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

* * * WARNING * * *

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)
   
   
2. Cut the plastic mounting lugs off the front of the plug to make it look like Figure 2
   (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)
   
   
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)
   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)
   
   
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)
   
   
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)
   
   
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)
   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)
   
   
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)
    
    
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!