MintyBoost 3.0 complete - results...

[bobfixesstuff]

Total build time about an hour / 18 cigarettes.

Easy to make, with medium soldering skill. Used a clumsy high power gas iron, no problem though! Am seeking precision electric iron but again these components DO have some tolerance to high temperatures.

MintyBoost tested with Samsung Galaxy S2, works; charges! (Two AA cells). The MintyBoost can be given higher power in (up to 4.5 volts I think the walkthrough advises, or three AA cells wired in series).

Also confirmed works on an HTC Desire Bravo.

A solar panel would be an awesome addition to this project. Even in dear old Blighty we've had some sun recently!

This is the only noteworthy vulnerability of the MintyBoost; that the USB socket is soldered to the board. Solder joints, however strong, are not strong enough to withstand the strain put upon them by repeated insertions and withdrawals of various male USB plugs; pushing into, and pulling out of, the socket. Most female sockets are a tight fit so as to prevent accidental interruption of data transfer. Not a good idea to try to loosen a female USB socket, as a strong guaranteed connection is required for data and power transfer.

Therefore I added a four inch USB extender; this way the USB socket on the MintyBoost board only gets one penetration, hopefully for the duration of its life. The socket on the end of the extender is firmly encased in plastic; designed to take a banging.

Also tested successful on a Sony video walkman.

I think the general rule of thumb here is that any device designed to connect via USB to a computer will be designed to draw power in a way that the MintyBoost can provide. A computer USB port might be able to deliver higher current though. In the walkthrough pages for the MintyBoost there are extensive notes on what will work and what will not.

http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/compat3.html

I wonder if perhaps for some devices, switching them off might reduce their current draw sufficiently to enable charging via MintyBoost. I'm sure Adafruit has discussed this already on the forum but thought I'd throw it out there

Thanks again LadyAda!

BTW about that ray-gun?

[bobfixesstuff]

completed second MintyBoost. Works a charm! Turns out it's popular among everyone! Everyone wants one!

With high quality rechargeable nimh cells it really could be a lifesaver, as these days at the end of a night out, often two friends or more have dead phones and a dozen phone calls to make! Cabs, dining arrangements etc!

With the popularity of the iPhone though, and the bastard proprietary interface(s) (I'm not sure but I wouldn't put it past iCorp to have different freaking plugs) ((the least we know is that different generations of the i, and different products of i, have different requirements for charging and can be different in interface)) we need a universal solution.

Perhaps the variation is not so diverse these days, and I've not kept tabs on the various iJaculations that have appeared on the market of late, so I might be wrong about this... but I know there's a whole section of the FAQ devoted to figuring out how to charge i products with the MintyBoost because Apple don't make it easy! To have an abscence of standardisation within a single brand is enough of a joke but within a product line?!

Someone fill in here and enlighten me as to what the general idea is!

The objective is to be able to charge an android USB interfaced smartphone, and (albeit with a different adaptor), charge an iThis, an iThat, and i...

...am wondering if soaking an Apple in powerade might make for an alternative power supply to AAs.

Also is it plausible to set in stone AdaFruit's power supply kit to feed a MintyBoost? Perhaps a basic AC->DC mains transformer set for 4.5 volts would be a more straightforward solution?

Mains power is often abundant; the problem is that no one has their interface cables on their person at the time, and also we need to be able to charge different devices with (ideally) one MintyBoost.

But with only having to carry one mains transformer around. (iDeally).

iDeas anyone?

[bobfixesstuff]

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

[bobfixesstuff]

so I may have said, that I got the mintyboost v3.0 to work WITH power supplied by the AFI solar panel:

http://www.adafruit.com/products/200

which is a 6V 2W panel

AAAAAAND I think I purchased an earlier version (1 month ago roughly) BUT I think it's totallly equivalent

COMBINED with the AFI USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger - v1.0 kit and yes, it works a gem.

http://www.adafruit.com/products/390

is the link to the optimised solar charger (mintyboost compatible).

lemme tell ya, we've had some paltry summery days this past month or so over here in dear ol blighty, but I have charged my android samsung galaxy s2 just fine. 6V solar cell - AFI Solar LiPoly Charger Kit - MintyBoost V3 - Phone

Niiiice.

Check my threads on the individual kits to see reports that the Solar Charger Kit is totally amenable to panels of higher or lower power than 6V (within reason), and that the MintyBoost has a certain tolerance, and that sunlight in blighty is totally irregular BUT yes in fusion we can with these aparatus charge a phone. nice.