Dolphin Card battery swap

[Chris de Zeeuw]

I have quite a few series 1 projectors running, together with DCP-2000 and one DCP-2K4 Doremi server. For all of them it is time to swap the battery of the Dolphin card.

However, what is the best way to do it? The original manual says to turn off and unplug the server. Then swap the battery within 3min and hope for the best... On this forum I have read various messages to swap the battery with the server still plugged in - to prevent the card from losing the secure clock when its turned off - . But does this mean to keep just the power cables plugged in (so the motherboard is on standby) or to have the actual server full on powered up?

Looking forward to your experience.

[Carsten Kurz]

I prefer to change the battery on classic dolphin cards WHILE the server is running. You need to place a sheet of paper, plastic or cloth underneath to prevent the battery from falling onto active electronics, but if you are careful, it's no big deal. I also learned that it helps a lot to carry a rubber glove on your favorite hand, as it helps you getting a good grip on the battery. You should also have small plastic pliers to get it out, but when I carry a rubber glove, I usually don't even need a tool. The cells are CR1220 or DL1220

Make sure you get fresh replacement batteries (the package should carry a useful expiration date in the future). Typically, I am extra-careful and measure the new cell battery voltage before I swap.

[Dave Macaulay]

Agree with Carsten, I do it with server running. A tissue or similar underneath is necessary, don't usually drop them but it must not fall directly on the exposed motherboard and short something. Avoiding touching the CPU fan (ouch!) is not difficult. For some servers I find that are at or well past the 5 year dire warning, I keep it running and plugged in until the battery is replaced: takes a bit of juggling power and extension cords to keep one PSU powered when taking it out of the rack. Now that Dolphins are not available, it is extremely important NOT to kill one.
Use something non conductive to pry up the battery and try to avoid having the upper contact touch the bottom one. I filed a tweaker (trimpot adjuster) open end down to a chisel point and that works quite well. The motherboard battery isn't usually a problem but I do those with the PSU plugged in with server off, I think the standby power covers the BIOS battery. The damned battery will jump right out of its holder when te little catch is pushed aside, sticking some tape on its top lets you keep a good hold of it. The Dolphin fans are kinds close to work on that one with it running, I have enough scars. Those pushpins on the air duct thing are tools of satan.

[Marco Giustini]

I’ve done all my swaps with the server off - with a stopwatch to confirm the time nearby. Not suggesting that doing it with the server on is a bad idea, just sharing that if you set up your desk and get everything ready in advance it can also work.

[Marcel Birgelen]

However, what is the best way to do it? The original manual says to turn off and unplug the server. Then swap the battery within 3min and hope for the best... On this forum I have read various messages to swap the battery with the server still plugged in - to prevent the card from losing the secure clock when its turned off - . But does this mean to keep just the power cables plugged in (so the motherboard is on standby) or to have the actual server full on powered up?

It means, the server is running on full, all powered up. That way, you're sure the Dolphin is also fully powered and a problem with the supercap will brick your card. Like indicated, you should take some precautions against the battery falling into the machine and possibly causing a short.

Given the age of those cards, I'd say that the powered-on method is probably the safest bet.

[Chris de Zeeuw]

Thank you for all useful comments. It is clear for me what to do.

[Marin Zorica]

I did also like Carsten told you. Also, one good feature i did was to take log just prior to replacing and after it has been replaced, when it was done by the book. But, that was to have proof that you did it in time, so in case rtc and certificate was dead after replacement, you could send logs to doremi as proof server was not without power too much. but since dolphin boards are not under any kind of waranty today, it doesn't matter except to tell client is not you're fault.

[Dave Macaulay]

Remember that if you do kill a Dolphin card it is unrepairable and no longer made (there may be exceptions for in-warranty servers), and there are (as far as I know) no new servers that will work for series 1 projectors. I may be wrong? For series 2 I believe you only have the IMS if you want to stay with Doremi/Dolby and maintain easy content transfers with no LMS, GDC has internal servers, and for Barco you can use an ICMP.
And log the battery change to reset the battery expiry timer!

[Carsten Kurz]

Don't know for elsewhere, but at least here in Germany it is quite possible to dig up second hand dolphin boards, as the DCP-2000 and DCP-2K4 have been sold in large quantities and are often swapped into IMS.

Now if Dolby finally get's their certificate extension software to work, that would be nice to give these systems a bit more life. Not talking about Series-1 beyond 2025, though, that would be a bit far fetched.

[Leo Enticknap]

The other gotcha not mentioned above is that the spring loaded clamp that holds the battery in place is pretty thin and weak metal: if you pry it upwards, it may lose its grip and not make a good contact after the new battery is inserted. So extreme care is needed in pushing the old battery out (with a plastic implement of some description, as Dave advises). But agreed that with care and dexterity, replacing the battery while the card is powered is perfectly possible. To prevent the risk of a short, I would suggest inserting a drinking straw over this clamp while pushing the old battery out and the new one in. That will also reduce friction and make the actual process easier, too.

