Is there a Hack for Charging from USB instead of Firewire?

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iPod 3rd Generation

Model A1040 / 10, 15, 20, 30, or 40 GB hard drive / four touch-sensitive LED backlit buttons above touch wheel

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herman428 @herman428

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Publicada: 7 de abr de 2014

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Is there a Hack for Charging from USB instead of Firewire?

Is there a way that the charging components inside a 3rd-gen iPod can be changed from Firewire to USB ?

With so many USB car chargers available that make it easy to carry USB-charge-able devices, carrying a 3rd-gen iPod that solely charges via Firewire is truly a pain in the neck.

I have 2 car charge ports in our vehicle, one is usually occupied by the GPS, the other one rotates between when my wife wants to charge her iPhone with the 2-port USB charger, and when I want to charge the iPod 3rd-gen with the Firewire charger. Even though the iPod 3rd-gen charges solely through Firewire, it would be much more convenient if both devices could both share the USB charger with 2 ports.

I found a hack on the Instructables site that someone posted to modify a USB charger to charge a 3rd-gen iPad Nano, (http://www.instructables.com/id/Modify-a...), though I suspect it would work the same way for a regular 3rd-gen iPod. This however, doesn't completely solve my question, it only keeps a dedicated charger for the iPod and doesn't make it flexible enough to use a "regular" USB car charger that might have 2 ports.

Everyone I've spoken to doesn't have any suggestions since it requires a Firewire charge, so they suggest ditching a perfectly good working 40GB iPod for something newer. I refuse to give up a functioning device I paid close to $400 many years ago. What can I do to make this device work with a USB charger ?

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I just added a charging port from a ecig to mine. Tooke it out of one of those blu ones that way it would still regulate when battery was full haven't had a 30 pin in ages nice to have it up and running again

12 de mai de 2021 por Jon Stocker

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oldturkey03 @oldturkey03

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Publicada: 7 de abr de 2014

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herman428, this would be an interesting hack but all the circuitry in the iPod requires firewire for the charging, so you can not modify that. I would suggest something like a USB charger followed by a buck converter and terminate this with a firewire connection. Not really that cumbersome and should be doable. Hope this helps, good luck.

The "hack" on instructable is a bit different.It was developed to charge the iPod with just any generic charger The USB output will remain around 4.6V- to - 5.2 V. Firewire is at 12V, you you will have to have some sort of DC-DC step up converter.

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The older dock allowed you to use either USB or Firewire connection to a Windows PC (sync). But your iPod 3rd Gen. could only be charged via the FireWire connection via the FireWire iPod charger or via a FireWire port on your system. At the time the USB standard did not offer enough to power to charge things which is why this was such a mess. I'm sure with some effort you might be able to convert the dock to charge via the USB connection.

7 de abr de 2014 por Dan

If you are really interested we might be able to "hack" something together next few days. :-) The problem is that the power requirement of the iPod is actually 12V....I am sure we can get something accomplished.

7 de abr de 2014 por oldturkey03

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I just added a charging port from a ecig to mine. Tooke it out of one of those blu ones that way it would still regulate when battery was full haven't had a 30 pin in ages nice to have it up and running again — Jon Stocker
The older dock allowed you to use either USB or Firewire connection to a Windows PC (sync). But your iPod 3rd Gen. could only be charged via the FireWire connection via the FireWire iPod charger or via a FireWire port on your system. At the time the USB standard did not offer enough to power to charge things which is why this was such a mess. I'm sure with some effort you might be able to convert the dock to charge via the USB connection. — Dan
If you are really interested we might be able to "hack" something together next few days. :-) The problem is that the power requirement of the iPod is actually 12V....I am sure we can get something accomplished. — oldturkey03

Conor Keenan @conor_k Reputação: 13 1 · Answer 1 · 2020-02-03T20:45:55-07:00

Conor Keenan @conor_k

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I spliced a usb step up 12v cable to a FireWire dock connector charging cable

DC 5V to DC 12V USB Voltage Step Up Converter Cable - iGreely Power Supply USB Cable with DC Jack 5.5 x 2.5mm or 5.5 x 2.1mm, USB 5V to DC 12V Cable 3ft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J6NYVJV/ref...

