DIY iPod Nano Charger (Or Any Other USB Charging Device)
I have to admit that I have never owned an iPod. In fact, up until last night, I have never even touched one. So, when I buddy of mine called me up and asked if I had a USB power charger, I said sure, not realizing that he needed it for his daughter Tessa’s iPod Nano for their vacation.
When they got to my house, I quickly realized I had the wrong adapter. In fact, the connector was like nothing I had ever seen before so I knew that I had nothing to help them out. Then, a thought came to me. I told them to give me a moment while I ran downstairs to my lab (Yes, I have a lab in my basement! No Igor jokes! He gets mad!).
A minute later, I emerged with a homemade iPod Nano charger with the ability to charge up to four iPod Nano’s at the same time! Actually, all I had was a powered USB hub but it was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Now, you could go and buy the iPod charger for $40 or bring a laptop with you but this solution has a number of advantages going for it:
- You can charge more than one device at a time
- Can usually get a powered USB hub for under $30
- Still works as a great USB hub
- Can charge other things than just the iPod Nano
- Smaller than a laptop
- More readily available than the iPod Nano charger (you may even have on lying around at home)
If you are going to do this and you want to buy a USB hub, make sure that it is a powered hub. Bus powered hubs will not work because they get their power from a computer and this would defeat the purpose.
If this idea did not work, my next course of action would have been to build a 9 volt battery USB charger. But, that would have taken me at least five minutes to make!
Have fun on your vacation, guys!
If you found this post useful, why don't you buy me a cup of coffee to show your gratitude?
5 Responses to “DIY iPod Nano Charger (Or Any Other USB Charging Device)”
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Jared Says:
January 11th, 2007 at 8:49 amIf you like actual soldering DIY, check out the Minty Boost kit. Fitting inside of an Altoids’ gum tin, 2 AA batteries can recharge your device.
The one thing I found out, though, is that Motorola cellphones that charge via USB won’t charge through this without some cable hacking - in fact, if you have a device that won’t charge until you install a driver in XP, it won’t work with the MintyBoost.
Still, it’s always nice to have a quick backup, if nothing else.
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TPN :: The Global Geek Podcast Says:
January 11th, 2007 at 1:37 pmI thought it was a nice life hack. Especially if you are going to be away from PC access for a while and you don’t want to sit round an Internet cafe for 3-4 hours while the iPod charges. Source: Daily Cup of Tech
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Scott Kingery Says:
January 12th, 2007 at 5:05 pmBrilliant. Makes sense and I never thought of it. I’m in the market for a hub so I’ll be sure to look for one that is sleek and trim enough for carrying on trips.
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Tommy Says:
March 14th, 2007 at 11:45 pmHi do you have a list of instructions on how to make the usb hub charge the ipod? as i have been searching everywhere to find out how to do this
thanks
Tom
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Echo Zoe Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:29 pmWhat kind (brand) of hub did you use? I have several and none of them will power anything unless they are plugged into a computer, which really defeats the purpose.
