Minty Boost-Castilleja School

Hey Guys! Today I am going to teach you how to build your own Minty Boost using a kit. A Minty Boost can charge your phone with this circuit, two AA batteries, and your phone charger. The Minty Boost is designed for all Apple product chargers.

The complete kit can be purchased here:

http://www.adafruit.com/products/14

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies and Materials

All the Supplies you will need for the Minty Boost charger are your Minty Boost kit, two AA batteries, and a cell phone charger

Here are the materials that should be in your kit:

IC: 5V boost converter

8-pin IC socket

2 Power supply capacitors (220uF/6.3V+)

2 Bypass capacitors (0.1uF)

1/8W 5% 3.3K resistor: Orange, Orange, Red, and Gold

2 1/8W 1% 75K resistor: Violet, Green, Black, Red, and Brown

2 1/8W 1% 49.9K resistor Yellow, White, White, Red, Brown

10uH power inductor

USB type A female jack

2 x AA battery holder

PCB Circuit board

Here Are the Materials That You Need:

Solder Equipment

Two AA Batteries

Step 2: Solder Resistor 5 to Your Circuit Board

Resistor 5 is small, oval, and has the stripes orange orange red. This indicates that the resistor is 3.3K. It goes in the place R5 in the circuit board. Resistors are non-polar which means that it does matter which way you put the resistor in.

This project involves through-hole soldering. The best trick I have learned with through-hole soldering is to insert your resistor into your circuit board and then bend the wires so that your resistor will stay in the holes of your circuit board when you turn the circuit board upside down to solder it. After you solder it, you can cut the extra wire that is not soldered with your wire cutters.

One of the most important parts about through-hole soldering is to ensure that none of your solder points are touching each other. If they are touching, then you will create a short circuit, and your cell phone will not charge. If your solder points do touch each other in any places, use a wick to remove the unwanted solder.

Step 3: Solder Resistors 2 and 4 to Your Board

Solder these resistors the same way. These resistors have the stripes Violet Green Black Red Brown, indicating that they are 75K 1%. It does not matter which way these resistors go in, nor does it matter which one goes in the space R2 and R4 in your circuit board.

Step 4: Solder Resistors 1 and 3

These resistors have stripes Yellow White White Red Brown indicating that they are 49.9K 1%. They should be placed in R1 and R3. Since they are identical, it does not matter which resistor goes in R1 and R3.

Step 5: Solder Your Ceramic Capacitors Onto Your Circuit Board

Ceramic capacitors are also non-polar, so you do not have to worry which way they go since either way will work. Solder these capacitors at the bottom of your board in the places C1 and C2. These can be soldered the same way your soldered your resistors.

Step 6: Solder Your Diode.

Your diode looks like a resistor, but it is black with a grey stripe. With diodes, it does matter which way you put them in. Place the diode in your circuit board where it says D1. There will be a white stripe on the top side of the picture of the diode on the board. Line this stripe up with the grey stripe on your actual diode. Solder the diode the same way you would with a resistor.

Step 7: Attach Your IC to Your IC Socket and Solder It to Your Circuit Board

This is the trickiest part of your circuit. The ICs (integrated circuits) have very fragile legs and it is important that they do not break. You can either solder your IC socket to the circuit and then attach the IC to the socket, or your can attach the IC to the socket and then solder the socket to the board. I like to do the latter. If choose to do this as well, then you must make sure all the legs of the IC are lined up with the plates on the socket, and that the nooks of the IC and the IC socket are placed on top of each other when looking at it from a side view. Then push the IC into the IC socket so that you cannot see the legs anymore. Make sure you do not break any of the legs and that the legs are in each plate! Line up the nooks of the IC and the IC socket to the "nook" on the picture of the board in the IC place. When Soldering the IC sockets onto your board, the wires are short enough that you do not have to bend them. While this means that you do not have to cut any wires when you are done soldering, the IC socket can easily fall out. I suggest soldering it over a counter instead of helping hands so that the IC socket is touching a surface and cannot easily come out.

Step 8: Solder the Power Conductor to Your Circuit Board

This power conductor is also non-polar, so you do not have to worry which side goes where. Solder it in the place labeled L1.

Step 9: Solder Your Electrolytic Capacitors to Your Circuit Board

These capacitors are identical so they can go in either electrolytic capacitor place. However, they are Polarized, meaning it matters which wire goes in which hole of each capacitor. They both have two wires coming out of them. The side with the longer wire is the + side, and it goes into the + hole. The shorter wire of the capacitor is the - side, and goes into the - hole.

Step 10: Connect the Battery Holder to Your Circuit

The battery holder wires are already stripped at the end. However, only a very small part of the wire may be stripped, so feel free to use your wire strippers to strip it more. These wires may be split a little, so it is good to twist the strands of the same wire together so that it is easier to solder. The red wire goes into the + hole at the bottom of your circuit board, and the black goes into the - hole.

Step 11: Solder the USB Type a Connector to Your Circuit Board

Place your USB connector on your board so that most of it is hanging off of the board. You do not need to solder the hooks on the side of the board, just the three tiny legs in the middle. You will plug in your charger here.

Step 12: Insert the Batteries and Charger Into Their Designated Spots

The two AA batteries must go into the battery holder, and the charger must go into the USB connector. Then test to make sure that your cell phone/device is charging. If it is, congratulations!

If it is not, turn your board over and check to see if any of the solders are touching each other. If they are, this will cause a short circuit. Use a wick to remove any unneeded solder.