Made a 9V iPod Battery Pack

nice idea... shame the photos don't work..

But isn't the Firewire voltage 12 volts? I guess the iPod has quite a tolerance.

Wow, cool.

pictures! pictures! we want pictures!

Never heard of that.

Fun to put on your tungue!

go to my web site...it is http://thisguy.illfu##inghostit.com

this board bleeps all profanity, so just copy and paste and fill in the blanks above...

try this...it uses 2 9V..

I have constructed a 12v battery pack for my iPod - I have also enclosed it in a rather fetching case -

That's just the kind of thing I want to make... Only I want to have a little socket on it so I can recharge the spare battery pack easily.

Having another idea now.. What about using two 9volt batteries in parallel, put in series with two 1.5 volt AA type batteries... This would total 12 volts and could be charged by plugging it into the ipod charger! I'm fairly sure that as long as they were Ni-Cd batteries they would charge ok.. It would be worth checking this though.

Wow, quite ghetto fabulous. Maybe he should charge $60 for it like Apple/Belkin.

I would be 12 volts.. The two 9volts in parallel just keep it at 9 volts and double the current right? Then you put that as if it were one bigger 9 volt battery in series with a 1.5 volt battery, and then another. This would total 9+1.5+1.5 = 12 volts.

Trouble is.. I don't know how easily that would take it's charge. Might be safer to have it all in cradles, a double AA and two 9v clip tags, then you can take them out and put it all into a seperate charger.

go to this page
http://thisguy.illfu##inghostit.com

Note change the ## with ck, in that order ;)
You will now come to a page. If you scroll a little down the page you will se a link iPod Battery Pack (direct link: http://thisguy.ill####inghostit.com/ipodbattery.htm) :)

Have fun

I wish I could make one of those. Could someone make a really detailed way how to make one. Im going on a day long fly trip, and I would like to be able to listen to the music all the way/ Please ?

why do you need to cut cable.. get the other end of the firewire cable... i mean the socket. then hook it up.. just use your normal cable when ya wanna plug it in. Making mine tomorrow.. Hard to find th sockets.. have to rip one of my card.

Originally posted by crackhead

any more questions?

Which flavour Altoids tin would be best?;)

So one will have to go a get a apple cable, eh (docking pod)?

edit: thanks for the guide crackhead

where are you going to get the other FW plug from?

I'm not buying a FW plug, just the socket. And my local electronics supplier (CPC) sell the sockets for around ?1.30 or $2.

I thought I had a few in stock, but I didn't, so I've ordered a few along with battery clips. As soon as I get these parts I'll make it and show pictures of it.

I've already started and it's going to inside a box for playing cards. It happens to be the same depth as a nine volt battery and will fit nicely in a pocket.

Just to confirm, the total cost of this thing will be less than $10.

-->Drewpy
Then how will you connect it to the ipod if you dont have a dock conncecting pluck ?

That is great, but where can you get the sockets? I am having trouble finding them.

Also, Can you include detailed instructions to make one.

Thanks,

Sam

ok well here is mine... BIG PIX!!!
http://couchpotato.ca/moi/IMG_1396.JPG
http://couchpotato.ca/moi/IMG_1397.JPG
http://couchpotato.ca/moi/IMG_1398.JPG
http://couchpotato.ca/moi/IMG_1399.JPG
http://couchpotato.ca/moi/IMG_1400.JPG

What kind of battery life do you get with that thing, crackhead? And more importantly, when are you gonna post pics and directions for the 3rg gen version? :D

how doe the gen 3 pod charge?what type of plug...i'llmake one just lemme know...

Brian...

the iPod needs between 12-30v to charge, so that thing wont exactly work...it is close though...i tried it with only one 9v and it didnt do anything...

Brian...

Originally posted by crackhead
how doe the gen 3 pod charge?what type of plug...i'llmake one just lemme know...

Brian...

It's a proprietary plug. I think the only way you could get your hands on one would be to by an extra one from Apple and cannibalize it. Anyway, I've done a little research and it seems such a product already exists. It might be cheaper to make your own, but the build quality wouldn't be as good as a commercial product and you wouldn't have warranties or anything. Probably not worth the hassle unless you just want to do it for the heck of it! http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T6714LL/A

Won't this void your warranty? Then again I suppose you don't mention you made a charger for the iPod...

Why bother with the 3G when there is already one from Belkin on the market? Since it exists, I am sure some other companies will produce cheaper alternatives.

