Abstract: An apparatus and method for fast battery charging are provided. A fast battery charger applies high charging current to a battery to minimize charging time. Micropeak detection of the battery voltage prevents overcharging of the battery cells, thereby preventing degradation of battery capacity over time. Noise reduction throughout the system as well as improved detection resolution allows for micropeak detection. A linear power supply eliminates switch noise. The sampling frequency is synchronized with the power supply, eliminating error due to power supply variation. Sleeping sampling is performed to overcome noise due to operation of the CPU. Improved measurement resolution is obtained via a 10-bit analog to digital converter. A subtraction technique maintains the high measurement resolution.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a DC power pack integrated with a micro-controller embedded controller for setting various voltages to accommodate different trains run on a track system. Micro-controller embedded controller (MECC) contains memory for pre-stored information and variable or changing information relating to the operation of the train system and related voltage and waveform requirements. Storage of variable or changing information can be in non-volatile memory or volatile memory with battery back-up. Throttle setting, braking and acceleration are controlled with the MECC connected to a user interface for selecting a number of possible values to increase the realism of the railroad operation. The railroader is capable of setting acceleration and deceleration times. Alternate embodiments provide for uploading/downloading data and information from the present invention to update the variable information pertaining to the operation of various manufactures trains and their operation set points.