dmc wrote:


I'm looking for a new battery charger for my digital cameras. I need to be
able to charge 4 AAs - quickly if possible

http://www.keene.co.uk/cgi-bin/codesearch.pl?HPSQ

Looks like the right sort of specs. Per-cell 'smart' charging has come
down to this sort of price point - 30-50 quid, and about time too. (At
one-off prices the charger ICs needed are maybe 3 quid, so call it half
that for production quantities; cell-mounting hardware, LEDs, cheapie
SMPSU, and assembly costs should get us up to a mfg cost of 10-15 quid,
tripling that for final retail price to cover distribution costs all the
way down the chain would account for the price range). Per-cell dV is
indeed the 'preferred' control technique, and the charger you point at
also connects up the charger-IC thermistor inputs so that there's a more
direct 'oops, seem's I'm cooking the cell' control.

Build quality is likely to be no better than reasonable, at the price.

Since (like any halfway decent uP-controlled charger) it's happy to
trickle the cells indefinitely, you may want to buy (if you don't
already have) another set of cells for your camera, so you can have one
set fully-charged in the charger (assuming its fan only cuts in when
needed, or the noise will drive you bonkers.

Any other suggestions? Ideal specs are 40 quid complete with 4 2100mAh
NiMH AA cells. Being able to use it in the car would be handy but not
essential.

Only car-compatible one I know of - but I haven't searched - is the
Friwo, which I notice the same supplier will sell you; but it weighs in
at over twice the price - 89 notes!

Maybe someone else can chime in with better knowledge of per-cell AA
chargers which occupy the 'middle ground' between the
timer-if-you're-lucky cell-cookers and the model-airplane 6x-AH-capacity
price-no-object beasties?