Well, everything seems to have worked out with the battery mod. The only issue was that the solder pins on the standard battery holder that you buy at Radio Shack don't line up exactly with the pads on the Poly's PCB.
So I attached wires to the pins and then soldered the wires to the PCB. As a result -- and I think this is a good thing -- the battery holder sits up a bit higher, which allows it to clear the adjacent components. If it sat flat against the PCB, it might be a tad too big for the relatively small space allowed. But having a battery holder is essential. Who wants to solder a new one in every time it goes dead, right?
I took pictures of my handiwork and posted them in an album called "Aaron's Poly 800 Mods." Enjoy!
Aaron
--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "backshall1" <backshall1@...> wrote:
>
> Yes, that is correct. You can still power the Poly-800 from C-cells, but the
> connection from those batteries to the memory chip is gone when you turn the
> synth off. When the synth is on, the memory chip will still get +5v power
> through D23 so you aren't using the lithium cell while you are playing.
>
>
>
> Don B
>
>
>
> _____
>
> From: korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com [mailto:korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of AARON
> Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 5:22 PM
> To: korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [korgpolyex] Re: memory backup battery mod
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> I hate to dredge up an old thread, but I'm considering doing the battery mod
> on my Poly-800 Mk I, too.
>
> Just to be clear, if my synth DOES have the large solder "islands" in the
> middle of the board (which I believe it does), I do the following: (1)
> remove R1 completely; (2) remove D1 completely; and (3) solder the battery
> into the "islands" in the middle of the board; (4) remove the old C-cells
> and be a happy camper until the lithium battery dies.
>
> Is that correct? If so, I'm headed to Radio Shack to get that CR2032 and
> holder! :) <http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/01.gif>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Aaron
>
> --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Vic,
> >
> > The positive side of the button battery should be soldered to the junction
> between R1 and D1 and the negative side should be soldered to the other side
> of the diode D1.
> >
> > The mod document is trying to say that you can just clip the diode and
> resistor off leaving enough length on the legs to solder the battery wires
> onto them. But I think it is much better to take the main board out and
> remove the components completely and then solder the wires in to the vacated
> hole locations.
> >
> > If you could do me a favor and send me photos (again - sorry), I will
> convert the battery mod text file into a much better PDF version with photos
> etc.
> >
> > So send me a photo showing the main board number KLM-596-2 and including
> the area where the battery ought to be. This will help other Poly owners to
> identify the missing battery area (I'll do a side by side comparison shot of
> battery missing and battery in place).
> >
> > And also send me a close up of the power regulation area including D1 and
> R1. I'll use them to improve the button battery addition instructions.
> >
> > Mike.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: synther2000r synther2000r@
> > To: korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2009 10:05:26 PM
> > Subject: [korgpolyex] memory backup battery mod
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Hello everyone.
> >
> > I hope y'all don't mind if I begin my first post with a question. I have a
> Poly800 mk1 that I'd like to add the battery backup mod. I looked through
> the files here and found the mod text, but after having looked over the
> schematics I came across something I don't understand.
> >
> > In the text the instructions read "In the upper left corner you'll find
> Resistor R1 and Diode D1. Remove these. (Just cut the legs, but leave as
> much as possible of the D1 legs, see next steps.). The battery must then be
> connected by wires, the plus to the junction between R1/D1 and the minus to
> the other leg of D1."
> >
> > I may be missing something but since R1 is no longer on the board, where
> is the + voltage of the battery going?
> >
> > Just to be clear, I haven't opened my Poly 800 up yet to check the traces.
> I'd just like to be certain that I have the instructions correct before
> doing any cutting/soldering.
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
> > Vic
> >
>