STefan

the one from Belkin is very expensive for what it is. It also clamps around the side of the iPod. I want one that can be in a different pocket completely. Also Belkin's one is quite thick, I wanted one thinner.

If I need parts like that pretty fast I go to digikey.com, they have an online catalog and everything.

Originally posted by Drewpy
http://www.drewperry.co.uk/index.php?do=iPod&ipod=battery

Better late than never :D Very nice. Although the deck of cards is cool but not very practical (how long will it take for that to fall apart?).

Regarding the Belkin battery pack, would it be possible to change the socket to one which fits a 2nd gen. iPod? Maybe cut the wire and splice a 'normal' firewire socket onto it?

MadPict.
Thanks for the link.
I'll contact them to ask if have a backwards compatible connector.

Originally posted by Drewpy
http://www.drewperry.co.uk/index.php?do=iPod&ipod=battery

Better late than never :D

Cool. But how do you know which pin each wire from the batteries connects to?

MadPict:

I've had a reply fom the PocketDock manufacturers stating that I'm only the second person requesting a 'backwards compatible' connector and as such they are not going to produce such an item :-(

**So, does anyone know if the cable on the Belkin battery pack can be cut and an original firewire socket be fitted so that it will work with 2nd gen iPods?

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=EVR-539BP

If I put these two batteries together.......it would be 12 volts. But...is it a long enough life?

I'm going to wireup my Targas Air/Auto power supply for my IPod. While the IPod is good for most travel, some flight tax even the IPod's battery life.

The Targas has voltage range from 3 - 24 volts depending upon the pin arrangement I choose. I guess it is prudent to select the 12v output as this is the normal charging voltage.

Any thoughts?

Thankx

abe

Originally posted by richard
Anyone have a US source for firewire sockets?

How about $1.93 each!

http://www.mouser.com/index.cfm?handler=displayproduct&lstdispproductid=198881&e_categoryid=53&e_pcodeid=538L

BC

Originally posted by Unixmonkey
Thank You!

Ordered!

Tell me what they're like, or just post a pic when you get them.

I'm thinkin about making a small 9v-firewire jack adapter that is one solid piece of plastic that the battery slides into. I want to find the lowest profile jack I can, to keep the whole thing as small as possible.

BC

drew: coud you make a small list of all the stuff you used? its hard to tell from the pics what you are using to connect the batteries, and what you use to kep the 2 AA's together..please?

Whoops, sorry the above refers to 8 AA's not 4 sorry; or 2 9V's

Very nice. How much did that cost you to make?

Well, the firewire standard is specced at 12v, and 12 divided by 1.5 (AA is 1.5v) is 8, so I figured it had 8, I don't see how it could charge on only 6v.

In any case, the dock puts out 12v, so maybe that's why my unit appears to charge the ipod rather than just power it like the Belkin unit.

I haven't held one in my hand, but they look big enough to hold 8 AA's. Of course I don't want to buy one, hence the project.

$1.89 for the 9v clips, $1.99 for the AA holder, 1.93 for the firewire jack, $1.50 for the Altoids, $1.60 for shipping on the jacks (for 5)= $8.91 plus whatever the hot glue, solder add up to, probably less than a dollar combined.

Thanks for the tip, the website has been updated with the new information.

is this whole thread a bad joke? NONE of the links work. mean, just mean.

Just let people know that Farnell stock firewire sockets suitable for the job, and are about 1.50 a go.

Drewpy
youve given me exactly what I wanted! Thanks. Off to build one this week.

Farnell are out of the flat connectors, only having the 90 degree ones. Any other suggestion for supplies in the uk. In eed it before I go backpacking for 3 months next week!

Does anyone also have any idea where I can get anther dock to firewire lead that is reasonably priced, and maybe a shorter one than I had supplied with the Ipod?

Cheers

Hey All,

This is my first time posting, I've been reading for a few days after buying my first ipod, a 3g 40 gig, a week ago ( I love it :-) ).

I'm interested in building one of these battery packs too and am in the process of designing one. I've noticed that a few of you are choosing to use parrallel 9V batteries and I have to question what the advantage of this is over using 6 AA's (besides space). I'm considering making one out of one out of a 8 AA plastic holder (all in series) mounted into a box, which would give me 12 volts. I'd have to look some stuff up but I'm puzzeled as to the belief that two 9V in p. would have greater capacity than 6 AA's. It's just I'd like to be able to keep it consistent, and AA's are alot easier to get and cheaper overall (last I checked).

