Many blind and deaf-blind persons use portable electronic devices to  assist their everyday lives but it is difficult for them to test the  batteries used in this equipment. Talking voltmeters are available but  there is no equivalent usable by deaf-blind persons. This battery tester  uses vibration and a user-settable control to enable blind and  deaf-blind persons to test both ordinary and rechargeable AAA, AA, C,  and D cells and 9V batteries. For ease of use and maintenance the device  is powered by the battery under test.
The design is dominated by the fact that the pager motor will operate  down to only 0.7V. With a 0.3V drop from the switching transistor, a  weak cell, at 1.0V, will only just operate the motor. This means that  the 1.5V cell sensing circuitry cannot be isolated from the 9V test  terminals using steering diodes – they would introduce too great a  voltage drop. The solution was to duplicate the level sensing circuitry  for each set of test terminals. On the 1.5V side of the circuit, a  resistance network consisting of two 10kO multi-turn trimpots (VR2 &  VR3) and user control VR1a produces an adjustable proportion of the  voltage of the cell under test.
VR1a selects a division ratio between the low and high limits set by  the trimpots. The resistance of VR1a is 10 times larger than the  resistance of these trimpots to minimise the interaction between their  settings. The voltage from the resistance network is applied to a  combined threshold detector and current amplifier formed by Q1 to Q4 and  associated components. When the threshold (about 0.6V) is exceeded the  pager motor is energised, causing the battery tester to vibrate. In use,  VR1 is first set to its fully counter-clockwise position, then a cell  is connected.
If the cell’s voltage exceeds the 1V low threshold set by the 1.5V  LOW trimpot (VR2), the battery tester will vibrate. Rotating VR1  clockwise applies a progressively lower voltage to the threshold  detector until a point is reached when the threshold is no longer  exceeded and the pager motor switches off. The angle of rotation of VR1  then indicates the voltage on the battery. VR1 is fitted with a pointer  knob to make the angle of rotation easy to feel. Having the pager motor  switch off rather than switch on ensures that the voltage of the battery  is sampled while it is supplying the load of the pager motor.
This gives a more accurate indication of the state of the battery  than its open-circuit voltage. To ensure that the user turns VR1  clockwise during the test, the circuit is designed so that once  vibration has ceased, it cannot be made to start again by rotating VR1  counter-clockwise. This also eliminates any possibility of user  confusion arising from any hysteresis in the circuit. This feature is  implemented by Q5, which forces the base of Q2 high if Q4 ceases to  conduct strongly. A 1µF capacitor between the base and emitter of Q5  forces it off when power is first applied, to give Q4 a chance to  conduct.
The parallel 1MO resistor discharges the 1µF capacitor when power is  removed, to reset the circuit. To prevent the pager motor being driven  through the base-emitter junction of Q5, the base of Q5 is connected to  the collector of Q4 via 10kO resistor. Another 10kO resistor is  connected in parallel with the pager motor to ensure that Q5 switches on  when Q4 switches off. The 9V test circuit is similar to the 1.5V  circuit. A 68O 1W resistor limits the current through the motor to  prevent it from being over-driven by the higher voltage.
In addition, there is a series diode to protect the 9V circuitry  against reverse polarity. A diode is not possible for the 1.5V side of  the circuit because it would introduce too great a voltage drop;  fortunately, it is also unnecessary since 1.5V is below the reverse  breakdown voltage of the transistors used. The 1µF capacitor across the  pager motor smoothes the load provided by the motor so that measurements  made by the circuit are consistent from one trial to another. The  1N4001 diode across the pager motor clips any back-EMF generated by the  motor.
A D-cell holder and an AA-cell holder connected in parallel were used  for the 1.5V test terminals. The 9V test terminals are the studs from a  standard 9V snap screwed to the box. To calibrate the battery tester,  start with VR1 fully counter-clockwise. First adjust the 1.5V LOW  trimpot by turning it fully counter-clockwise, then apply 1.0V to the  1.5V test terminals and turn the trimpot slowly clockwise until  vibration just ceases. Now turn VR1 fully clockwise and adjust the 1.5V  HIGH trimpot similarly with 1.6V applied to the 1.5V test terminals.
There is a small amount of interaction between the low and high  settings, so repeat the adjustment of the 1.5V LOW trimpot. Similarly,  calibrate the 9V side of the circuit for a range of 6.0V to 9.6V. To  test a battery, rotate VR1 fully counterclockwise before connecting the  battery to the appropriate set of test terminals (1.5V or 9V). If the  device does not vibrate, the battery is completely dead. Otherwise,  rotate VR1 slowly clockwise until the device just ceases to vibrate. The  position of VR1 then shows the condition of the battery under test.