https://stream.echo6.co/videos/watch/09d5e483-2d7c-4363-bcd1-fbe70a2cbff7 One of the most commonly cloned battery styles on the online marketplaces is the Makita style. These "Fakita" (Fake Makita) batteries actually contain full charge and discharge protection, which means the tools can be very simple - often just a switch and motor. As supplied, the batteries usually charge via a small jack connector on the pack, but some have an auxiliary charge connection. Those packs can be charged on a slot-in charger like this one. The circuitry in these units is breathtakingly simple. Mainly just a rectifier and smoothing, and a single chip solution that drives the transformer, but also monitors the secondary side by using the primary as a sense coil, and also indicates the state of charge using two directly driven LEDs. The secondary side circuitry is literally just three components. A diode, capacitor and load resistor. The circuit board has indications that it is used for other styles of battery too, as there are legacy connector positions and some obsolete resistor positions that bizarrely still have resistors soldered on them. Note that these chargers are made to Chinese safety standards (none), so always treat the exposed contacts as potentially being a shock risk and don't finger them. I wouldn't recommend using a charger like this with a real Makita battery, as older versions have very little in the way of protection, and with imbalanced cells there is a risk of some being overcharged. The fake packs will terminate the charge as soon as any cell reaches 4.2V. The Fakita batteries vary wildly in capacity, with some being as low as 1Ah, but others being double that. You can buy kits for making your own custom packs using your own choice of cells, and there are some enormous versions with up to 5 cells in parallel (25 cells per pack.) The popularity of these packs means that there is a wide range of unusual accessories available for them, including the very useful work lights with built in USB chargers. You can also get adaptors that allow you to use these packs to power your own equipment. If you want one of these to explore or use then here's a link to the item on AliExpress (not a sponsor). This is an affiliate link, but that will not affect the price you pay. https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3MNCd93 Alternatively, here's the other version:- https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c44lOBd7 Both should cost between £3 and £5 depending on the yo-yo pricing. Shop around for the best deal. They claim to be universal voltage. I wonder how that goes with the simple resistive dropper power supply for the chip. Especially as it indicates that it uses a classic bipolar transistor. If you enjoy my videos, supporting the channel on Patreon helps keep it independent of YouTube's quirks, avoids intrusive mid-video adverts, gives early access, bonus footage and regular quiet Patreon live streams. https://www.patreon.com/bigclive Alternatively, for a single coffee contribution you can use PayPal:- https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/bigclive #ElectronicsCreators Thu, 23 Apr 2026 06:27:56 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://stream.echo6.co https://stream.echo6.co/client/assets/images/icons/icon-512x512.png https://stream.echo6.co/videos/watch/09d5e483-2d7c-4363-bcd1-fbe70a2cbff7 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://stream.echo6.co/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.