Help with corrosion

[trapusmajus]

I recently bought an uratama and angelgotchi both new and sealed in the boxes and wanted to know if the batteries already come placed inside of the tamagotchis, and if they are will my tamagotchis be corroded and not function anymore?? when I get them I will be getting new batteries and not use the ones that come with them in the box. And I also would like to know what can I use to clean the batterie corrosion? 

Thank you very much for your time 

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Hi trapusmajus!

Yes, monochrome Tamagotchis always come with batteries pre-installed, and you're correct that due to their age, these might have corroded over time. However, this does not always happen - I recently got a new-and-sealed Angelgotch which still had the original batteries inside, and though they were dead they had not corroded at all, so I simply put them out for battery recycling.

If you're unlucky and the original batteries have corroded, it's possible to clean this up and hopefully get the device working again. This usually involves using a cotton-bud (sold in some countries under the brand-name "Q-Tips") that's been dipped in isopropyl alcohol or some other solution that can neutralise and remove the problem. Sometimes vinegar is called for, but what's required here isn't the brown variety that's typically used as a condiment, but rather "white vinegar", which is clear and a lot stronger.

There are some threads about removing corrosion here (note that there are bound to be others - these are just the first ones that I found );



You might also be able to find a guide on this on YouTube or elsewhere.

I hope that this helps!

 

[trapusmajus]

Thank you so much for your tremendous help Penguin-keeper!! I have only one last question, does that corrosion only happen if the tamagotchis are stored in humid places like a warehouse? sorry if you don't know this and if this seems like a dumb question! 

But if you don't know this it's totally fine! Thank you 

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Thank you so much for your tremendous help Penguin-keeper!!

I'm glad to be of assistance!

I have only one last question, does that corrosion only happen if the tamagotchis are stored in humid places like a warehouse? sorry if you don't know this and if this seems like a dumb question! 

But if you don't know this it's totally fine! Thank you 

As far as I know, this is just the luck of the draw. Sometimes they'll corrode, sometimes they won't, and on very rare occasions sometimes they'll actually still work for a little while! I've seen all three in the years since I returned to this hobby.

 

[321Boom]

As far as I know, this is just the luck of the draw. Sometimes they'll corrode, sometimes they won't, and on very rare occasions sometimes they'll actually still work for a little while! I've seen all three in the years since I returned to this hobby.

Yep, I second what @Penguin-keeper is saying here. When I got back into the hobby and hunted around in the store room for my old Tamas, I found my Connection V4 (last time I used this before finding it again was around 12 years ago) still with the battery in there (stupid 19 year old me!!), and I was lucky enough that there was no leakage! The battery still works to this day to boot!  ^_^  It really is just luck of the draw, and all you can really do is hope for the best! If unluckily enough it did corrode, you can always clean it as mentioned earlier in this topic and that will hopefully get it working again  I've had battery leakage in wireless keyboards, mice and TV remotes (never in Tamas yet thankfully!) on more than one occasion, and cleaning brought them all back to life again and I'm still using them to this day! I've never had anything so far which I couldn't revive with some good thorough cleaning! Hopefully that puts your mind a little bit at ease  

 

[Penguin-keeper]

(never in Tamas yet thankfully!)

I don't know about you, but I've had a pretty good ratio of non-corroded batteries in vintage virtual pets, so far. I remember hearing a very long time ago that button-cell and coin-cell batteries in general are less prone to leakage, and my experiences so far have borne that out - I've only ever picked up two old devices that had any corrosion.