...and there are (as far as I know) no new servers that will work for series 1 projectors. I may be wrong?

GDC makes an adapter cage into which you can place an SR-1000, to give it dual SMPTE 292 output, for use with an Enigma or Series 1 TI link decrypter. However, I've heard numerous reports that it's buggy and problematic. Thankfully, we are still able to get hold of used but OK DCP-2K4s and DSS200s whenever we have a customer who has a borked media block and needs a replacement old school server.

[Jim Cassedy]

I've done one of these Dolfin battery swaps on two servers a couple of years ago. It is a bit nerve wracking,
knowing the potential consequences should a mistake be made. I did it with the server totally out of the rack
and powered down. I also had all my tools, which included some long tweezers with insulated tips ready
to go. Using an old battery, I practiced manipulating the button cell with tweezers & a wood coffee stirrer.
I also had a 2nd person standing by to help me. We worked sort of like a surgical team, where I would
call out "tweezers" and he'd had me the tweezers, I'd say "Battery" and get handed the battery, etc.
( and, in case of failure, having a 2nd person involved makes it easier to spread the blame. lol)

We also had a 2nd set of tools, and even a 2nd battery, in case I got a case of butter-fingers and dropped
something into the server or under the table, we wouldn't have to go looking for it. I made sure we had
extra bright light to work under, to minimize shadows. I "dry rehearsed" exactly what I was going to do
in my head at least a ½dozen times before finally taking a deep breath and doing the actual battery swap.

Even though it went well, doing the 2nd server later in the day wasn't any less stressful than the first one.

But- I would repeat Leo's warning about the spring clamp. It's probably the most tricky thing to deal
with. I looks like it could be easily broken, or bent beyond usefulness if you're not careful.

Three minutes is actually quite a long time, however, it seems much shorter when the clock is ticking!
Also- - I wasn't going trust that there was an 'exact' 90sec window to work in, so my goal was to get the
whole battery changed in 2min or so, just to be safe.

Good Luck!

[Carsten Kurz]

Again - do not miss using rubber gloves. They add an amazing amount of grip, chances are high you can grab the front tip of the cell with just two fingers and slide it out without any other tools or excessive wiggling. Of course, they should not be powdered. Ordinary fine household cleaning rubber gloves are perfect. They make sense anyway in order not to touch the battery with your bare greasy or sweating fingers.

[Steve Moore]

In recent yearsI always swap one of the IEC mains leads out for a very long one (and hope both PSUs are running) and then gently remove the server from ther rack and ask above do it whilst powered up
I wear an anti-static wrist strap and place a piece of paper or card under the battery and hope and pray it doesn't fly out whilst remiving the battery. Most dolphins we've had fail have been as the result of a power cycle. Good luck; certainly in the UK they are unobtainium now.!

[Randy Stankey]

[Golves] make sense anyway in order not to touch the battery with your bare greasy or sweating fingers.

Something I found out the hard way, many years back. Finger oils can be electrically conductive and corrosive. Maybe not a whole lot but just enough to cause problems.

As we know, the positive and negative terminals of small, button cells are often separated by just a thin ring of insulator, often less than a millimeter wide. If you touch a battery with your finger across that insulator, the oil from your finger can bridge the gap. Over time the oil and/or the resulting corrosion from your fingers will cause a subtle short and drain the battery, prematurely.

Years ago, I had a programmable calculator that I had put some formulas into that I used for calculating lens focal lengths and screen sizes for movie theaters. When I left Cinemark, I put the calculator away where I thought it would be safe. When I went to Mercyhrust and needed to buy new lenses for the theater, there, I dug it out and tried to use it. Crap! The thing was dead!

When I looked at the batteries, there were fingerprint-shaped corrosion marks on the batteries. The calculator was dead! Replacing the batteries brought the calculator back to life but all my formulas were gone. Being the dumbass, I didn't bother to write them down, even though I had a notebook set aside for just the purpose.

Lesson learned!

Now, when I change button cell batteries, I try to remember to clean them before inserting them and, as I do, I either use gloves or, if I don't have gloves handy, use a tool and be super careful not to bridge the gap with anything.

[Matt Fields]

GDC makes an adapter cage into which you can place an SR-1000, to give it dual SMPTE 292 output, for use with an Enigma or Series 1 TI link decrypter. However, I've heard numerous reports that it's buggy and problematic.

To be fair to GDC we have installed several of these with no issues. The cage just provides power. The IMB itself is altered with the 292 outputs. There is a procedure to change it back to a regular SR-1000 in the field if your customer upgrades to a newer projector.