launch time in Europe.  Fine with me, there's nothing to unlock anyway and this means I've got the opportunity getting best time records everytime I fire up the game. I compare this cart to an incontinent old man. Or rather Alzheimer's disease.

Pokémon Gold held its save for about 15 years before finally losing it. Ah well, there went my dozen of level 100 Pokémon, all trained, no rarecandies.
« Last Edit: May 26, 2017, 04:45:51 AM by ClodBuster »

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SignOfZeta

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #12 on: May 26, 2017, 08:39:57 AM »
Do battery backups in NES games count?  As far as I know, all of my games from the 1980s which had batteries are still holding saves.

Sega must've been doing something wrong.  My Saturn and DC VMU feel like they needed monthly batteries.

The Saturn definitely requires a lot of replacements, but not nearly as bad as those damn VMUs.

Well, you don't actually need batteries in a VMU to save. You only need it for autonomous VMU functionality. The storage itself is flash.

But I see your point and I agree. Saturn batteries last like a year or two if you buy good ones. If you buy a brand free 100 pack of CR2032s for $2 don't expect Energizer lifespan.

Gypsy

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #13 on: May 26, 2017, 10:55:53 AM »
Do battery backups in NES games count?  As far as I know, all of my games from the 1980s which had batteries are still holding saves.

Sega must've been doing something wrong.  My Saturn and DC VMU feel like they needed monthly batteries.

The Saturn definitely requires a lot of replacements, but not nearly as bad as those damn VMUs.

Well, you don't actually need batteries in a VMU to save. You only need it for autonomous VMU functionality. The storage itself is flash.

But I see your point and I agree. Saturn batteries last like a year or two if you buy good ones. If you buy a brand free 100 pack of CR2032s for $2 don't expect Energizer lifespan.

Right, you only need it for things you don't actually use. I only know about the battery life because of I want to say something with Sonic Adventure but it has been many years so I'm not 100% sure. I do remember they die super fast though.

I'm about 1 year into my current Saturn battery. Definitely worth buying a good one to have to dick with it less.

SignOfZeta

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Re: What's the longest lived backup battery you've ever had?
« Reply #14 on: May 26, 2017, 11:51:28 AM »
The oldest are my Tennokoe Bank hueys.  I got 'em 10 or 15 years ago when they were already at least a decade old.

Ah, yes. That's a good one. I have one as well and it was still a working a year or two ago when I used it last, and it may be older than my Neo Geo memory card.