Mine might be around the profile of a 3x5 index card.

If I get curious I'll look up some info for the mAh ratings for these batteries and see if that two 9V idea is worth a look.

Thanks for all the ideas, these forums are great!

Dave

Here's a follow up to my previous post after looking at some data I found. This info only applies to NiMH rechargables, which is what I'll be making mine out of.

Let's get technical,

As many of you may know, the capacity of batteries is measured in mAh, which is the theoretical current at its rated voltage the battery can provide for one hour before its dead: in other words, the higher the number, the longer it lasts. Here is some data for some NiMH batteries, which are the standard for typical rechargable AA's, AAA's, etc these days:

AAA: 700-800 mAh
AA: 1800 - 2200 mAh
9V: 160 - 250 mAh

When these batteries are in parallel, add the mAh values to get the equivalent, when in series, the capacity does not increase, only the voltage...

Therefore there are several configurations possible for these chargers, I'll use a 12 V configuration for this example:

8 AAA's : 700-800 mAh (actually 9.6 V using rechargables)
8 AA's : 1800-2200 mAh (actually 9.6 V using rechargables)
2 9V in parallel + 2 AA's: this is tricky, its hard to tell.
but for sure the voltage across the 9V is going to drop signifigantlly after the 320-500 mAh mark, I'd say.

For reference, the internal battery of the ipod seems to be about 850 mAh but at only 3.7 volts...

ok, this is getting confusing, but I have an idea:

The belkin battery pack runs the ipod at 6 V, while anything over 8 (right?) will charge it (within reason)...

converting the ipods internal battery to another unit of capacity, one independent of voltage: Wh (watt hours), we can see:

internal battery capacity: 3.7V * 850mA = 3.15 Wh

now, if I were to build a charger with the 8 AA's:

capacity: 21.6 to 26.4 Wh... wow
CORRECTION, given that NiMH are 1.2 V and not 1.5, this value is actually somewhere around 17 to 21 Wh...

Just for a real life comparison, if the ipods battery lasts you say 6 hours, using the pack with it will increase that time by about 30 to 40 hours on 8 fully charged AA's... not bad.

Smaller option also available: 6 AAA's: 10-12 hours additional time

With the parallel rechargable 9V's: you can at LEAST get 8 hours more life when using rechargables, and then much more if using regular alkalines.

Hope this helps,

Dave

Fear the Engineers ;-)

Does anyone know what the third wire(red, black and white) is used for for in the internal battery? I have an 'extra' internal battery and I was wondering if I could build a super miniature battery pack by using the spare internal battery?

I've been playing with my own battery pack design and looking at the specs for Firewire.

First up, one 9v battery isn't enough: when it is put under load the voltage drops just below 8v and the iPod stops charging. The voltage then goes up, iPod charges for a second and then stops again not good.

Lots of other people have put various combinations of batteries in serial and parallel: I'm not such a fan of batteries in parallel. If they are not perfectly balanced in terms of make and where they are on the discharge cycle, they could try charging each other up, especially when not under load. This is not good with regualar batteries.

To this end I'm now working with two 9v batteries in series. This gives 16v to 18v which is well within the 8v -> 20v voltage range that a Firewire bus should be able to deliver. This high voltage is necessary because Firewire should be able to deliver up to 45W (vs 2.5W for USB). You need the higher voltages to deliver that much power hence the reason the spec is up to 20V.

Finally I can say that my iPod is more than happy taking two 9v batteries. I haven't had a chance to do the tests of how much extra time this gives, but it should be considerable.

To be honest I'm not sure what the Belikin one does as I think it may be using a different power system from the straight Firwire in charge that the rest of us must use. I suspect they might even be using a different set of pins on the 3G dock connector because if you supply 6v to the Firewire power pins, nothing much happens!

I suspect the power adapter is 12v because it is bang in the middle of the Firewire range and they could find numerous off the the shelf transformers to use when they manufacture the charger.

Graeme

I am not sure any of these homebrew battery packs will work very well.

The problem is that you are basically wiring batteries in parallel with the iPod battery. This means that power flows from the higher voltage to the lower voltage batteries even when the ipod is not presenting any draw at all. When the internal battery has the lower voltage, most of the power of the aux batteries will be wasted (converted to heat) trying to charge the internal battery. Even worst, if the external battery has the lower voltage, the internal battery will discharge into the aux batteries (which may not even take a charge at all and therefore be totally wasted).

