Electronics Now, Apr! 1997 JOHN PIVNICHNY Jave you ever experienced the {frustration of tuming on your battery-powered radio and finding out otter only a few minutes of use that the battery needs recharg- ing? Ifyou only had a meter that fold you how low the battery pack was Getting the last time you used the ra: Gio, you could have recharged it be- tween uses. The FuelGauge pre- sented here is just the thing you need to monitor battery level and intel- ligently schedule recharges, Accurately Measuring Battery Ca- pacity. As the charge in a battery {gets used up, the terminal voltage de- ‘creases. That is ttue for ail types of batteries, including NiC¢, lead-acid, nickel-metai-nydride, and even non: rechargeable clkaline or 2inc-corbon els. Each type of battery has ifs own characteristic curve, which can be used fo find the percentage of charge left based on the terminal voltage. A typical curve, shown in Fig. ‘1s for a 7-cell NICd pack By occu- rately measuring the vottage of a bat- tery pack, the state of charge can be found by referting to the battery type’ characteristic curve, The Fuel- Gouge does that calculation for you ‘automatically. ‘Accuracy and high sensitivity is ex- tremely important because the volt ‘age changes small compared to the total battery voltage. The voltage reading of a completely discharged battery is cimost as high os the volt ‘age when the battery is charged. For that reason, the FuelGauge’s clrcut features a suppressed-zero method for driving the meter. The meter will 60d full scale for a fully-charged bat- tery, while dropping down to ‘zero when the battery is completely dis- charged. That feature ailows for the meter to read percent full on a linear scale with 100% at the tight, 50% in the center, and 0% atthe left. ‘Asecondrequirementfor the circuit is low power drain, it doesn't make much sense to put a charge monitor ‘on a battery pack if it will be a big rain. The FuelGauge is designed to ‘draw just atte more than the current needed fo move the meter needle itself The fotal drain fo run the Fuel- ‘Gauge is less than 2 millamps when mecsuring a full charge. BUILD THE FUEL GAUGE— A CAPACITY INDICATOR FOR YOUR BATTERY PACK Know how much charge is left in your batteries with this easy-to-build project. Circult Description. The citcutt that the FueiGauge is based onis shown in Fig. 2. ener diode D1 creates a reter- ence voltage fo which the battery voltage is compared. The diode specifiedhas c breakdown voltage of 0 oH PeaCENT FULL Fig. 1, Al batteries have a characteristic discharge curve lke this ‘one. If you measure the no-load voltage of a baitery and look up the reading on the battery's discharge curve, you will hhave an accurate way of measuring how much charge is left inthe battery. 5.1 vols. That rating will work fine wath most 6- of 7-cell NiCd battery packs, ‘25 well as 12-vott lead-acid batteries. The circuit may be customized to a particular battery by selecting a unit for Df that has ¢ voltage rating about 1 volt below the completely-dis- ‘charged voltage of the bottery pack ‘you wish to measure, Transistor @1, wired as an enitter- follower amplitier, greatly increases the sensitivity of the circult over what it would be if R7 were connected l- rectly to the wiper of R6. A further ad- ventage to that arrangement is in reducing the current chain that flows through Rt, R2, and R6. By amplifying the current flowing through the re- sistors, the resistance value can be in- ‘creasedto avery high valve, lowering the fotal curent draw of the clrcut. Resistor R6 adjusts the meter to read 0‘the basic circuit for the FuelGauge. Since the current fiow through a resistor depends on the voliage, this circuit isa very sensitive voltmeter. Using a transistor to amplify the curren flow through the resistors allows the circuit 10 be adjustable over a wide range without wasting any exira power, switch. Each circuit can be calibrated fora diferent type of battery, making the FuelGauge very versatile. milliomps when the battery is com- Pletely discharged, and R7 adjusts the meter to read 1 miliamp wnen the battery is fuly charged, If the FuelGauge Is accidentally ‘connected backwards to the battery, current would flow through D1 and M\ The transistor would become re- verse-biased, allowing a complete path back to the battery. That situa: tion would allow excessive current 10 flow through D1, Mf, and @1, destroy- Ing them n the process.To protect the FuekGauge and the battery, D2. Rt, ‘and R2 are Included to prevent any current flow in case the battery is re- versed. ‘A Dual-Use Meter. Tho versatity of the FueiGauge can be increased by ‘adding © second input circuit. That {lows the unitto be calllvrated for two