Matt circuit

Although not a new device, the LM317 is still a high-performance regulator. Its output voltage is essentially immune to fluctuations in load, supply voltage and temperature and this makes it ideal as the central element in a float charger for NiMH cells. Float charging has the advantage of keeping the cells fully charged and ready to use without the potential damage of long-term trickle charging or the cost of low-discharge cells. This works because NiMH cells do not have the memory problems associated with Nicads. The circuit is based on a conventional LM317 regulator. Resistors R2 & R3 and trimpot VR1 set the maximum output voltage to between 1.3V and 1.4V per cell. VR1 should be adjusted for a value of 1.35V per cell at the regulator output. Resistor R2 has been fixed at 240O. The formula for the voltage output is: Vout = 1.25*(1 + (R3 + VR1)/R2). Circuit diagram: Float Charger For NiMH Cells Circuit Diagram Diode D1 protects the circuit against reverse polarity of the power s...

This handy circuit can be used to charge from one to 12 NiCd cells from a car battery. Up to six cells can be charged with switch S1 in the "normal" position. The LM317regulator operates as a simple current source, providing about 530mA when R1 = 2.35O (two 4.7O resistors in parallel). For more than six cells, S1 is set to the "boost" position. This applies powers to IC1, a 10W (or 20W) audio power amplifier. Positive feedback from its output (pin 4) to non-inverting input (pin 1) causes IC1 to act as a square wave oscillator. This square wave signal is coupled to the junction of Schottky diodes D1 and D2 via a 330µF capacitor, forming a conventional charge-pump voltage doubler. Over 20V (unloaded) appears at the input to REG1 - enough to charge a maximum of 12 cells! Circuit diagram:

It is impossible to imagine present day society without any batteries. Count the number of gadgets in your house that are powered from batteries, you will be stunned by the number of batteries you will find. The majority of these devices use penlight batteries and if you’re a little environmentally conscious you will be using rechargeable batteries. A few years ago these batteries were invariably NiCd types. However, these batteries suffer from a relatively high rate of self-discharge and from the so-called memory-effect. It is now more common to use NiMH batteries. The advantage is that these batteries do not suffer from the memory-effect and generally also have a much higher capacity, so that they last longer before they have to be recharged again. From the above you can conclude that every household these days needs, or could use, a battery charger. A good charger needs to keep an eye on several things to ensure that the batteries are charged properly. For one, the charger has...