This all gets even more screwy when your auxillary battery is itself made of separate batteries wired in parallel. You get in the situation where adding one half-charged, alkaline 9v cell will result in discharging both the other 9v and the iPod internal battery.

I think you need to go back to the drawing board and build a unit that uses a diode to prevent back-charging the external batteries and that doesn't waste its energy trying to charge the internal battery, a process that is less than 50% efficient. This could probably be done by insuring the that aux battery voltage (measured *after* an in-line diode) is substantially lower than the fully charged internal battery... but still well above the iPod functional minimum.

The other alternative would be to only plug in the aux batteries when its voltage exactly matches the internal battery.

It is also possible that the new dock connector has power inputs that are isolated from the iPod battery to prevent this problem... does anyone know which pins are hot on the belkin battery pack? Are they the same as the pins from the AC charger?

My thoughts...

I still havent placed my order for parts, much less decided on my configuration. But I do have a comment about the previous post about the battery packs not working:

It seems to me that when used with the firewire cable, the iPod has its own charging circuit: one which prevents overcharging, etc. It does NOT simply run the 12 volt firewire to the 3.7 V battery...

The Belkin pack, on the other hand, could use a totally different circuit, but it seems no one here really knows how that mysterious device exactlly interfaces with the iPod.

In my opinion, I think a 12v system running on the firewire bus will work fine, perhaps with not the same efficency as the belkin, but I guess I'll find out.

Any more ideas?

Dave

I just went to radio shack online, to get ratings:
9V is actually 8.4 rated at 120mAh for niMH rechargables
1.5V are actually 1.2 rated at 1800mAh for niMH rechargables

So wouldn't the total power of 2 9's and 2 1.5's be:
( 2 * 8.4V * 120mAh ) + ( 2 * 1.2V * 1800mAh ) = 6336mW/h

But 8 1.5's would be:
8 * 1.2V * 1800mAh = 17280 mW/h

Which would make a 8 x 1.5 cell powerpack almost 3 times as powerful? (I couldn't easily find ratings for non rechargables online)

bighairy,

so...can you fully recharge the battery with the dual 9 volts? ie, how many recharges (if only just 1) can one achieve with this configuration. based on my limited memory of the EE classes i had, i'm thinking the following:

ipod battery: 3.7 V * 650 mah = 2405 mWh

and as posted above, 2 9V's in theory, at least, can provide about 2688 + mWh (the NiMh variety) (using 160 mah, 8.4 V)

So, it would take 100% efficiency to get a full charge

to others: has anyway, tried their configurations to "fully charged" state on the ipod (or dared to do so)?

i like the idea of using 4 NiMH 9 volts...as long as it's at least 50% efficient, then that is a pretty compact charging solution. (smaller than 8 AA's although it seems a lot less efficient in terms of space versus power available)

thanks to all for a great thread. i eagerly await hearing other experiences. (i'm too chicken and lame with my soldering skills to do this more than once so i'm hoping to learn from y'all)

The Belkin pack drops down to about 5v under full load(disc reading, light on)...this is accross the batteries. I tried to get in to check the pin voltages but geeze theyre tiny little things and my leads aren't small enough.
Removing one battery(4.5v now), the pod is still powered! Only one of the lights is lit on the Battery pack, the voltage drops to just over 3v under full load...the pod goes back to the internal battery when reading the disk though:(

Just remember that a battery pack is different from something that recharges the internal battery. If you're sitting on a bus for 20hrs(or a plane like I am next week) the bulky belkin pack is ok. When you're wandering around and size is important just disconnect it.
Im hoping I get all the way to Peru on one set of batteries, but otherwise I have spare.

off topic,
buy.com is selling the battery pack at 39 bucks....:rolleyes:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90127075&loc=111&sp=1

is anyone interested in it?

i was trying to buy it from buy.com, but before i check out, it asked for a buy.com Promotion Code, which i dont know where to find it.
can some one give me a hand?

BTW, i'm thinking to build a charger and connect it to a 3G ipod by this:
http://www.drbott.com/prod/db.lasso?code=5148-POCD

do you think it will work? thanks!:cool:

crapy: that would probably work, but i'm not sure it's cost effective. you've already got a cable that connects firewire to the proprietary iPod dock that comes with the iPod, so why not just use it and save $20?

