I love my iPhone 4 to death. I really do. Even if it sucks juice faster than a 1st grader at snack time and I often find myself on low power with a long train ride ahead of me.
I originally made my Altoids USB Charger to use with my iPhone, only to find that Apple being Apple doesn't let it's products play nice with generic USB chargers. I then set out on a long journey to find a cheap charger that would work with an iPhone 4. After sacrificing many a cheap Chinese charger to my garbage can I eventually found a great little circuit with the added bonus of having a retractable cable.
It's a cheap and easy project to put together and a great gift to give.
(If you want a USB version of this kit, I have an Instructable for that. I also published a Heavy Duty USB Version as well which is a beast; for people who need a lot of power on the go.)
Time: 30-60 minutes
Cost: Under $20
Difficulty: Easy
Step 1: What You Need
Parts:
Charging Circuit
2x AA Battery Holder
2x Rechargeable Batteries
1N914 Blocking Diode
Solar Cell greater than 4V
Stranded Wire
Tape
Optional:
Altoids Tin
Tools:
Soldering Iron
Solder
Hot Glue Gun
Wire Strippers
Protective Goggles
If you're interested in this project I have kits available on my website, browndoggadgets.com, that have everything you need to make the charger. If you're not one for making things I sell premade chargers as well.
More than 12% of all profits go to dog and kitty toys. You wouldn't make a kitty cry, would you?
Step 2: The Charging Circuit
For this project I've stolen a charging circuit from an Emergency iPod charger I got off ebay. You can find these all over the place. The key is to find one that will work with an iPhone.
Apple decided to have it's newer iDevices not follow USB standards. When an iDevice is plugged in it checks the data tabs on the USB to see what it's plugged into. Depending on what it finds it sucks more or less power, which makes sense but is annoying because NOTHING ELSE DOES THIS. Thus no charger out there has any power flowing to the data tabs.
So the key is to find one that works for your newer iPod or iPhone. If you have an older iPod or iPhone when you don't really need to worry all that much.
(For a USB Version of this, check out this instructable.)
If you want to make your own circuit you can always use a Mintyboost kit.
Step 3: Batteries
What I really find annoying is that on all the commercial solar chargers I see their internal battery is only 1000 mAh. That isn't a lot. A rechargeable AA battery has between 2000 - 3000 mAh of current in it. We can do better.
We need to use rechargeable batteries for this project. I prefer NiMh AAs over everything else because they're easy to find, cheap, and reliable. You probably even have a few at home. Since we're using two AAs in this project our charger will have 2000 - 3000 mAh of current. You could even have two sets of AAs in parallel and boost that capacity to 4000 - 6000 mAh.
An added bonus from rechargeable AAs is that you can take them out of the Solar Charger, charge them up or replace them, and be on your way.
Find some cheap ones and use them.
We need to use rechargeable batteries for this project. I prefer NiMh AAs over everything else because they're easy to find, cheap, and reliable. You probably even have a few at home. Since we're using two AAs in this project our charger will have 2000 - 3000 mAh of current. You could even have two sets of AAs in parallel and boost that capacity to 4000 - 6000 mAh.
An added bonus from rechargeable AAs is that you can take them out of the Solar Charger, charge them up or replace them, and be on your way.
Find some cheap ones and use them.
Step 4: Choose Your Solar Cell
If we use two rechargeable AAs that put out a total of 2.4Vs we're going to need a solar panel that is at least 3 - 4Vs just to meet basic levels of charging. The higher the voltage of our solar cell (or cells) the less light we need to charge up our batteries.
Now we're also trying to fit this into an Altoids Tin, so we're limited in space. I have found some great 4V solar cells that perfectly fit into Altoids Tins. They're the same ones I use with my Solar AA Atoids Charger.
Sure, a bigger and better solar cell would give us added power, but it wouldn't fit into our tin. (Something that has annoyed me with nearly every Altoids Solar Guide out there.)
You could also use a combination of several smaller cells to get your four volts. For example, 2V cells are very cheap and small on ebay. You could easily connect two of those in a series to get your 4Vs.
Just remember that when charging NiMh batteries we don't want to throw more than 10% of their capacity at them at any one time. For instance if your battery has a capacity of 2000 ma we can only use a solar cell that puts out 200 ma or less of current. This isn't usually a problem unless you're using a massive solar cell or a big combination of cells. None the less, keep this in mind.
