HOW TO Make A USB Passthrough

[virtuetovice]

Well I've read over and over that people want a how to and there isn't one. Here it is. I just made mine last night and decided to take it apart and re-make, just for you all.


YOU WILL NEED:

A battery connector, or just a dead/fried battery
A soldering gun/iron[obviously]
If you're using a battery connector you'll need a metal tube to fit it
A USB cable[I used a mini B, I have a bunch of them laying around]
An LED tip cover
A drill and a drill bit the width of your cable
A momentary pushbutton switch[mine is an old computer reset button

Next post will contain the instructions, I'm still kinda figuring out the file upload process

 

[virtuetovice]

First, drill a hole in the tip and feed the wire through it. Then feed the wire through the body tube. It should look like this when you're done.

 

[virtuetovice]

Then, pop out the middle piece of the connector. It should easily come out of the rubber grommet. Feed the positive[red]wire through the rubber grommet, threads pointing up. Then carefully solder the positive wire to the center contact. It should look like this, with the flat side up.

After that solder the negative[black] wire to the larger part of the connector.

 

[virtuetovice]

Clip the other two wires that aren't being used and pull the cable gently until the connector is in the body. Push it in tight, attach an atomizer and hook it to your computer to test it.

Once all is working, we can now attach a switch. About 3 inches down from the tip of the tube, clip the cable in half and strip both sides' positive and negative wires. Simply connect each of the two positive wires to a pole on the switch, solder the two connections and connect the two sides of the black wire together. Tape the connection and wrap tape around the entire piece, except for the top of the button. That's it, you're done! not the prettiest thing in the world here but it works.


TO THE MODERATORS: Sorry about the multi post, this is the only way it would work for me.

 

[Mechanical_Animal]

wicked guide mate! this should be stickied in the DIY guides or something, im bookmarking this thread as I have a battery that is dead but im not sure if the supplier is replacing it and want me to send it back for testing :-S

ill try this when I get the chance, good job sir!

 

[virtuetovice]

Thanks a lot!

This 5v direct connection is giving it the PERFECT amount of power. Great vapor coming from my atomizer.
I still feel kinda noobish because I couldn't get it all in one post.

=On a side note, am I the only one that has to click attachments, close them out and click again sometimes?
[running latest version of Firefox, XP Professional]

I have a hunch this "CoolPreviews" link preview add on for Firefox might be doing it.

 

[Mechanical_Animal]

Thanks a lot!

This 5v direct connection is giving it the PERFECT amount of power. Great vapor coming from my atomizer.
I still feel kinda noobish because I couldn't get it all in one post.

=On a side note, am I the only one that has to click attachments, close them out and click again sometimes?
[running latest version of Firefox, XP Professional]

I have a hunch this "CoolPreviews" link preview add on for Firefox might be doing it.

yeah man it looks great, I am looking forward to trying it out.

Nah dont worry about the one post thing, when you write another how to what you want to do is link the images using BBCODE.

the raw command is "nsert url here" [/img}

(its in the bar at the top of full reply it is a little icon of a hill on a sheet of paper and when you mouse over it it says "insert image")

you can use this to imbed an image in your post rather than link it via upload, you will need a photobucket or picasa web album but its worth it for the ease and lack of effort.

cheers dude :)

 

[virtuetovice]

It doesn't LOOK nearly as great as it WORKS. Been using it on and off ever since my last post...my battery is gonna collect dust now

I was thinking about using BB code, just didn't know if it was enabled here. Oh well...at least everyone who wanted to know how to do this, knows now.

I might do a remake of the switch area where all that tape is, and use that liquid electrical tape I saw in the hardware store. On the flip side, I do like the fact that the way I taped it up naturally curved downward for sort of a more ergonomic grip.

The stress test results on this are pretty promising, I just held the button for a minute solid and didn't blow my atty. It glowed red the whole time and actually cleaned the nichrome wire VERY nicely. The computer's USB hub seems to put out the perfect amount of power for this application.

