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Basically, I want to power a small AA device from a usb port, preferably terminating in something that will fit snugly into the two-AA receptacle. I searched the archives, but couldn't find an equivalent project. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks.

Can someone provide me with a schematic for a AA-5v USB charger, either using 2xAA or 4xAA, using parts available on ebay UK (and no programmable chips), much like the mintyBoost, but the chip isn't available in the UK.

Is there a way to charge a Smartphone using a single AA battery? I already have a DC-DC booster to 5V but the current is not enough to charge the phone, can someone please help me with this?

Hello I have a bunch of AA rechargeable batteries and would like to use them. I could just go out a buy a charger but wheres the fun in that. I would like the charger to be close to the ones you buy, but of course with the instructables finesse. it needs to charge at least 4 at a time and tell me when there charged with an LED indicator. id like to see if it can be plugged into my USB port and charge. Thank You John F.

I am looking for some really high capacity aa batterys. I found 4600mah batts on rcdimos.com.... I thought that these looked a bit sketchy. Does anyone know some high capacity aa rechargeables??

Hi, So I have a AA battery pack inverter for some EL wire, and I was wondering if it was possible to replace the AA battery's with a lithium Ion battery to reduce its size. What kind of voltage should I look for/do I need to take into account amperage?

 Hey I have a cheap camcorder that runs on AA's but I want to put it on a lithium battery. What I want to use is just the standard battery out of an old phone 3.2v, I'd like to use these because I have a huge surplus of them. I have pretty much no knowledge of electrical circuits and so I need of bit of help. I know two AA's is 3v and any lithium battery is 3.2v, how could I step the battery down to 3v?

Hi i like to build a solar AA battery charger with a indicator that show me it is full, is there a way?

Hi, im doing a science project for school and i need to find what type of AA batteries last the longest (Duracell, Energizer, ect..) but i need to monitor it while it is draining so that i can tell which one goes out first, so a fairly quick technique would be ideal... thanx :)

Hi guys i want to build batery charger for AAA/AA Ni-Mh bateries and im wondering is there any schematics that can help me?  Thaks a lot :)

One of my many hobbies is collecting tabletop water fountains. I have about 6 fountains, two independently powered and 4 that run on 2 AA batteries. Since I have these fountains on all the time, as you can imagine they are costly to power. One day I finally got sick of putting new batteries in these things and rewired their battery wires in a parallel circuit for running on DC power from a wall. Now the only thing I need is a power supply. Now, motors aren't too picky about voltage. They'll operate on different voltages but if it isn't just right the motor will be too loud or too weak to pump the water correctly. This rules out and transformers I have in my bin. Upon measuring the current from the 4 fountains, I found that it uses about 440mA. I have kept my eyes open for a good power supply but have not yet seen one. I've also toyed around with the idea of using the closest one I have (Nokia 3.7v 500~?mA) and applying a voltage regulator on it, but I don't want to buy one yet as I am still a novice at some of the mechanics of most electrical components. Would that be an effective plan? If not, any other ideas? My fountains haven't turned on in a few weeks and there are starting to urge for the sweet trickle of water down their dry, dusty flumes.

I cut and stripped the wires of the end bit of the charger and there are 2 wires white and red but i don't know which is positive or negative. also if i use a battery pack that says 3.6v on it but it has 3xAA's inside will it short my psp or blow it up or break it id appreciate the help to anyone who gives it.

Seriously...it is! Thoughts?

Can we only use the types of batteries listed in the Sanyo Eneloop Battery contest's description for the power source in our projects? My 9V clip flashlight technically uses a 9V, but it can also run on 2 AAs. Also, what about N's and the like?

I'm looking to do a very long backpacking trip and was wondering if there was any way to charge my camera's battery without being plugged into a wall outlet. This applies to lots of these bigger batteries, but in this case I'm looking at the Canon NB-7L, that works with the PowerShot series. Litium-Ion, 7.4V, 1050 mAh. As far as I can tell, there is no way to charge this battery without these big wall chargers, although there are some off-brand variations which allow for power from a cigarette lighter adapter. Anyone have any brilliant ideas on how one would go about getting power to one of these batteries, via charger or otherwise? My main problem seems to be that all the alternative power sources out there (solar chargers, mintyboost, yada) provide their power via USB, which doesn't seem to do me much good. I know there's beefy battery packs out there that would work, but in the interest of saving weight, I'd rather not spring for a brick that weighs more than my tent. Any input is greatly appreciated. Cheers.

