Silicon ChipThe great dry battery recharging conspiracy - January 1989 SILICON CHIP
  1. Outer Front Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Publisher's Letter: The great dry battery recharging conspiracy
  4. Feature: The Goalkeeper Gatling Gun by Leo Simpson
  5. Feature: How to Service Car Cassette Players by Homer L. Davidson
  6. Subscriptions
  7. Vintage Radio: Troubleshooting the transformers by John Hill
  8. Project: Ultrasonic Proximity Detector for Cars by John Clarke & Greg Swain
  9. Project: A Line Filter For Your Computer by Leo Simpson
  10. Project: 120 Watt Public Address Amplifier, Pt.2 by Leo Simpson
  11. Serviceman's Log: Copping it right in the neck by The Original TV Serviceman
  12. Feature: The Way I See It by Neville Williams
  13. Project: Simple Computer Sound Repeater by Leo Simpson & John Clarke
  14. Feature: Amateur Radio by Garry Cratt, VK2YBX
  15. Feature: Kit Clinic & the UHF Remote Switch by John Clarke
  16. Feature: The Evolution of Electric Railways by Bryan Maher
  17. Back Issues
  18. Market Centre
  19. Advertising Index
  20. Outer Back Cover

This is only a preview of the January 1989 issue of Silicon Chip.

You can view 38 of the 96 pages in the full issue, including the advertisments.

