MintyBoost Smalls

Ideas and questions about MintyBoost kits

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fruitkid101
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:49 am

MintyBoost Smalls

Post by fruitkid101 »

I officially claim the right to say that I am the first to put a MintyBoost in the New Altoids Smalls, and document it! For pictures please go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/48167008@N02/ I also made a very detailed and good/ close up video on how to assemble the minty boost as well as include a quick soldering tutorial and some basic electronics introduction course. herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWWMy1oGRiA

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xraymike
 
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:34 pm

Re: MintyBoost Smalls

Post by xraymike »

Different solution using the Smalls box. I wanted an emergency charger that I could carry everywhere but not with batteries installed. If needed, the pc board comes out and the batteries go in. The Smalls box is tiny enough I don't mind carrying it anywhere and with a stop in a store I've got the batteries I need. With sufficient surgery the battery holder plus two AA cells fits in the Smalls container. Here are some pics:
First, the pc-board and Iphone4 connector in the Smalls tin:
connectorinbox.jpg
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Here is what it looks like out of the box:
edgeon.jpg
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And here is the holder after surgery:
batteryholder.jpg
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Comments: The battery holder no longer has the structural support to squeeze the batteries, but the Smalls tin does that for it. I had to shorten the battery springs to get this to work and trim the top edges (by the connectors so it would fit in the tin. With the 30-pin connector directly attached to the pc board I could tip the two electrolytic capacitors over so the circuit has a lower profile. Tipping over the inductor didn't gain as much. I used braided fishing line to strain-relieve the soldered wires of the 30-pin connector. For me the pinout was red-white-green-black going left-right with the pc board's rounded edge facing me.

A further comment. If building a standard MintyBoost in a Gum Container one can have the USB socket be flush with the edge of the tin by trimming the corners of the battery holder in a way similar to what is shown here. In that case, only trim the side away from the pc board, as the near side still needs full structural support. Also, I used a Dremel tool to cut a slot in the side of the tin for the USB socket rather than cutting down from the top. A cleaner look and fewer sharp edges to worry about.

Enjoy!
Last edited by xraymike on Thu Oct 24, 2013 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: MintyBoost Smalls

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Nice work! :D

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xraymike
 
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:34 pm

Re: MintyBoost Smalls

Post by xraymike »

Turning the last comment into a new post so I can add some photos. Trimming the two corners of the battery holder away from the pc board allows it to be closer to the edge of the gum tin (which has rounded ends). This gives more space to shift the pc board so the USB socket doesn't have to stick out from the gum tin. Here is what it looks like:
minty_orig.jpg
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Note that the battery holder near the leads shouldn't be trimmed because you lose structural strength and the batteries may not make up properly. The notch is from a previous try at eliminating the socket and having the 30-pin cable come out through the notch. Now that I have the Smalls solution the notch is unnecessary.

Also, if you have access to a Dremel tool you can cut a slot into the end of the gum tin and then, using a small file, clean up the hole so that the USB socket just sticks out through the slot:
socketslot.jpg
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Enjoy

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