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Any help on how to do that usb stepup mid? I’d like to try it, but I’m not sure how to wire it!

27 de mai de 2020 por Brett

Easiest way is a cable splice. You can do this either by cutting off the FireWire end of a FireWire dock connector cable and splicing it to the 12v usb cable I linked to, or you can get a male to female FireWire cable and cut off the male end, splicing the female end to the 12v step up adapter’s cable and then plugging you’re FireWire dock connector cable into that.

Here’s a FireWire pinout:

http://www.pinouts.ws/firewire-1394-pino...

Black wire is ground and white is voltage.

I forget if the wires in the step up adapter cable are the same but white + black - is pretty standard, in which case black to black white to white (ignoring other wires In the fw cable) You could check you’ve got it right by putting a voltage tester in the dock connector pins before you plug it in to your iPod: https://i.stack.imgur.com/39v15.jpg

30 de ago de 2020 por Conor Keenan

Thanks for this. I recently purchased a 3G, a 2G, and a 1G. Since the 2/1G don't have the dock connector, I wanted something a little different. I purchased the adapter above and this cable https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T.... There is nothing special about that cable, it was the cheapest with a female 6-pin connector. The step-up converter has a red and a black wire. I connected red to white and black to black. I just used two 24-26 gauge butt splices and some heat shrink tubing. I was too lazy to solder. I have not tested it extensively, but it charges both my 3G and 1G and nothing is getting hot. I tested it with an USB charger that I think came from a nano. I'm happy. Again, thanks for sharing.

11 de fev de 2021 por Rusty Lingenfelter

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PKbanmoo Banmoo @pkbanmoobanmoo Reputação: 1 · Answer 2 · 2014-05-31T04:08:41-07:00

PKbanmoo Banmoo @pkbanmoobanmoo

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Yes, I have exact same experience. One power source means from the one usb supply.

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OT - the links check out now.

2 de jun de 2014 por mayer

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stereomatic @stereomatic Reputação: 1 1 · Answer 3 · 2015-01-04T22:11:34-07:00

stereomatic @stereomatic

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This incredibly compact DC step-up converter is what I used. It fits neatly inside the 3G case behind the hard drive.

http://www.pololu.com/product/2117

Here are the traces for USB and Firewire power.

Problem is, the iPod freezes when plugged in. It seems that the iPod refuses to function when both USB 5V and Firewire 12V power are being supplied. And you can't cut off USB power to the device, because that's what the iPod uses to power the chips that interface with the computer. How did you get around it? Or is the iPod non-operable when plugged in via USB?

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If the iPod freezes when the USB supplies power, surely it should do that when a regular 'y' (USB 2.0 & firewire cable) supplies power to it through the firewire end and it is plugged in for syncing.

Problem is, it doesn't. It works!

So is there a way to take the pinout configuration of the 'y' adapter and copy it?

28 de mai de 2015 por holdenstenner

But this *is* the pinout of the y adapter...not sure why it works for you, it certainly doesn't for me when both USB and Firewire are plugged in on it.

28 de mai de 2015 por benswinter

Necromancing, I know, but I'm looking into the same thing.

My guess is that the problem is the FireWire ground and USB ground... Lowendmac.com says they must be separate, although none of the references listed in the article back it up. I note that the iPod 3rd gen manual (page 22) says that, if you use the FW / USB splitter cable, DO NOT plug both in the same machine.

Just in case it helps anyone else.

https://lowendmac.com/2016/apples-30-pin...

https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0...

27 de nov de 2020 por Michael Duncan

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PKbanmoo Banmoo @pkbanmoobanmoo Reputação: 1 · Answer 4 · 2015-07-31T18:55:45-07:00

Hi Friends,

I have found another method of charging - use the battery charger circuit put directly to the battery - search e-bay with "MICRO USB 1A Battery Charging Module TP4056" .

See it here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8C4Foyc...

- LED for charging indicator

- My IPOD has CF card which allows enough space for the charger board. I think it is not sufficient space inside with original HDD.

- Charging time is around 3 hrs. Working time is 8 hrs from fully charged (with 850 mAh battery ,play with rockbox).

- During sync with PC, can be charged simultaneously.

Cheers!

I have use it over a month now and things are fine.