Skip

Tlak, how does the 1st Gen pod connect to the wall wort it comes with? does it use a firewire cable?

the 3G pods use the dock connection on the pod end, but they use a normal firewire plug on the other. if that's what a 1G uses where it plugs into a wall plug adapter, then by all means, it should work.

Skip

Tlak--I have a 5GB G1 iPod, too...and yes, the UnixMonkey charger should work. Not as a battery to run off of, but as a portable charger. Which is to say: charge up your iPod before you go. When it dies, plug it into the altoids box until it reads fully charged, and then disconnect. Repeat as it dies and change the batteries as necessary.

I want to do it myself eventually, with a firewire cable coming out of the box instead of just a firewire port. But since I haven't yet, I can't tell you how many uses you'll get out of a single set of batteries. Good luck!

Hello out there!

sorry to ressurect this thread again, i've been anxiously hoping that someone who has built the combo pack with 2 9V and 2 AA's can provide feedback on how well it works in the "long term." i know it works in principle, but for instance, how many charges does one get out of such a system?

i'm interested in building a 8 AA pack one since i would guess there is much higher energy density. then again, if this 9V-AA combo works for more than 1 charge, then it would be smaller format and fit in an Altoids tin!

i will make these for anyone who wants one...whatever battery configuration you want...let me know...

Brian...

Why not just try using 8 AA's? Or 10?

The reason I ask is that I made one with 8 AA's and it charges my 3G just fine. I don't know how well it really charges it (the iPod shows 4 bars but who can trust that?), but I think if I use it to charge the iPod for an hour and get 80% of the charge it could provide several charges.

I'm going to try to do some testing at some point where I make a playlist and see how many times I can run it with a fully charged battery and then see how many times I can run it while charging it in between with the batery pack. I don't want to do too many cycles where I run the internal battery all the way down, but if it's for science . . .

Originally posted by kennr53
I could try the 8AA batts and see if that works better but will have to get new batt holders to install them and it won't fit in my Altoids package as neatly as the 2-9v and 2-aa batts... just have to try it and see what happens... I don't understand why it drops to 7v when I connect up though when it shows 12v before the connection... strange and this could be my problem too... just might have something to do with what is going on...

Alkaline batteries will always show a voltage drop as they're used. Your typical 9V battery is actually 6 1.5V cells in series internally. They'll be at 1.5-1.6V initially, but will drop off fairly steeply over the course of their lifetime. Testing no-load voltage will always be higher...I'll bet if you tested a 12V wall-wart, it reads 14V no-load power.

How do you get around this?

1) Use NiMH batteries.
2) 2xAA + 2x9V is just asking for problems in my book. Sure, it fits in an Altoids tin, but those 9V cells are going to drain fast - have you ever seen a commercial product that combines AA cells and 9V batteries in the same unit? Nope, me neither. 8xAA gives you enough power for 2-3 full iPod charges.

Originally posted by crackhead
i will make these for anyone who wants one...whatever battery configuration you want...let me know...

Brian...

how much would you want for one of these? I really know nothing about the voltage and all that, all I know is that I'd like to have one.:)

i also would like to have one made

Originally posted by Scoot65
Hey, I bought one of THESE (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3078927459) and I'm very happy with it. I've used it twice and I can charge and play the 'Pod at the same time. It's a bit big/bulky but if you're stuck without electricity, who cares? Definitely works fine, no problems. I had mine shipped to the UK from the US.

I've got one too...not as compact as the Altoids tin or deck of cards method, but I've made my opinion on the 9V + AA combo - it's a poor design, IMO.

When I've got some time, I'm going to adapt a charging circuit design I have to that pack. Then, if you're using NiMH cells, you just plug it into a wall-wart and charge back up. Should be doable for around $20 in parts.

JBF,

I don't have much experience in solder of things like this but it was ok for me when I did mine. I ordered a Mouser # 538-53460-0611 6P Socket R/A Molex IEEE 1394 Firewire. The pins are all on the bottom. If you are looking at the bottom facing up (pins up) frount to you then the Pos is the back right pin and the Neg is the back left pin. I tested and tested the to insure i had the correct pins and it works with my iPod. The only thing is the two 9v and 2AA don't seem to work well with a 3G iPod. Keeps jumping in and out of charging. I'm going to have to try the 8aa batts one next to see if that works better will be easy there since I have it wired up and all just get an 8 batt holder from radio shack and plug it to the 9v post clip. Have fun and be careful with the solder. What I did was to put a little soder on the posts and then put soder on the wires. Then I just layed the wires against the post and heated it up till it stuck don't take long worked great for me and stuck hard and fast with no fuss.

