darkSpyro

Tired of burning through the batteries? Here is a simple mod I did, can be powered by AC adapter or batteries (and no need to remove batteries when plugged in).



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Nice! Reminds me of the good old days, we use to do this to everything that ate batteries and didn't come with an ac to dc adaptor!

How did you do this?

Yes please explain.

I have enough photos for a tutorial. Basically just added a plug, and used a power connector and 5v adapter purchased off eBay. Very inexpensive for parts. I'll start the tutorial:

Tools needed:
5V ac adapter (I used this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-3A-...=item35bfa6a4f1 )
Power Jack (http://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-3A-...=item35bfa6a4f1 )
Wire
Solder iron
Drill (and also dremel)
Glue gun (makes it cleaner for the wiring)

Essentially, this is what I did. However, if you use the parts I listed you will save alot compared to the RadioShack parts he references.

http://www.instructables.com/i...powered-device/

...shame that you did the mod inside the tablet slot. Otherwise did you add a switch to alternate between AC and batteries?

You can add it anywhere you want. Our ipads have cases with stands and don't really fit in that slot anyway.
plus i really didn't want the plug exposed.

Yes it is setup so when the cable is plugged in the batteries are disconnected from the circuit automatically.

...just got the game for Christmas and after 2 days; the batteries are drained on the portal!! Ridiculous!
Any issue with the 5V adapter instead of the 4.5V with the batteries?

Quote: anubis

...just got the game for Christmas and after 2 days; the batteries are drained on the portal!! Ridiculous!
Any issue with the 5V adapter instead of the 4.5V with the batteries?

Well, 4.5V <> 5V, so you'd be supplying too high a voltage to the unit for one. Depending on how stout the components it's manufactured from are, it might hold up, but I wouldn't really chance it over an extra dollar or two difference between a 4.5V and 5V adapter (versus the cost of a whole new tablet edition to get the portal). You can go over on amperage since a device will only pull as many amps as it requires, but the voltage should always match as closely as possible.

-Doug

I love the tablet portal design so much more then the console one , so much cooler looking and compact. I do know what the designers were thinking . Maybe the tablet one was designed later or something so they rethought the design

They REALLY should've applied their lessons learned from the SSA battery experience to this game...not sure why they didn't other than TfB did SSA and VV did the tablet version.

i like what you did but i moved the wall plugin to a different place and added a switch

3A may be a bit excessive. 5V vs 4.5V is a non-issue as AAAs will not supply that maximum voltage for very long anyhow. The portal likely requires a relatively high minimum voltage due to it dying so quickly on regular batteries. Although the DC-in is a relatively simple mod, in my opinion, the external switch is the least attractive option. I would have gone with a mechanical switch in the power jack or a 5V NC relay on the battery pack.
Personally, I went with a rechargeable lithium ion battery with a mini-usb port. Not the cleanest mod, but maintains the portability factor of the tablet portal.

Anyway you slice it though...this is all cool. More options is better than none. I'm currently just using rechargables because I lack the technical skill to do ANY mod. Kudos to you engineer types

done the conversion this weekend, works pretty well; the DC jack has an embedded switch to use the batteries