Running A Dead MP3 Player On AA Batteries

I Find It Offensive That People Will Discard A Piece Of Technology Without Even Trying To Fix It .
So For Your Reading Pleasure Here Is How to Save A Dead Mp3 Player After It No Longer Charges The Battery.

Step 1 Background And Parts

Hi Guys Nice to see you again.
Here we have a slight disappointment.
A yard Sale find that wont work.
I got this lovely little 1 GB mp3 player for a couple of bucks but it wont hold a charge.
it was a nice one with ebook reader ,
mp3 voice recording,
video player and picture viewer.
its too nice to just toss
when it was plugged into the usb it worked ok so we know the guts are ok.
So wheres the problem? is it the battery or charging circuit?.
To do the full test series that i did you will need.
1. cordless phone battery 3.7v 600 mah {The little battery in the player was 350 mah}
2. vinyl tape

To do the other test {will It run on AA batteries?) and final mod you will need.
1. 3 AA Batteries (Alkaline Or Nimh i tried both)
2. Enclosure (altoids tin or lozenges)
3. A battery holder for 3AA
4. Hot glue gun
5. Vinyl tape
6. A strip of Aluminum
7. Aluminum foil

Comments

[krusher67]

Wow. Talk about finding a solution to a problem. I have the exact same MP3 player that I bought at Value Village. Does the same thing, works when hooked up to USB but battery won't power it more than a few seconds. I almost tossed it, but then thought I could probably find something to "mcgyver" it if I look hard enough. Awesome instructable, I'll be doing something similar the next chance I get!

Krusher

[nathanid95]

 You know what i find offensive? people capitalizing the first letter of every word in their introduction. It just makes people sound so loud and obnoxious in my mind.

[lennyb]

Welcome To Instructables Nathan

[Phil B]

The number of people who are technologically challenged is far greater than those who are not. That works out well for those of us who like to fiddle with technical things. The problem you identified is the reason why I have preferred players that run from a common AAA battery. Having said that, I recently bought a knock-off of an iPod Shuffle (2nd generation) new for $10 US. I am enjoying it a lot. But, I also found you can buy battery kits for some of these players at Amazon. The kits come complete with instructions and tools for opening the players.

[lennyb]

its so true. i told some of my younger co workers about this and they said they would never have thought of it. when i was their age a sony walkman was still 200 dollars and a vcr cost 1500. so when it broke you had it fixed. but who wants to spend 250 bucks to fix a 75 dollar vcr dvd combo. its really sad.

[Phil B]

Decades ago there was a popular book by Vance Packard titled "The Waste Makers." It dealt mostly with planned obsolescence. But, now we have the throw-away society. Labor to make repairs costs more than finished goods, if you can find someone who knows how to repair the item. But, if costs for new goods rise precipitously for any reason, talented people will find a reason to learn DIY thinking and techniques again.

[lennyb]

il have to check the library for that . sounds like an interesting read. thanks

[spacepirate04]

If the case for the new battery holder was a little bit larger you could ad a speaker :)

[lennyb]

actually if the case was a little bit bigger id have put the player in the box too. :)

[ironsmiter]

hehe, I had a minor panic atack for a bit... then i looked over my notes, and what'ya know. Charging voltage/curent for a 3.7V Li-ion battery is pretty darn safe, when applied to 3 AA ni-mh batteries in series.
Now I have a new tool, to test the charging circuitry of li-ion devices, if i ever lose my spare batteries. Hook up the phone battery, plug in USB, and watch for the "charging" icon!

As a side note, I'd personally use a mintyboost and replace the battery with a small resistor, till i could scavange a new one.

Is that really 350mAh battery? that suckers gonna run FOREVER on the AA pack!

Nicely done.

[lennyb]

well it ran about 18 hrs on the 3 used batteries i put in it. {they came out of disposable cameras.} gonna try it out on some nimh next.