Alesis HR-16 memory and battery

[hookbay]

I just put a brand new battery in a HR-16, that I bought without one.
Now it holds patterns and songs in memory after I switch the power off. But when I don't use it for a while or if I unplug the power cord for some time the patterns aren't there anymore. I tried unplugging and plugging it back quickly and it still holds the memory, but after couple of hours theres nothing anymore.

How long is it supposed to hold the memory? And does the power cord always have to be plugged?

I was planning on using it at home and taking it out to sessions at friends or something, but it won't work if I have to start from scratch every time.

[Circuitbenders]

How long is it supposed to hold the memory? And does the power cord always have to be plugged?

You should be looking at about a decade, if not more.
What battery did you put in? Are you sure you have it in the right way round?

[hookbay]

Thanks for your confirmation. The battery should be the right one, but I think I have to buy a new SRAM chip. Yesterday it lost all saved settings while I was playing it. Or maybe I'll try a factory reset before, but yeah.. I think replacing the battery just uncovered a problem with the SRAM.

[Circuitbenders]

The RAM on the HR16 does tend to die on a fairly regular basis, but in my experience it will have problems starting up if the RAM stops working.

Are you aware that if you want it to save the mix setup for pitch and sound assignations etc with each pattern, then you have to change a setting in the utility menu? Otherwise it'll just forget your setup whenever you change a pattern or turn it off.