Do it yourself portable power

Ever been stuck on the road with a dying iPod and no power adapters? Sad, yes. Perhaps even tragic . If you’re traveling and need just a little bit of an extra boost, but don’t want to spend too much cash on external battery packs that may only work with just one of your many devices, you might want to consider building your own.

Instructables is providing full details on how to roll your own USB battery charger. The project, named MintyBoost, draws power from standard AA batteries cleverly concealed inside an Altoid container (from whence the name comes). Though it does require some know-how, including soldering, it promises to be accessible to those who’ve never dabbled in DIY before.

The resulting battery pack can provide an additional full charge to a video iPod, and several hours of charge to iPod shuffles and minis. For the technically inclined, this may be a perfect solution.

[via Lifehacker ]