DIY Portable Cellphone Charger

Let’s face it, we love our gadgets. They keep us connected, they keep us secure, and they have fully integrated themselves into our lives. But what happens when your gadget runs out of batteries and you are nowhere near a charger? With the Minty Boost USB Charger from the Maker Shed, you don’t have to worry! Just build the kit, put it in a tin, add two AA batteries and your USB powered gadget will be back in action in no time. Don’t want to worry about carrying batteries around? Make a Solar Minty Boost like Instructables user JoshuaZimmerman. Just use some rechargeable batteries, attach a solar cell, add a diode and let the sun take care of the rest!



What you need:

4 Rechargeable Batteries (and a charger to charge them in)

Something to hold those batteries with attached wires to make a circuit, like this.

The type of plug that fits in to your phone- just the part that attaches to the phone and a few inches of wire is necessary.

Or a USB port into which you can plug any wire with which you can charge your phone, making this a more universal charger.

Something to use to connect wires, ideally with screws, like this.

Wire cutters and strippers