Now if you're not using an Altoids tin you can always go crazy with a big solar cell. As you can see in the picture I have a lot of cells to choose from. Variety is the solar cell of life.
Every cell pictured above is available on my website, browndoggadget.com. Great for all sorts of fun projects.
Step 5: Strip Your Wires
First strip your wires.
Cut off 1/3rd of the wire from the battery holder and then strip some coating off the end.
Now cut a couple lengths of wire about 8 inches long. Strip the coating off each end.
Done!
Step 6: Solder The Solar Cell
First wrap one of your 8inch wires around your diode. Look at the diode. One side has a black bar. This is the negative end. Wrap your wire around that end.
Then just solder the wire to the negative end of the diode.
The positive end of the diode should then be soldered to the solar panel's positive tab.
Use your second wire on the negative point on the solar cell.
Step 7: Twist Up
Take the red wire (positive) from the battery pack and twist it together with the positive wire from the solar cell.
Take the black wire (negative) from the battery pack and twist it together with the negative wire from the solar cell.
Don't solder. Seriously don't. Go get a cup of tea and relax.
Crazy fools.
Step 8: Solder The Circuit
This is the most difficult part of the project.
Look at the circuit. You should be able to find a Positive (+) and a Negative (-) point on it. Just look for the battery tabs.
Now you don't have to remove the battery tabs, you can leave them where they are. Usually they are very easy to break off and it does save you some space.
Now just solder the positive cluster of wires to the positive point on the board, and the negative cluster of wires to the negative point on the board.
Now the big problem I see people having with projects like this is that they use too much solder. Lets refresh how we solder so we don't cause any shorts.
Touch your soldering iron to the wires and wait five seconds. Then touch the solder to the wires. DO NOT directly touch the soldering iron with the solder. The goal is to heat up the wires. When they're hot enough the solder will flow nicely.
You don't need a lot of solder to get the wires to stick. Just a dab.
Step 9: Tape Things Up
Now that we're all done you can tape things up.
Use some electrical tape and tape up your solar cell. Cut off any extra diode or wire.
If you're using a tin it wouldn't be a bad idea to tap up the area where you're going to put the circuit. Just on the off chance that you might get a short because of the tin surface.
The top right corner is a good spot. To put the circuit.
Step 10: Glue It Down
BUT WAIT! Before we glue down why not test out the circuit to see if it's working? You can even just throw in some regular AA batteries to see if everything is charging up well.
Throw some hot glue down on the far left side of the tin where your battery holder will be. Then, put the battery holder down.
TAKE BATTERIES OUT BEFORE YOU DO THIS. Otherwise they'll probably get glued down as well.
Now throw some glue down where you want your circuit to be. Place the circuit on top of it and hold it down. You want it as far back as you can in the tin.
Once the glue is dry we're going to go back for Round 2. We want to make sure the retractable cable is nice and secure. I usually scrunch the cable into the back corner and then throw down a whole lot of glue over the top of it. This was I don't have to worry about pulling the cable off.
Once that's dry you're totally done.
Step 11: Before Using
Before you start using the charger you should do a couple of things.
1st, charger up the batteries. You can do this either through large amounts of sun or by using a wall charger.
I've found that if the batteries get low on power the iPhone will throw out an error message saying "Not compatible for charging with iPhone" and then refuse to charge. Just charge up the batteries again and life will be good.
2nd, figure out how everything fits in there. The retractable cable will lay flat on the bottom if you've got everything spaced out correctly. The solar cell will also fit inside the tin.
If you're having issues with the solar cell try turning it around clockwise. This bunches up the wires and allows for it to fit in a bit better.
It can sometimes be a tight fit, but believe me, everything fits.
3rd, if you're having issues with your iPhone or iPod and charging try using some regular batteries. If they work then that means that your rechargeable batteries just need a recharge. Also keep this in mind. In a pinch you can always throw in regular batteries to charge up your phone. Like if zombies are attacking at night.
1st, charger up the batteries. You can do this either through large amounts of sun or by using a wall charger.
I've found that if the batteries get low on power the iPhone will throw out an error message saying "Not compatible for charging with iPhone" and then refuse to charge. Just charge up the batteries again and life will be good.
2nd, figure out how everything fits in there. The retractable cable will lay flat on the bottom if you've got everything spaced out correctly. The solar cell will also fit inside the tin.