Originally posted by JBF
Can you take a picture of what the pins look like on the firewire socket? I'm just worried that if I bridge the pins or mistakenly jump one of the currents (pos or neg) to a post that shouldn't have power to it, and it fries my pod. I just want to make sure I do it right. Heh.

If you have the same one that I used it would be easy to show you but there are severl types of ieee 1394 sockets. Bottom pins, back pins, side pins and each look different. All I can suggest is to as I did test the output to ensure you have the correct pos and neg. I could take a pic and send it to you but don't know how to post a pic on the board. I will try to attach the jpg file to this post.

Yes I got it from the Mouser company. The cost was 1.98 each and I ordered two. The shiping was 2.89 so you can see it does cost some. Not bad overall. Make sure you order the part number 538-53460-0611. Once you go to there site you will find it. As for cutting the hole I used a dremal like tool called Rotozip to cut the hole with. Did a good job but I did soder the socket to the tin which now I wish I haden't since it would have been easier to take it out to redo with the 8aa batts change. Also when you get them make sure you open the retaining pins that will hold the cable in or you won't get the iPod cable back out! It will hold it like glue! I tested it before I put it into the box. Take care...

Originally posted by JBF
Well I got the majority of the materials I need to create the battery pack with. The only thing I've gotta do right now is get my firewire port from Mauser.

One other thing I'm trying to find, is a nice and snug enclosure for an 8 AA battery holder. I've got enough stuff to make both an 8 AA charger and 2x 9v + 2x AA battery charger. I just need a good enclosure for the 8 AA holder. Heh.

As for the enclosure for the 8AA batts that is right where I'm at so if I come up with something I'll let you know. Haven't had much time to really look into this yet...

Oh, btw. Has anyone tried two nine volt batteries arranged in a serial connection? That way it'd be 18 volts? I'm hoping someone has and that it's safe. If it is, then I want to do that, as it's turning into a pain in the ### to find a compact method for holding 8 AA batteries in something.

Originally posted by JBF
Oh, btw. Has anyone tried two nine volt batteries arranged in a serial connection? That way it'd be 18 volts? I'm hoping someone has and that it's safe. If it is, then I want to do that, as it's turning into a pain in the ### to find a compact method for holding 8 AA batteries in something.

Not going to get much juice that way...9V cells usually only supply a few hundred mAh (I want to say 200-350 is typical). mAh doesn't add in series, so 2 9V cells at most gives you 18V and 350 mAh. The iPod's battery is 650 mAh, so you're only going to get an extra half-charge out of it or so.

It's safe and small, but it's not going to buy you much in terms of added runtime, especially compared to 8xAA - that's enough to get you from NY to Sydney non-stop.

It really just depends how much runtime you really want/need above and beyond the iPod's cells. If you only need to eke out a few more hours, the 9V solution might be the way to go. If you're looking for something to take you from the US to Asia, go 8xAA.

I just finished makeing one with 8 AAs, i havent tested it yet cause i dont have batteries, but im hopeing that itll work. Instead of buy a firewire socket i just took apart the 6 to 4 pin adapter that came with my ipod, im getting a charge with old batteries, but not enough to charge my pod.

Ah cool. Sounds good. I'm just trying to find an enclosure right now. Preferably metal. Heh.

Hm. I hear that. I'm thinking about finding a "project enclosure" at radioshack and "kitbashing it" so I can hold it all. Heh.

You could very well do that, but unless you use very small LEDs, and try to minimize the size, it could just add useless space. Because honestly, do you need a battery meter for a charging unit? It's just going to use up power unless you have a switch to turn the LED meter on and off.

Personally, I don't care for suction cups or anything. I just want an enclosure that's just the right size to fit the 8 AA battery holder + firewire port. The idea of suction cups is just silly to me. I'd rather just have it in my hand or in a pocket or something while it charges.

Excellent information. Thanks

If anyone finds a close to the right size enclosure for a 8x AA pack, please post here and let us all know, that's all that's stopping me from making one right now also.

Can someone please explain to me what part i need to solder. Also I have very little experience so how hard is it to do??

Could someone please make one of these for me. I want one that runs on 8AA . Please contact me at speed2199@hotmail.com
so we can dicucc terms.