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Articles in this series:
  • 120 Watt Public Address Amplifier (December 1988)
  • 120 Watt Public Address Amplifier, Pt.2 (January 1989)
Articles in this series:
  • The Way I See It (November 1987)
  • The Way I See It (December 1987)
  • The Way I See It (January 1988)
  • The Way I See It (February 1988)
  • The Way I See It (March 1988)
  • The Way I See It (April 1988)
  • The Way I See It (May 1988)
  • The Way I See It (June 1988)
  • The Way I See it (July 1988)
  • The Way I See It (August 1988)
  • The Way I See It (September 1988)
  • The Way I See It (October 1988)
  • The Way I See It (November 1988)
  • The Way I See It (December 1988)
  • The Way I See It (January 1989)
  • The Way I See It (February 1989)
  • The Way I See It (March 1989)
  • The Way I See It (April 1989)
  • The Way I See It (May 1989)
  • The Way I See It (June 1989)
  • The Way I See It (July 1989)
  • The Way I See It (August 1989)
  • The Way I See It (September 1989)
  • The Way I See It (October 1989)
  • The Way I See It (November 1989)
  • The Way I See It (December 1989)
Articles in this series:
  • Amateur Radio (November 1987)
  • Amateur Radio (December 1987)
  • Amateur Radio (February 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (March 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (April 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (May 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (June 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (July 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (August 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (September 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (October 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (November 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (December 1988)
  • Amateur Radio (January 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (April 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (May 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (June 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (July 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (August 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (September 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (October 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (November 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (December 1989)
  • Amateur Radio (February 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (March 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (April 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (May 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (June 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (July 1990)
  • The "Tube" vs. The Microchip (August 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (September 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (October 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (November 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (December 1990)
  • Amateur Radio (January 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (February 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (March 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (April 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (May 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (June 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (July 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (August 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (September 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (October 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (November 1991)
  • Amateur Radio (January 1992)
  • Amateur Radio (February 1992)
  • Amateur Radio (March 1992)
  • Amateur Radio (July 1992)
  • Amateur Radio (August 1992)
  • Amateur Radio (September 1992)
  • Amateur Radio (October 1992)
  • Amateur Radio (November 1992)
  • Amateur Radio (January 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (March 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (May 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (June 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (July 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (August 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (September 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (October 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (December 1993)
  • Amateur Radio (February 1994)
  • Amateur Radio (March 1994)
  • Amateur Radio (May 1994)
  • Amateur Radio (June 1994)
  • Amateur Radio (September 1994)
  • Amateur Radio (December 1994)
  • Amateur Radio (January 1995)
  • CB Radio Can Now Transmit Data (March 2001)
  • What's On Offer In "Walkie Talkies" (March 2001)
  • Stressless Wireless (October 2004)
  • “Degen” Synthesised HF Communications Receiver (January 2007)
  • WiNRADiO: Marrying A Radio Receiver To A PC (January 2007)
  • PICAXE-08M 433MHz Data Transceiver (October 2008)
  • Half-Duplex With HopeRF’s HM-TR UHF Transceivers (April 2009)
  • Dorji 433MHz Wireless Data Modules (January 2012)
Articles in this series:
  • Kit Clinic & The 100W Power Module (December 1988)
  • Kit Clinic & the UHF Remote Switch (January 1989)
Articles in this series:
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (November 1987)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (December 1987)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (January 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (February 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (March 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (April 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (May 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (June 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (July 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (August 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (September 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (October 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (November 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (December 1988)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (January 1989)
  • The Evolution Of Electric Railways (February 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (March 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (April 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (May 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (June 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (July 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (August 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (September 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (October 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (November 1989)
  • The Evolution Of Electric Railways (December 1989)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (January 1990)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (February 1990)
  • The Evolution of Electric Railways (March 1990)
SILICON CHIP Publisher & Editor-In-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus. Editor Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) Technical Staff John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Robert Flynn Advertising Manager Paul Buchtmann Regular Contributors Neville Williams, FIREE, VK2XV Bryan Maher, M.E. B.Sc. Jim Yalden, VK2YGY Garry Cratt, VK2YBX Jim Lawler, MTETIA John Hill David Whitby Photography Bob Donaldson Editorial Advisory Panel Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW Norman Marks Steve Payor, B.Sc., B.E. SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. All material copyright (c). No part of the contents of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent of the publisher. Kitset suppliers ·may not photostat articles without written permission of the publisher. Typesetting/makeup: Magazine Printers Pty Ltd, Waterloo, NSW 2017. Printing: Masterprint Pty Ltd, Dubbo, NSW 2830. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rate: currently $42 per year (12 issues) inside Australia. For overseas rates, . refer to the subscription page in this issue. Liability: Devices or circuits described in SILICON CHIP may be covered by patents. SILICON CHIP disclaims any liability for the infringement of such patents by the manufacturing or selling of any such equipment. Address all mail to: Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd, PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 982 3935. ISSN 1030-2662 • Recommended and maximum Australian price only. 2 SILICON CHIP PUBUSHER'S LE'l·l'ER The great dry battery recharging conspiracy One of the circuits featured this month in our " Circuit Notebook" pages is for a dry cell recharger. For those who have never come across the idea of recharging dry cells it is an interesting circuit although we have made no big deal about it. Some people, though, may think we are being brave even to publish it in the form that we have. Why? Because of the great dry battery recharging conspiracy. You've never heard of it? Supposedly, it goes like this. "The battery manufacturers of the world know that you really can recharge dry cells but they would lose lots of sales if people recharged them so they deliberately suppress the information. They even print warnings on the battery cases so that users do not attempt to charge them. " We have had a number of readers recently who suggested we should publish a story on recharging dry batteries and so it was a happy coincidence when another reader actually sent in a circuit to do the job. So we decided to publish it (and to hell with the consequences?). But you only have to read the charging procedure that you have to go through to effectively recharge dry cells to realise that the battery manufacturers are not suppressing anything. While we have not tried it, we are quite sure that if you build up the circuit as described in Circuit Notebook and follow the procedure carefully for recharging, you will get a number of cycles out of a dry cell. But for most users it is hardly a practical proposition. First of all, you can't recharge a dry battery that has been allowed to go flat. That much is true. So the battery manufacturers are right on that score. Second, you have to individually recharge the cells as soon as possible after every use. You can't recharge a 9V battery. So the battery manufacturers are right on that score too. Third, you need a special "dirty DC" charger. An ordinary charger won't work. So much for the great dry battery recharging conspiracy. It is like a lot of other conspiracies that get a run every now and then. There are all the really good designs for electric vehicles that have been purchased and suppressed by the established car manufacturers. And there are the designs for special carburettors that give phenomenal petrol mileage but have been suppressed by the oil companies. They and any number of other conspiracy theories do not stand up to any serious examination. So go ahead. If you want to try recharging dry cells, give the circuit in Circuit Notebook a go. For our part, when we want batteries that actually can be recharged, we'll go for nickel cadmiums. Leo Simpson