This project details a small & simple, but very powerful USB charger for your mp3 player, camera, cell phone, and just about any other gadget you can plug into a USB port to charge! (See below for compatibility tests)
The charger circuitry and 2 AA batteries fit into an Altoids gum tin, and will run your iPod for hours! 2.5x more than you'd get from a 9V USB charger! (See Process for math/calculations) You can use rechargable batteries too.
Some numbers...
- iPod video (tested, using alkaline batteries): 3hrs more video (1 full recharge)
- iPod shuffle (not tested): 60 hours more (5 full recharges)
- iPod mini (tested w/rechargables): 26 hours more (1.5 full recharges)
This project is suitable for beginners, some soldering tools are necessary but even if you've never soldered before it should be pretty easy. You can etch a circuitboard and/or breadboard this up, or simply buy a kit from the webshop.
I've also documented the process of designing this kit, in case other people interested in designing and making kits are interested in learning how to start selling their own kits!
This project was developed under support from EYEBEAM, thanks!
This website and all original content therein is published under the Creative Commons 2.5 attribution license.
Read what some people have to say! (And let me know if you have a review you'd like linked to from here)
Turns out some devices don't like being charged with a battery pack, usually devices that require special drivers to charge. (Try plugging it into a random computer's USB port, if you need to install software to get it to start charging, you probably won't be successful.) Please post on the forum if you have more information on what works and doesn't! Thanks
Tested Works:
- Apple iPod: Mini, Nano rev 1G/2G/3G, Shuffle 1G/2G, Photo/5G/Video/Classic
Read Apple's identification guide to see which one you've got, if you're not sure. - Apple iPhone and iPhone 3G (with v2.0 of the kit)
- Arcos 605 WiFi
- AT&T 8525 (a.k.a. HTC Hermes).
- AudioVox 6700 (use R5 as a pullup)
- Blackberry
- Creative Zen Micro (tested with firmware v1.11.01)
- Creative Zen Vision M (Doesn't work through USB but does work with a DC connector/adaptor, as sold in the webshop)
- Dell DJ Ditty
- Garmin Edge 305
- Garmin Forerunner 305 (unplug it when its done charging or it can drain itself!)
- Gigabeat S30 (Doesn't work thru USB but does work with a DC connector/adaptor, as sold in the webshop)
- GlobalSat's DG-100 GPS datalogger
- HOLUX GPSlim236 bluetooth GPS
- iMate Jam, iMate SP5 smartphone
- iPaq (5555 pocket pc)
- iRiver Clix u10
- iRiver E10 (use pulldown)
- iRiver H340
- Locosys Technologies BGT-11 GPS
- M-AUDIO Microtrack 24/96
- Microsoft Zune
- MobiBLU DAH-1500i
- Mrobe 500 + 100 (with adaptor cable)
- Nintendo DS/GameBoy Advance (with adaptor cable)
- Nokia phones, using cables CA-70 and CA-100 will charge nearly all Nokia phones (except the 8600), also known as 'standard Nokia USB data/charger' cables
- O2 XDA II
- Openmoko neo FreeRunner (see here)
- Palm TX, Palm Tungsten T3, Palm Zire 71 and 72
- PocketPC HX4700 (Go into the power settings and turn on charging through USB)
- Rio Carbon
- Samsung SCH-i730, SGH-i750, SGH-i858 (With a USB charger cable, you can also hack a cable yourself, see here) SCH-U520
- Samsung T809
- Sandisk Sansa Express (use pullup resistor) See notes here
- Sony PSP (with adaptor cable)
- Treo 700p, 750 (using Palm's charge/sync cable)
- T-Mobile Dash (HTC Excalibur)
- T-Mobile Wing (or HTC Herald, or HTC P4350)
Tested Kinda Works:
- Motorola RAZR v3: doesn't work by default, requires a bit of cable hacking. See this document at pinouts.ru and this fellow's graphic.
- Treo 600 (Says it isnt, but is. Won't charge more than 50% ?)
- Samsung D00 phone (Should also work: D800, D820, E780, E870, P300, P910, P920, T809, Z540) requires a cable hack
- Motorola H700 bluetooth headset (Kinda? Sorta? Unclear)
- BT-GPS1210 (SIRF III mouse) requires USB charging cable
- iPod Touch (probably works with v2.0 of the kit)
Tested Doesn't work:
- Audiovox SMT 5600 Window Mobile phone (v1.2 works with the 6700 so it could be that this works now)
- 1-3G iPods (Firewire only!)
- MuVo Slim (one report)
- Sony EBook reader
- Motorola Q (one report)
- Nokia 8600 phones require a driver to charge, so are unlikely to work