22 Dec
2022
22 Dec
'22
9:50 p.m.
On Dec 22, 2022, at 4:30 PM, Chuck Guzis
<cclist(a)sydex.com> wrote:
On 12/22/22 11:42, Paul Koning wrote:
Yes, that looks similar to what I read. One interesting point in the discussion I saw is
that it said slow charging is not recommended for NiMH because the right way to detect end
of charge is by voltage drop, and that drop is even smaller if the charge rate is low. So
to have reliable detection of "fully charged" you need to go reasonably fast.
Interesting.
paul
I just read the battery chapter of the ARRL
Amateur Radio Handboo, which discusses this particular point at some length.
Among many other points it says (a) you can trickle charge a NiCd but not a NiMH, and (b)
NiMH requires a more complex charging algorithm than NiCd, so that NiMH chargers are also
capable of charging NiCd batteries safely, but NiCd chargers cannot charge NiMH cells
without the risk of damage.
I suspect NiMH charger circuits can be found. Buying $3 Chinese ones may work, or not; I
keep remembering that China disallows selling unsafe equipment within the country but
doesn't have any rules against exporting such things.
A good read on the issues of NiMH battery charging can be read here:
https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/electronic_components/battery-te…
It pretty much says that "you're damned if you and damned if you
don't".