YACS (Yet Another Charging Station)

A charging station for your gadgets.
Supplies:
Rubber grommets
A box
Tools:
Drill and bits

Step 1: Find a box.

Any old box should do. I picked this one up at the thrift store for a buck. I think it was a silverware box. The main thing I wanted to show here is the grommets I Found at the hardware store. The project itself doesn't differ much from the others on here, but the grommets were a nice touch to finish it off and help hold the cords with their "gripiness".

Comments

[samanthadarko]

This is Exactly what I have been waiting to see. You rock! how ever I never did consider the heat factor. how would a PC fan work in that situation?

[santy22]

a normal sized one should do, i dont know if it shold be sucking or making air enter...

[xd12c]

One on each side creating airflow should work very well. Would there be any way to add a button to turn the power strip off, thus allowing you to leave the station plugged in without it drawing power?

[tyep]

I'm not sure, you could cut the wires to the switch and lengthen them to an external switch, or get one of these, they look useful. http://www.greenandmore.com/smart-strip-energy-saving-power-strips.html

[xd12c]

I was thinking more along the lines of 2 mechanical switches. 1 for the power off & 1 to push the power button to on. If I think of anything I'll pass it along :)

[xd12c]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106104
PCI slot fan which would fit very well into your box. Add a "vent" on the other side or back & you should be good if you can figure out how to power it.

[pudicobar]

Yours look the best around. I'd go with the guys, add a heatsink + fan. Giving a 3.

[xrobevansx]

I added a USB hub to my charging station so the devices that can hook to my PC (virtually anything I charge: phones, pdas, cameras, etc) have a convenient place to link up to the PC!

[tyep]

Cool idea, I do have a hub laying around somewhere as well as a card reader. I'll think on how to incorporate them.

[xrobevansx]

please edit your instructable if you do!

[stevo1994]

Hey I have the same exact phone as you! Wow, what a coincidence!

[ajmontag]

a spade bit doesn't ever need a pilot hole... just saying is all.

[tyep]

Because I did the layout on the inside of the lid and I wanted to drill from the top because spade bits usually chip out the sides of the holes, I drilled the pilots so I knew where to put them.

[ajmontag]

aye, captian! way to keep your head in the came, i see that you also noted that it was a thin material, chipping way easier, another option would be to use a forstner bit, but they may be pricey and... not around while you have your mind set on the project...

[thematrix]

Great idea, I would be concerned it might be fire hazard having all those cords wound up and concealed in a box, may be a PC fan mounted in the side might be the go.

[tyep]

Yeah that might be a concern, something im keeping an eye on though.

[Mr. Rig It]

This is the nicest looking one yet. Good job and you get a + from me.

[SDx]

if you had time....aside from installing switched, i'd also carve out shallow grooves in the size of the device...

[tyep]

The top is less than a 1/4 inch thick so not much there to work with.

[1up]

Very nice, that looks good! One thing I would do: add some rubber on the top so your gadgets don't slide around.

[tyep]

I have those little no slip stickers on my devices.

[!Andrew_Modder!]

nice. just one mod i would persionally make, is to put power switches on each individual charge hole.

[carrierpilot1357]

i see a comment from you on 90% of the instructables i look at!

[!Andrew_Modder!]

ya, i like giving feed back. ..why do you say?

[carrierpilot1357]

im just saying its cool that someone looks at so many instructables.

[!Andrew_Modder!]

lol ok, i thought you were like saying its bad cause theres been a few people that get pissed off at me for commenting a lot of instructables (...oddly enof, lol i dont get it). and ya :-) i try to comment and feedback what i can on new ones

[carrierpilot1357]

i was using the camera. nice!

[GorillazMiko]

Awesome! Very nicely done. I'm eating Starbursts right now, and for some reason, I want to try out this Instructable. Great job. +1 rating.

_{By the way, is that a Zen?}

[tyep]

Yeah, I like it very easy to use, and one of the few players that can play the audiobooks that we download from our library.

[Rage]

i have a zen!!!! its the 4 gig one. but im getting sd cards for it cause its full. how bigs yours?

[tyep]

Yeah mine is a 4 gig, and it is mainly used for audiobooks which are big files, we currently have three on it and we should be able to get another one one.

[gmjhowe]

if u wernt too precious about your desk, i would build this into the top! would be great, just 6 gromits poking out the back.

[tyep]

That would be nice, but the layout of my desk is always changing so I wanted it mobile. My modem and router are secured to the underside of the desk and come out of a hole in the back. Rockler has a good selection of item that I've had my eye for that purpose.
http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=200

[LinuxH4x0r]

Cool! Much nicer than the other ones I have seen. Nice Zen!

[PKM]

I'd be tempted to put clipped zip ties around the end of the cables to stop them slipping back inside the box (if the friction of the rubber isn't enough), but otherwise it's a neat take on a useful project.

[tyep]

I thought about that as well as wrapping appropriate labels around the wires, long enough to prevent them from falling. I'll just try this for now and see how it goes.