On 26 Sep 2005 14:56:38 -0700, "
wrote:

What does a smart charger do when compared to just charging NIMH cells
at ten percent of their capacity, (as I do nicads now) ?

you mean 10% under their max. capacity ? How do you
define/test/measure those 10% ?
IIRC and per specs. one needs an 120% capacity charge to have a cell
fully charged

What are the
characteristics of the charge cycle with the different types of
chargers and can a circuit to do this be built to handle batteries of
different voltages and capacities? Lenny,.

it detects the -dV/dt notch that occurs when batteries are fully
charged .. I think Maxim (sp?) has a number of IC's that can be used
to build a home made charger with such characteristics .. it may be
worth the effort for the fun of building I don't think it will save
you a dime compared to commercially available units ..
FWIW