Can I use AA battery bank to power an 50w inverter (3000ma 12v)?

I want to make a AA battery charger powered by usb

I am going to build a solar charger, but I am not sure if it is safe to just apply the power from the solar panel, with a blocking diode, to the batteries to charge it.  Will this method hurt the batteries if they are charged for to long.  Could I just open up a regular battery charger and use the components in that? Thanks in advance

Hi all! Whats the best way to get a nice circuit friendly 5 volts from 4xAA batteries? Measuring some brand new AAs, they're about 1.6v when new, which drops under load, I know. So four AAs of course add up to 6.4v, possibly blowing my low current circuit. And isn't a 7805 voltage regulator only good with aroundabouts 7-8 volts source because of how they work? Plus DC-DC converters are expensive, and resistors are wasteful. :-) Thanks!

Hi guys,             I want to build a project which has 3 blue leds which will take in almost 9 v. I could just use a 9 volt battery as it would be cheaper and easy but I want more mAh. So I have a few questions regarding if I use 6 AA batteries instead. 1. All of them connected (+ to -) will give me approx. 2500 mah and 9v right? And as 3 LED's would take about 3v 20 mah each, how much run time would 6 AA batteries give me? 2. How much run time would I get with the 9v battery? As it is only 400mah I think Thanks in advance -A Prickly Potato

I was wondering if anyone knows how to make a external battery pack (via adaptor) and make it so it will run from the battery pack. my concerns are: matching the voltage and mAH. as well as ensuring the safety of my psp i know that i already need the plug for the psp from the ac adaptor, anything else? also if possible, keep it as cheap as possible.

Here is another blinking LED running from a single 1.5 AA battery. While the white and blue LEDs need over 3 volts. The white blinks in the transition moments between red to blue and to red !

How would I create a circuit which turns on an LED when the voltage goes below 2.5V? I am using 2x AA batteries

Just wondering if anyone knows whether it is would be possible to charge 10 AA rechargeable battery's in series with a standard 12v solar panel without any specialist kit ? Thanks

For my Sophomore engineering class project I am making a hydroelectric generator that will need to charge two AA or smaller if not enough voltage is possible. The plan is to have my magnets spinning over the wrapped copper coils, but here's where I am stuck. I will have my two leads of the copper wire that are sanded down, but how do I go about charging the AAs form the wires? Do I have the positive copper wire go through some sort of diode then a container for the AAs that go back to the negative copper wire? Thanks in advance for the help. My engineering teacher is frustrating and says that I can go straight into the batteries which I know can't work.

I need to make a joule theif that can output 12v to power some rgb leds. any help would be great. but preferably in the form of a schematic. i have all of the parts needed.?

Hey all- does anyone know of an ipod charger that runs on AA's that can charge an ipod touch 4g? I am going on a trip soon (1 week) and would like to try to make a backup battery for my touch. I have most materials that would be used for this- a variety of caps, 7805's, a few resistors, pretty much everything except a battery holder. I can also head to radioshack (maybe in a couple days if I need to get anything). Anyone know of anything?

I need a small solar panel to put on top of a tiki pole so I can have its eyes light up. It has one in it but has quit working trying to find one to replace it . It is approx. 2 1/2 in by 2 1/2 in do you carry such a thing or know where I might purchase one. Thank you for your help in advance Anne Domes

i just made a huge 50cm x 130 cm inifinity mirror with 2 strands of 3528 led strip lighting left over approx 1' long left over. I am on the attempt of making small portable infinity mirrors and coaster seem like the best idea for them. i wired it all good and i am done now however i appear to have a problem Step 1: Infinity Coaster everything works well until it has been left on for 2 mins. even when i turn off the lights, the batteries get super hot. They are cheap dollar store AA batteries but almost too hot to touch even when it is turned off. i figured maybe i have a short somewhere but i cannot find one with the multimeter. is it just that i have too much amperage for too little of an LED strip? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvYCstmnIfY they stopped turning on the lights when they got hot but i tried again to shoot this video clip and they worked pretty good. A little slow to light up still so some of the juice is gone i imagine. if you know these strips give me a clue. if i find out the problem, i can make a solution and make another instructable on how its made with # 2. it is Christmas after all and somebody needs a coaster for their egg-nog.  these pics arent great let me know if you wanna see wiring more clearely

