So I have been tinkering today with the simulated VMS set up on the server and also started making a stab at bringing up a VAX 11/780 simulator configured to run BSD Unix.

The DL380 has a backup battery attached to the internal HP Smart Array P400 controller. In this server there were two intelligent batteries – there are slots for two, presumably for if you have two controller installed (which may be a reality now that I have bought an external MSA50 drive enclosure). This system came with two batteries but alas the second battery was dead as a parrot.

There is a guide on line I’ve just found to replace the cells with an external AA four cell pack, but I went the whole hog and ordered the actual cells.

The battery compartment has a thin plastic bottom that can be sliced off revealing the four Vartar V500HT. These are available from CPC for £3.44 each. Each cell is 1.2 volt giving a total of 4.8 volts although when I measured the four new cells I got exactly 5 volts – presumably because there was no load. Anyway, the replacement process involves prizing off the crimped on connectors and repackaging the new batteries in the same order. I soldered each sandwich of batteries together at one edge. Once reinstalled I had to be careful to ensure the battery terminals were oriented correctly so the PCB pressed down on the terminals correctly.