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12v to USB adapter \ 12v to 5v transformer (great for cars)

by julienrl on September 18, 2009 Table of Contents License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: 12v to USB adapter \ 12v to 5v transformer (great for cars) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 1: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 2: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 3: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 4: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 5: encase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5

http://www.instructables.com/id/12v-to-USB-adapter-12v-to-5v-transformer-great-/

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) Intro: 12v to USB adapter \ 12v to 5v transformer (great for cars)
This will tell you how to make a 12v to USB (5v) adapter. The most obvious use of this is for 12v car adapters but anywhere you have 12v you can use it! If you need 5v for anything other than USB, simply skip the steps about adding the USB ports ;) You will need a fuse holder a 2A fast blowing fuse 2 different colors of wire (so that you don't get confused later on) a L7805CV voltage regulator, part number 497-1443-5-ND from Digijey a 220uf 16v Capacitor, part number P5139-ND from Digikey. female USB ports times the number of ports you want (2-3 would be normal), Digikey number AE9923-ND if you choose to add an LED, you need an LED and an appropriate resistor for 5V. This depends on your LED's rating. Any LED will do, here are the values for the most common LEDs : 1.2v = 220ohm, 1.6v = 180ohm, 2v = 180 ohm, 2.2v = 150ohm. If you have a strange LED or want to make it brighter, please use this resistor calculator.

step 1:
The Transitor has 3 pins, we will call them pins 1 2 and 3. Pin 2 is the GROUND (-). - Pin 1 will be connected to the power supply, passing by the fuse. there are different size of fuse holders, the size does not really matter as long as it has the same ratings. There might be a 1$ difference or something. - Pin 2 will be connected to the ground (-) so we will just add a wire

Image Notes 1. pin 1 (power in) 2. pin 2 (ground) 3. pin 3 (we have not use this yet) 4. fuse container

http://www.instructables.com/id/12v-to-USB-adapter-12v-to-5v-transformer-great-/

step 2:
The capacitor will be connected to pins 2 and 3 (the shorter leg goes to the ground \ pin 2)

step 3:
The USB will be connected to pins 2 (- ground) and 3 (5v +). You can use this diagram; use the picture called "receptacle". I have used salvaged USB ports, if you order them, they will probably be a bit easier to solder. The advantage to this is to have a solidly joined pair as I have. If you have more than one port, connect all the pins 1 to pins 1 and pins 4 to pins 4 *more detailed note on why the ports are wired the way they are, skip if you don't care* In order to keep the voltage steady at 5v, your ports should be in parallel rather than in series in order to keep the voltage constant. What does this mean? quite simply you make sure that the red wire goes to every positive port you have (do NOT go "wire to +" and then "from minus go to next +"). Does each red wire have to leave from the same place? no, the importance is just that they all touch each other.

Image Notes 1. pin 4 (ground) at the right 2. pin 1 (power\red) to the left 3. I used the existing wires of the old circuit; do not do this unless you are certain that there is no interference.

step 4:
If you are adding the LED, place it the same way as the capacitor, but put the appropriate resistor in series with it (this calculator will tell you how, use 5v as the voltage in the 1 LED calculator) (aka, make it an extension of either one of the legs). You might want to put this on wires so you can move the LED to a better position later on.

http://www.instructables.com/id/12v-to-USB-adapter-12v-to-5v-transformer-great-/

step 5: encase
I like to encase circuits in hot glue, because I find hot glue is easy to apply and easy to remove, but will not be removed by accident.

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http://www.instructables.com/id/12v-to-USB-adapter-12v-to-5v-transformer-great-/

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Comments
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somabva says:

Jun 11, 2010. 8:19 PM REPLY Cool project. Just a couple of questions julienrl: Under no load, my circuit works great. Once I add a typical load to the circuit, it gets very, very hot. Is this to be expected? The spec sheet seems to allow for operating temps up to 150 deg C, but I had planned to enclose this circuit in my car's dash and am now hesitant. I don't want to light my dashboard on fire. The chip was definitely hot enough to melt your hot glue casing, so I'm assuming I did something wrong. The only thing I could think of as I read the spec sheet was that perhaps I had put the capacitor in the wrong place. If I followed your directions correctly, the capacitor went over the ground and output pins. But the spec sheet seems to indicate that the capacitor should be placed over the input and ground pins to insure stable operation under load. Or am I misunderstanding the purpose of the capacitor in your circuit? I don't do this sort of thing very much... Mar 7, 2010. 5:20 AM REPLY It is good to find someone else who uses hot glue as a "project case." It is very helpful that you identified the pins in the USB socket for power connections. Thank you.

Phil B says:

julienrl says:
glad i could be of help

Mar 10, 2010. 9:10 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/12v-to-USB-adapter-12v-to-5v-transformer-great-/