So i wanted to try and pick peoples brains about this and surprisingly my web searches havent really returned anything fruitful on the subject. I have an electronic device that uses 4 AA batteries in series (6v) in a standard arrangement. Due the relative newness of the product and the way the battery compartment is shaped, its basically impossible to replace them with a 6 volt pack and its equally tiresome to use rechargeables as the battery compartment is screwed shut and this is designed to be a portable device. Ideally what I would like to do is remove a section of the case and embed a micro usb socket and setup a charging circuit to the existing battery compartment and stick some long life (lion maybe) AAs in there then just leave the compartment shut and charge via the usb port. Maybe add an led indicator for charge level, i dunno.  However, while i can solder with the best of them, the actual engineering part of laying out the necessary circuit etc is wayyyyy beyond my skills. would anyone be able to assist? Would it be easier to just scrap the battery compartment entirely and stick a battery pack inside the case that was 6v and many many many mah and hook the charge circuit up to that and its leads to the wires going to the compartment and leave it empty? theres plenty of hollow space inside the appliance itself. Second, the device itself doesnt have a "hard off" switch, it has a momentary to boot it up and a reset button. The momentary is constantly being hit in travel and turning the device on, draining the batteries. Theres no internal memory to worry about being wiped, so id love to slap a slider switch on there to kill power to the whole device unless its physically toggled, especially if im cutting a spot for a usb port as well.  Anyone willing to help consult to bring this to fruition? Ill happily give you full credit and buy all parts and what have you, and do all the solder work, just need someone to help me plot out the circuits, decide best course of action, and design a nominal breadboard to slap it together for testing.  

Hi guys, I have tried looking around to buy a 5 x AA battery holder but unable to find one. As such, how can I make my own 5 X AA battery holder? I have a 4 x AA holder and a 2 x AA holder.. Is there any way to combine this two and make it a 5 x AA holder? Or can I use a 6 x AA holder and modify it to a 5 x AA holder? Thanks for your inputs.

I found a lot of portable usb charger Instructables using a 9v and a 5v regulator and one that used 2 aa with a 5v boost converter. if I'm using it to charge a device that uses a 3.7v li-ion, then wouldn't any voltage above that work, so as long as it's not high enough to damage whatever it's charging? so would putting 4 aa (4.8v) with just a capacitor and diode work as a safe portable usb charger? or does it need to be exactly 5v?

All the DIY solar chargers seem to use a feel test or a multi meter to test if batteries are charged. Is there a curcuit utilizing an LED like those on manufactured chargers, that will let me know when my batteries are charged, and possibly put them in float mode or turn the unit off?

I am new in electronics, and I am building an LED circuit with 2 AA batteries, green LED, and toggle switch. I put the batteries in the circuit (it's a 9v battery clip with a Two AA Battery holder) and it ran for a bit, then the bottom started to melt a bit. It is an older AA holder but the 9v clip is new. Is it because of the old component, switch, voltage, anything!

Hi there! I'm planning a project using a 12vdc case fan to inflate a plastic bag for a school project. I have located a 9v battery clip and a 2xAA battery holder and was wondering how i'd go on with wiring them together. I was also wondering if it was possible to reverse the polarity, thus creating a vacuum effect. If so i'd like to have a 3 prong switch to control the case fan. I appreciate any help you could provide me. Thanks!

By waterproof, I of course mean "weather-resistant." I'm looking for an UHF HT that will be just fine if it gets dropped into a lake or falls off an ATV. It doesn't need to float; I can attach a floating keychain to it if necessary. It should also have a AA battery tray that is available from the manufacturer, and still be waterproof with the AA tray. Ideally it would have a keypad. Do you have personal experience with a HT that meets these requirements?

Hi. I have a Boss DS-2 distortion pedal, but my problem is, it drains the 9 volt batteries like a semi-trailer. So I basically wanted to convert it to AA batteries. Technically speaking, I'll need 6 AA's to make 9volts, but 9 volt batteries have a different current don't they, or will that not matter in this application. I'd also like to insert an on/off switch because it drives me crazy that the only way to remove it, is by pulling out the 'input' cord (guitar to pedal). Please respond if you know the answer.

