Chances are, you have some old mobile phone chargers lying around the house with non-USB pins. Instead of junking it, Martin Melchior shows us how to attach USB ports and give those chargers a new life.
You’ll need:
- Soldering iron and tin
- Multimeter (to find + and -)
- An old charger (5V output and rated for at least 500mA/0.5A)
- USB socket
- Hot glue
- Heat shrink
The process isn’t too hard. Snip off the charger’s cable, find the positive and negative wires using the multimeter, and then solder them appropriately in the USB socket. Glue the socket onto the charger so there’s no mess of cables. You can check Martin’s blog for detailed step-by-step photos.
It’s important that the charger be 500mA but I’d reckon a 1A would serve you better if you’re looking at charging a battery over 2000mAh. And you should note that these old chargers probably won’t juice up your tablet as tablets usually need 5V 2A chargers.
Give your old phone chargers a second life [Martin Melchior via Hack A Day]
Comments
4 responses to “Repurpose Old Mobile Phone Chargers With DIY USB Ports”
you could do that or just get a new one off the internet for $2.
They are not so expensive that you should need to stuff around with an old charger
You get what you pay for, $2 USB power plugs are shonky, i’ve had ones with dry solder joints some not even soldered at all. So i tend to get reputable brand adapters, not worth the hassle of calling the fire dept.
You do it because you can.
Have been using old Nokia bl* style batteries in a maglite touch. One battery lasts just over 7 hours.
Using an old phone and charger to top up my batteries. Only issue is that I had to solder a plug onto the batteries to connect to the bulb. Will print a holder one day..
Batteries are a snug fit in the touch body.
A security guard friend couldn’t believe how light the torch was.
Note: an imperial size Allen key is used to hold the bulb and switch assembly in. Access through the switch after removing rubber cover.
I love not throwing out D cell batteries.