A power question.

[jesusandadam]

Hello,

I have a Ramsey FM25 DIY Fm transmitter and a small "iPod" like mp3 player.
The mp3 player only has 4 hours of battery life. I am broadcasting traffic reports in our church parking lot each sunday. I record them and load them to the mp3 player and then press play. The transmitter has an 1/8" audio in. Is there a way to modify the power supply so that I can "steal" power from the transmitter so the mp3 player will continually recieve power? The MP3 player has a typical USB port in which one of the pins provides power. I built the fm transmitter kit myself and it works verywell. However, I know little to nothing about circuitry. Can you help?

Thanks,
Thomas

 

[Sceadwian]

How many and of what kind does the transmitter and mp3 player use?

 

[jesusandadam]

transmitter mp3 player power

The transmitter uses a 12V DC adaptor as a power source and the mp3 player has a lithium rechargable battery that uses a 12V DC adapter with a USB connection on one end. Does this help? Again, I'm an idiot whenn it comes to this stuff but very intrigued by the world of electronics.

 

[Sceadwian]

Could you clarify that a little bit? A 12 volt DC adapater with a USB connector on one end doesn't make sense because USB is 5 volts, unless there's a regulator inbetween? Does the MP3 player charge itself when hooked up to a USB port, or only when hooked up to this adapter?

 

[jesusandadam]

Thanks for the replies.

Thanks for the help

Yes sir, the mp3 player DOES charge when hooked into a USB port. Does this mean the regulator is located in the mp3 device rather than the player DC wall adapter. The wall adapter for the mp3 player is called a 12V power adapter but the spec says 5V (+/- .2V) @ 500mA.

So here's what I got:

A Mp3 player with a lithium rechargable batery that runs off of 5V @ 500 mA and a FM transmitter that runs off of 12V @ 500mA

 

[jesusandadam]

excuse me I was reading the car charger specs. It is 5V @ 500mA