My Battery Powered Usb Hdd Mod


Hippo

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I'd been toying with the idea of putting a flash drive inside the GP2X, but eventually decided against it for reasons of space and complexity. However I still wanted a HDD on the move, there were other options out there but theres nothing like making it yourself :p

The first thing I had to do was to bring the USB Host port out to a USB connector. I have seen the mods where people wire leads and little circuits there, but I thought I could do better than that!

Once I had received my EXT Port connector I got to work. After much plastic modding and filing I was ready to make the electronics. By using surface mount components and kynar wire I managed to fit a female USB connector into the EXT Port connector shell. This meant if I wanted a USB host connection all I had to do was plug it in! (I originally planned to have this port powered but my GP2X doesnt provide 5V at the EXT Port, a mod for another day :ph34r: )

Here is a picture of the connector.

image1.jpg


Now I had the USB Host port I could work on the battery powered HDD. The first thing I purchased was a cheap USB HDD enclosure for 2.5" drives. I then got to work modifying it so that it could not be powered from the USB connector. This meant lots of track cuts on the PCB and some links. Once I had done this I tested it and it worked great from a remote power supply.

The next task in hand was to provide battery power. I toyed with the idea of using AA NiMH batteries but I found a better solution. I was browsing ebay for batteries and I found a Li-ion external battery for a PSP. This had a 5V output with a rating of 3200mAH, it also charged from a USB port. This was perfect, I ordered it right away!

After a little super glue and some drilling I married the battery pack and the USB HDD to created this..

image2.jpg


The flying lead and connector shown powers the USB HDD and connects to the output of the battery.

Here are a couple of shots showing the whole thing connected up and working (Im using the double headed lead that came with the HDD enclosure until I can get a USB male to male lead)

image3.jpg


image4.jpg


According to my rough guesstimates I should get at least 5-6 hours usage with the small HDD I have connected at the moment, more with a newer larger disk.
 
Hippo said:
The first thing I had to do was to bring the USB Host port out to a USB connector. I have seen the mods where people wire leads and little circuits there, but I thought I could do better than that!

Hey, don't forget the guy who found the surface mount chip! :D :p

I assume that is what you used, although I suppose you could have made one with single SMD components.

PDR_3951.JPG

Larger Image

I know it was on a board with wires :p, but I didn't have any reason to make it portable.

I love the battery pack, can you put a link to sources for it?
 
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Thanks for the kind comments. As for whether I would start selling the connector, probably not. It took a lot of time and fiddling to fit everything in the head shell, I just don't have that amount of time to spare.

It was a VERY tight fit, I had to remove the screw pillars to get the connector in. So I super glued the connector back together and cut the threads off the screws. I then glued the screw heads in the holes just to make it look complete :lol:
 
nubie said:
Hey, don't forget the guy who found the surface mount chip! :D :p

I assume that is what you used, although I suppose you could have made one with single SMD components.

image removed for brevity

I know it was on a board with wires :p, but I didn't have any reason to make it portable.

I love the battery pack, can you put a link to sources for it?
I used SMD components as that was what I had to hand. Soldering SMD components without using a PCB can be tricky!

Here is the link to the exact battery I purchased from ebay UK Ebay Link Im sure they can be bought all over the world though.
 
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Nice work, that gives me some more ideas for my wifi mod. That battery pack looks especially nice
 
Tripmonkey_uk said:
:eek: Wait a minute.. wouldn't that battery pack be powerfull enough to run the new cradle at max capacity?
Depending on the current drain of the new cradle + peripherals, Yes.
 
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dam fine job - i want a ext - usb :( if only i had the skill and know how to make one - any chance of a tutorial on how to make one??
 
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