Hello!  I would like to power my arduino using a 12v 1A power supply, can i achieve this by using 8 AA batteries? Or would that not give me 1 amp? The arduino only draws around 50mA i believe.  Thanks in advance!

I've just got hold of a Union 6V 3W dynamo with lights. I'd like to charge 4/5/6 x AA batteries during the day then switch to the batteries for the lights at night. I'm switching out the old bulbs for LEDs. Any pointers or relevant 'ibles would be great. Thanks in advance people.

I want to know if i can use a charger meant for 14500 3.6v rechargable batteries on a AAA 10440 battery. i understand it wont fit but i can make it work by hooking up the leads. will this work?

Ive been told that 50 milliAmps is enough to kill a person. when i toutch a 9V battery with my tongue, i dont die, so it means its less than 50 milliAmps?

Hello! I have one DC Adapter (output 4.5v 500mA) , battery holder , some diod.... I wanna to make a charger which can charge 2AA Ni-Mh at same time.Please help me !!! Thank!! sorry for my bad English

Is there a simple way to build a charge indicator for 4 AA NIMH 1.2V 2000 mAh batteries? I thought a small 1-10 volt indicator would do it, but was told it would depend on battery type, etc...

I got some nichrome wire off eBay, and it works great but when I connected it to a 9 volt battery it barley got hot, then I attached it to 4 x AA batteries and it got red hot. why is this? I don't understand because the 9 volt gives out 9 volts(duh) , but the 4x AA batteries only gives out 6 volts.

Hi, I am trying to power some LED decoration from a small 6v solar panel. However, I would like the LEDs to be also on during the night, so working from batteries during night time. I have connected in parallel 3 x AA batteries (800mAh each) to my solar panel (6v, 500mAh), with a diode in between to avoid the battery discharging to the panel. Voltage is fine, and LEDs are working, but I am not sure if during the day, the solar panel is powering the LEDs and charging the batteries, or if the batteries are discharging all the time. If the solar panel is providing more current than required by the LED, does the excess current go to the AA batteries? Is it harder to charge AA batteries compared to AAA, apart from the capacity (mAh) being higher and therefore taking longer? Do I need more mA to charge AA batteries? Thanks, Seb

I've got this hollow cathode tube from a spectra aa machine (used for metals analysis). It was supposedly still working - my old boss at the lab I worked at found it and considered tossing it out as they no longer had that AA machine (they had upgraded to an ICP/MS), but knows I collect interesting looking things. Am I right to assume that cathode tubes are quite dissimilar to the variety of tubes used in vintage amps and of no use in that regard? Does anyone know what sort of power I'd be looking for to even get this thing to light up? On the plug at the end of its cable, they posts are labeled A through F, then H, J, and K.

A followup on my previous question, sort of... I have about 150 old semi used 1.5v AA batteries that don't have enough juice in them anymore to power anything significant. One can only have so many Joule thief powered LEDs, and it's a shame to dispose of them all.  So the question is, what would YOU do (*Pointing at you!*) with those batteries? Thanks for any and all suggestions! P.S. Please provide an instructable if applicable :D

Hi, i have searched over the internet many a time, looking for how to make pulsating dc or an ac current, however all my results end up with devices which use ac or pulsating dc, which is comming from some homemade ac-dc converter running of mains. now, i am trying to find out how i can use a aa battery to aquire an ac current, or pulsating dc current, preferebly using parts aquirable from a disposale camera. the reason i need ac or pulsating dc is so that i can build a voltage multiplier, and also a tazer. i have tried plasmanas instructable on making a worlds smallest shocker, but it just doesnt work, if you cant get the specific transistors and transformers only aquirable from polaroid brand disposable cameras. plus there are no details on where to buy the parts, or even their details, beyond resistance and capacitance values. the main thing though is that i need to make the pulsating dc or ac from a portable power supply, aka a battery, as i also wish to make a dc-dc boost converter to use on different components within my rc tank. please help, whoever can answer my question best will receive a " best answer"

I'm planning an internal laser sight mod for a Maverick Nerf gun, and I've bought a cheap 5v laser module from eBay. I plan to fit a near 5v rechargable battery, or 4x 1.2v AA batteries, but from my understanding of battery chargers, would the USB's 5v be to low to recharge them (The charging voltage seems to be consistently 150% the batteries' output voltage for all my electical devices).