Originally posted by imjonah
What is the exact difference, electronically, between
a 6 volt power supply and a very basic 6 volt charger.
by basic I mean no timer, no meters, no peak detect, no program.
Is a charger fundementally just a power supply with control and detection circuits?
If you are thinking about the cheap "chargers" that come with the "Toygrade" rc cars, then most of them are nothing but small power supplys. Not even with control or detection circuits. They just charge slow enough so that the battery can, without damage, convert the extra charge into heat. I hesitate even to call them chargers.
However, real chargers most often need a 12 volt power supply and often have expensive components inside.