So I have a tiny Creative mp3 player that runs on one AAA battery. Do you think I can wire the battery compartment to the 3.3v on an Akihabara PS360 or PSX pad PCB?
Alternatively, I have a spare fourth gen ipod shuffle that I could do something with too.
I’m trying to get it to work iniside a Hori Ex2 case. Perhaps I can get the headphone jack on the mp3 players to line up with the 360 headphone jack port on the bottom of the stick? If so maybe I need an mp3 player with inline headphone controls?
Way too much voltage. It runs at about 1.5V, and you’re feeding it more than double that way. I don’t know of any 1.5V regulators, but some diodes can step down voltage, though, it’s usually by about .7V, so your options are way too high at 1.9V or too low at 1.2V, though, there are other ways to modify voltage. Like zener diodes and resistor. But that may be a bit more than you’re looking to do?
Not a Muvo by chance, is it? I went through 2-3 of those and loved them. IIRC, you wont be able to play it while its plugged into USB, so if you’re planning on trying something kinky with a USB hub, dont think it’ll work.
At any rate, with a 3.3v source voltage from a PSX pad or the regulated voltage from the PS360, then you need to drop it to roughly 1.5v. Diode is easiest; horribly wasteful, but dead simple to wire up, is a diode with a roughly 1.8v Vf. I found this: Digi-Key - MUR180EGOS-ND (Manufacturer - MUR180EG)
Cheapest part that fits the requirements you described. 1.75v drop, can handle 1A (WAY more than you’ll ever need to worry about), and super cheap 44 cents.
Best of luck, look forward to seeing the results. And make sure there is no battery left in it; powered when plugged in, or not at all. Otherwise things get much hairier. I’d recommend against the shuffle; you wouldnt be able to use the existing headphone jack for inline controls, and you’d have to deal with rechargable battery issues, which may be outside of your abilities.