On Thu, 26 May 2011 12:51:48 -0500, Puddin' Man
wrote:


The + side measures 3 ohms.

Ok. There may be a diode inside the base. Try reversing the leads on
the ohms-guesser and see if it acts like a diode.

Measures infinite ohms when reversed.

It's a diode, with no series resistor. That presents a problem.
Without some form of current limiting, the voltage of the xformer will
need to be VERY carefully controlled to keep from overcharging the
battery. I will swear there's a resistor or charge controller
somewhere in the system, but I can't tell where from here.

I'm 'fraid you'll have to elaborate on this last. And, what is "C" in
.1C?

Sorry. C is the current rating of the battery in ampere-hours. A
typical NiCd pack, full of AA cells will have a rating of about 750
ma-hr. NiMH would be around 1200 to 2200 ma-hr. The maximum charge
current of the charger should be about 0.1 times this value (i.e. 10%)
or 75ma for the NiCd pack.

Of course, make sure you don't have a shorted
battery pack.

So I gotta crack the battery pack open. And test each cell individually?
How?

You don't need to destroy the battery pack in order to test it. First,
just measure the terminal voltage of the battery pack after it's been
sitting around for a day without being charged. Even if totally
discharged, it should have at least 1.1 volts per cell or about 7.7VDC
across the terminals. A fully charged NiCd will have about 1.45VDC
per cell or about 10.2VDC across the terminals.

Now, if you really want to test you battery packs, I have a West Mtn
Radio CBA-IIv1:
http://www.westmountainradio.com/product_info.php?products_id=cba3



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# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
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# http://802.11junk.com
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