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Make your own iPod Charger nano-HOWTO
An AC charger and battery eliminator for an iPod or iPod Mini

This is a terse, step-by-step HOWTO for making your own AC charger or battery eliminator for many USB battery-powered devices, including an Apple iPod or iPod Mini. I needed to do this myself when I couldn't get the real deal for a friend's iPod Mini, then decided they cost too much anyway. The "real deal" has an iPod docking plug on one end of it and an AC plug-pack on the other. This is nice for plugging into an iPod, but useless for any other device. I did a bit of hunting around (2 minutes in Jaycar Electronics to be exact) and came up with a cost-effective plug-pack and cable configuration which should be suitable for any USB battery-powered device for less than AU$50.00.

I selected a plug-pack where input AC voltages may vary between 100v and 240v so the charger/battery eliminator should be usable in most countries. DC output is switchable and regulated and when 5 volts DC output is selected, USB devices should be quite happy.

* * * WARNING * * *

The assembly instructions which follow do NOT involve contact with dangerous voltages (other than plugging the plug-pack and soldering iron into mains power), however they DO involve cutting and soldering and maybe heating shrink-wrap tubing. If you don't feel confident with with this sort of construction, I suggest you enlist some competent help. If you're really not sure you should be doing this at all, I suggest you stop right now and go and buy a commercial unit designed specifically for the task you have in mind.

I've built and tested the device described on two different Apple iPod Mini's and it worked just fine. However, it may not work just fine for you. I've taken care to double-check the method I used to build this for myself and have presented it in good faith, but I'm only human. If you choose to follow this nano-HOWTO, you also agree to accept any consequences. OK?

Please contact me at steve@plug.linux.org.au if you have corrections or (useful) suggestions regarding this nano-HOWTO.


Things You Will Need

  • 1 x USB PC Slot Card (Jaycar Stock Code PL0929)
  • 1 x 3 - 12VDC 1Amp Switchmode Switchable Power Supply (Jaycar Stock Code MP3130)
  • Soldering iron and solder suitable for electronics work
  • Tools eg. side-cutters, wire stripper, philips-head screwdriver, sharp knife
  • PVC electrical insulating tape
  • Self-vulcanising rubber tape (optional)
  • 2.5 cm heat-shrink tubing, diameter selected to fit over the soldered wires (optional)
  • Multimeter (optional)

Method

  1. Remove one USB female Type A socket from the PC slot-filler using a philips-head screwdriver (red arrow Figure 1)
    Figure 1 USB female Type A socket(Figure 1)

  2. Cut the plastic mounting lugs off the front of the plug to make it look like Figure 2
    Figure 2 trimmed USB female Type A socket(Figure 2)

  3. Cut off the flylead plug (black arrow Figure 1) up close to the plug to leave wires exposed and strip the red wire and the next-to-last black wire (Figure 3)
    Figure 3 USB female Type A socket wires made ready(Figure 3)

  4. Cut the round output socket off the plug-pack cable (Figure 4). If you're going to use heat-shrink tubing to seal the soldering work, now's the time to slip it over the wires from the plug-pack so it's ready to be slipped into place when you've finished soldering and insulating. Strip the ends of the wires from the plug-pack
    Figure 4 plug-pack output socket(Figure 4)
    HINT: I usually offset wires when I solder them like this to make the overall diameter smaller after I've insulated the joins eg. Figure 5
    Figure 5 offset wires example(Figure 5)

  5. Solder the red wire from the USB socket to the marked wire from the plug-pack (see red arrows Figure 6) and solder the next-to-last black wire from the USB socket to the black wire from the plug-pack (see black arrows Figure 6)
    Figure 6 corresponding USB socket and plugpack wires(Figure 6)

  6. Insulate the two soldered joints with a small amount of PVC electrical insulation tape to prevent them from touching and snip the green and white data wires.
  7. Slide the voltage-selector switch (red arrow figure 7) to the "5 volts" position on the plug-pack
    Figure 7 plug-pack voltage selector switch(Figure 7)

  8. Plug the unit into the mains and switch it on. The power indicator light on the plug-pack should now be lit. Use a multimeter to make sure the output on the USB socket pins is at 5 volts and with the correct polarity - red arrow positive, black arrow negative (Figure 8). Note that most USB type A female sockets are depicted in pinout diagrams up the other way, with the pins down.
    Figure 8 USB socket pin polarity(Figure 8)
    If something's not right, now's the time to fix it - check the wiring configuration, check the soldering quality.

  9. If you're using heat-shrink tubing, slip it over the whole insulated joint assembly and heat it with a hair-dryer to shrink it into place (see Figure 9). If you're not using heat-shrink tubing, wrap the whole joint area securely with PVC electrical insulation tape.
    Figure 9 heat-shrink wrapped cable join(Figure 9)

  10. Secure the selector switch in the "5 volts" position using self-vulcanising rubber tape (eg. Figure 10) or PVC electrical insulation tape. Make sure that it doesn't move off the "5 volts" position while you're doing this!
    Figure 10 tape secured plug-pack voltage selector switch(Figure 10)

  11. Plug in a USB battery-powered device and check that it's all working correctly eg. with an Apple iPod Mini, you'll see the battery charging indicator become active. You're all done, enjoy!