differenttypes of batteries, That circuit 's shown in Figure 3. A double-pole, double-throw switch, $1, selects one of the two input clroutt: One circuit is od- Justed to one type of battery, and the other circult Is adjusted fo a second type of battery. For instance, one po- sition of $1 may be set fo monitor the battery of « hand-held two-way ra dio, and the second position may be Fig, 4. Here's the parts-placement diagram for the dual-use version of the FuelGauge. If your panel meter's terminals are spaced the same distance as the pads of the PC board, you can mount ‘the board directly to those terminals. Used for @ 12-volt lead-acid motorcy- cle battery Construction. The FueiGauge’ ci- Cults simple enough fo wire up using standard perfboard, Ifyou wish fo use PC board, « fall pattern fora single- sided board has been supplied. A feature of the PC board pattem isthe location of the connection pads for the meter. They are postioned tor mounting the PC board directly to he screw terminals of a standard panet- mount meter. As an citernatve, you may connect the boord fo the meter by wires, and mount the board sepa- ately in an enclosure. If you use the foll pattem for a PC board, or buy one ftom the source siven in the Parts List, use the parts. (Continued on page 74) mon sowonoe3 66) dyBATTERY FUEL GAUGE, (Continued from page 59) placement diagram in Fig. 4.08 0 guide. The pattem shown ts for the dual-use version; should you wish to bulld a single-use version, simply elim- inate Rd, RS, RB, RP, and @2. Obviously, @ single-use version will not need S1, either. Appropriate jumpers should then be inserted in the locations where switch 51 would normally be connected. ‘A small metal box measuring & inches x 3 inches x 2-¥4 inches will hold alll of the parts comfortably. The ‘Most difficult part of the construction is cutting a suitable hole in the box for the meter. One method that works weil is using on adjustable hole-drill- ing bit with an ordinary Y4-inch elec- tric drill fyou do notilike metal cutting, © kt containing pre-ciled case is ‘vaitable fom the source given in the Parts List. I vianenes ——] Here's the fol pattern for the FuelGauge. Two independent circuits fi ‘easly onto this single-sided board. The matkings on a ‘-miliomp ana- log panel meter con be read as per- centages of battery charge left. if ‘you'd lke to tess up the meter face, You could drow a replacement scale onaselt-adhesive label, One possible styles an automotive fuel gauge. The se of the replacement scale should be the same size as the scale of the meter you are using for the Fuel- Gauge. Battery Contacts. You wil have to Use your ingenuity to find the best woy fo connect the FuelGauge to your particular battery. One example is certain models of batteries used by Icom transceivers. Those have an ex- ‘ra set of contacts on the back that ‘are meant for use by an optional fast ‘charger. To use those contacts, you wil need brass ships, Y-inch wide, which ore avallable at hobby shops. The strios ore bent to fit around the bottom of the battery. A solder blob ‘on one end serves to make connec- tion with the spare battery contocts. ‘An‘@-inch length of hook-up wire with @ bonana plug on one end is sol- dered to the other end of the brass strip for connection to the FueKGauge. Calibration. Tre FuciGauge is call- brated by fist connecting fo the bat- tery you'd like to use it with when the battery is fully discharged. Assuming ‘you ore using the dual-citcuit version ofthe FuelGauge, select which circuit ‘willbe used with $1. Adjust R6 (or RB) fo ‘the point where the meter fist starts to indicate Gusta hair above the empty mark), Disconnect the FuelSauge ‘and fully recharge the battery, Re- move the charger, reconnect the FuelGauge, and set R7 (orR9) fora full scale reacing (ust at the full mark). If You ate going to use the dualuse ver- sion of the Fue'Gouge with another type of battery, repeat the calibration procedure with the other battery and Stn its other postion, ‘The FusIGouge is now ready for use with that battery (or batterles). Re- member that the FuelGauge draws between 4 and 2 miliamps from the bbattlery when in use. While in some ‘applications you may leave the Fuel- Gouge connected, on smaller bat- tery packs or over extended periods ‘you may want to eliminate that st drain by disconnecting the Fuel- Gouge or adding a switch in series with the terminal connections. There you have ita highiy-occu- rate fuel gage for your battery pocis that will have paid for iself the fist time you don't mistakenly ty 10 use a battery pack that is almost dis- charged. You'l get allt of satisfaction {and peace of mind always knowing the state of charge of your battery pack a