Guys, if your goal is merely to charge NiCD, NiMH and/or Li-ion batteries
without any fancy stuff, National just sampled me an LM3647IM.  Only
drawback is that it's only available in an SO package, but it will do all
of the above with some LED and buzzer options.  Pretty cheap in small
quantities too, considering - I think Digi-Key gets under $5 QTY 1.  Of
course if you want serial data and LCD and all, by all means do it with a
PIC.

I am going to overhaul an old Yaesu handheld radio quick charger for
better performance and less trouble.  It currently has nothing more than a
6-hour 300mA charge, then a switch to trickle.  I'm sure it proved to be a
real moneymaker for Yaesu, what with all the short-lived batteries they
must have sold.  I'm rebuilding packs to replace the old 1000mAH NiCD
cells with 1500mAH NiMH, and I want the charger to treat them right and
condition them if asked.  The LM3674 will do all that, so that's likely
what I'll graft into the existing case.  Should be an interesting
retrofit, I'll even be able to use the same LEDs - just with a slightly
different meaning!

Dale
--
"Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that
curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly."
          - Arnold Edinborough

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