If you're having issues with the solar cell try turning it around clockwise. This bunches up the wires and allows for it to fit in a bit better.
It can sometimes be a tight fit, but believe me, everything fits.
3rd, if you're having issues with your iPhone or iPod and charging try using some regular batteries. If they work then that means that your rechargeable batteries just need a recharge. Also keep this in mind. In a pinch you can always throw in regular batteries to charge up your phone. Like if zombies are attacking at night.
Step 12: Enjoy!
And you're done. Easy as pie you bought from the grocery store because you don't know how to make pie.
The only downside to this project is that you can't get an iPhone to charge directly from the sun. Our little solar cell just doesn't put out enough current to charge up the iPhone. Sadness.
If you're interested in the project I do have kits on my website available, as well as all the parts you might need for making a similar project.
Its amazing what you can do with a couple of solar cells and batteries. Plus things like this make great gifts.
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-Doctordv
USB chargers have a USB port, they are generic and work with everything.
-Doctordv
Joshua
Most no name recharagables are 50% at most.
Second tier, what I call name brand generics like Tenergy, yield around 75%+. (They have several lines and I have NOT tested the ones pictured.) Problem with these types is that the ones that test higher tend to drain faster that higher quality batts.
Name brands tend to be in the 90-99%+ range. Rayovac, Energizer, Duracell, etc.
The kings are the Sanyo and Sony Cycle batteries. They test at 100% and the the results are exactly the same for each battery.
-Bottom line is there is NO such thing as a 3000mAh battery as far as I know.
Yeah, but there are 2850 mAh batteries like the ones in the pics.
If you tested the ones in the pictures, I really doubt you'd get near that number. Good luck with it though.
I switched battery suppliers awhile back because their batteries just plain sucked. I now use much better batteries.
If you really want a long and steady charge, switch to Lithium. $15 will get you a charge controller circuit board and a decent lithium battery. Then add on a diode and a solar cell and you're golden.
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/536521891-free-shipping-emergency-charger-AAA-battery-external-backup-battery-charger-for-iPhone-4S-4-3G-3GS-wholesalers.html
and then connect a 3.6 volt solar panel directly to the leads on battery case within this device (with a diode on the + side)
Would that work- charging my three AAA batteries from solar panel, while simultaneously also using these AAA batteries to provide a charge to my Iphone?
It looks like it uses a boosting circuit of some kind, as 3 AAA rechargeables does not equal 5V, and a Li-ion would only be 3.7V.
Now you could, in theory, hook up a solar panel to it if it is just a boost circuit. However, you'd want to use something far larger than a 3.6V solar cell as a 3.6V solar cell will NEVER give you 3.6V. You'd want something larger than 5V with at least 200mA of current available.
Plus having batteries is a really good idea. Solar is not consistent, and batteries or a big capacitor helps regulate the flow of power.
Man, now I'm going to have to find one of these and take it apart!
Ok, first let me start off by saying I am very very new to electronics and have absolutely no idea what some of these components. None the less, I still want to build this thing. Now I have 2 AA rechargeable batteries, the blocking diode (which I don't know how to install) and pretty much everything else on the list, EXCEPT 1 THING; the charging circuit. Since I said before I have no experience, I was wondering how I can get/make this circuit. Is their a detailed instruction on exactly how to do this? PLEASE help me.
Hi Joshua
Thank you for this nice instructable!
its awesome
i was wondering if there is a limit to the voltage of the solar panel used?
could i for example use a 9volt 109mA solar panel?
and what kind of solar panel do you think would charge the AA's the fastest with the least amount of light without adding extra parts (except perhaps a diode or voltage regulator) to the circuit?
Thank you very much!
Sev
Amsterdam/Berlin
Are these chargers not compatible with that version of iPod? It seems to work with the other iDevice in my house, a 3rd gen iPod Nano.
If you're getting that error you just need to charge up the batteries. That almost always fixes that issue.
I've tried it with brand new alkaline AAs, which should have a higher voltage than fully charged NiMh, and it still gives me that error. Any other suggestions?
This is why a lot of people will plug their new iPhone into a newish USB charger and get an error message and no charging.
I have some some USB charger circuits that work with iPhones, but I can't always get them. Which is why I have a circuit specifically for iPhones and a generic USB one that may or may not work with an iPhone (though these days most of the ones I get in seem to work just fine).
Also, having a built in iPhone cable is a nice touch.