NiCad piggy bank

NiCad piggy bank elektor december 1980 — 12-13 NiCad Piggy bank W. Holdinghausen The relative shapes of a can and nickel cadmium cells could lead to the porcine conclusion that they were related. We are not sure how we got into this, but the friendly looking pig is not only an ideal container for the baby NiCads, but it feeds and maintains them in a healthy condition. How did the subject of pigs get into this you might well ask. A fair question to which we are still looking for a reasonable answer. However, we did ask for canned circuits with particular emphasis on the unusual ... Mother pig is, in fact, a rather sophis- ticated NiCad charger. W hen first switched on, she checks to see how hungry her NiCads are. If necessary they are supplied with a charging current for a period of time. The current is then reduced but remains at a high enough level to ensure that the cells are main- tained in good condition. Operation Mum contains quite a few vital organs. In the first place, t...