 

[Wagex]

if you are using a 901 you can also modify a tire shrader valve for threads

 

[Doomfinger]

i had a Volcano battery that crapped out on me so i decided to take up this task. i tell u what.... getting the threads out of a volcano battery is next to impossible with bare hands lol. i ended up having to gut it from the LED end and drive a bolt thru it to get it out. it wasnt even glued! it was pressed in there hahaha. i used a momentary switch from an XBOX controller and cut a little window in the insulation with toenail clippers and just spliced the red wire instead of cutting the whole thing to install the momentary switch. then i used some epoxy putty to make a neat little switch holder for the button. i also filled the metal tube with epoxy after i soldered all the connections so there is no way the connections will ever break loose. i plan to take it to the shop tomorrow and cover the bare metal and the short section of wire before the switch with some shrink tubing just to make it look nice. you are right, this thing works like a champ! no more dead batteries in the middle of a raid for me!

sorry had to put the pic as an attachment cuz this is my first post

 

[Cyre]

How do I know which 2 wires to use inside of the USB cable? The wires inside of my USB cable are all clear. If I knew which pin on the USB connector end to use, I can use my multimeter to find which are the ones at the cut end.

 

[marlboro_man]

Hi, I really thank you for a no thrills no bs easy to follow diy cheapo usb passthrough.....I have all those bits for a dse 801 as the one I paid £20,00 ($30.00) was an auto battery model and is foobarred.....So I am having a go at this and let you know how it daggles



Cheers again

 

[HippyGirl]

Hi, I really thank you for a no thrills no bs easy to follow diy cheapo usb passthrough.....I have all those bits for a dse 801 as the one I paid £20,00 ($30.00) was an auto battery model and is foobarred.....So I am having a go at this and let you know how it daggles

Cheers again

Same here...I've made two so far...

The 1st one was a USB PT for a 510 atty and is housed in a 1xAAA batt box. It works PERFECT on my computer at work but not my home computer, so I ordered a USB power adapter from here and will be able to plug into the wall.

The 2nd one I made was for an 801 atty using an old AC power adapter I had laying around and is housed in a 1xAAA batt box as the first one. This one is my new favorite PV of all that I have...puts out so much FLAVORFUL vapor I can hardly see my computer screen on the exhale!

Seriously, just about anyone should be able to follow these instructions and make a PT.

Thanks,

Sherry

 

[FlipnOut]

How do I know which 2 wires to use inside of the USB cable? The wires inside of my USB cable are all clear. If I knew which pin on the USB connector end to use, I can use my multimeter to find which are the ones at the cut end.

The outside pins (1 and 5) are the + and -. It's tough to describe which is pos and which is neg without a pic, and I don't have one. So, test continuity to find the appropriate end pins, cut the rest off, then plug it into power and use your DMM to figure out which one is which.

 

[Kewtsquirrel]

If he's not using a mosfet or an LED, it doesn't really matter which is positive and negative, just that he uses those two.

On the enclosures, all of my passthrus use a Serpac C-4 enclosure, they are smaller than a AA battery box and come in neat colors! (translucent red, blue, green, and grey, or solid black/almond/grey) You can even get a nice little pocket clip for the solid colors.

serpac c-4

 

[FlipnOut]

Thanks for the Serpac hint. I only have 2 of my old RadioShack "Remote Control" enclosures left... these look exactly the same, except the RS ones were only black!

 

[virtuetovice]

How do I know which 2 wires to use inside of the USB cable? The wires inside of my USB cable are all clear. If I knew which pin on the USB connector end to use, I can use my multimeter to find which are the ones at the cut end.

If you haven't figured it out just head to the dollar store and grab a USB cable. It's better to be safe than risk using the wrong wires and frying your USB hub...8-o


@Doomfinger: That one looks GREAT! I was thinking about doing the epoxy switch but I kinda like the way the electrical tape gives the wire a natural curve.

@marlboro man and everyone else who said thanks:
Youre very welcome. I'm REALLY glad this thread has turned out to be so helpful for so many of you. If any of you need any extra help feel free to PM me.

 

[ladysteam]

Hi! I just wanted to say thank-you for the clear instructions I guess I must have soldered everything great for my first time, cause I am sitting here with a headache from the intense vape. WOW 8-o Ummm is the strength the same using an electrical or car adapter - is there a way to tone it down (*ducks*)? I would love to build a battery mod, but I got a bit frustrated with finding batteries without having to buy online. I am in Canada, I used an auto m601 for this mod that died on me a month ago, and I only dip. I actually enjoy the manual m602 strength & taste wise when the battery is at optimum charge.. but this battery doesn't last very long. Any tips? I really have read the modders forum extensively... my head really hurts

Thank you again!

 

[FlipnOut]

Congrats Ladysteam! The fun has only just begun. You'll have a pile of mods laying around before you know it.

 

[ladysteam]

Thanks FlipnOut

About my post, I was just reading the forums about battery mods... like me, some also find 5v just a little too harsh, would adding a resistor or diode be okay for this type of mod? Sorry if that was a dumb question, I don't know much about electronics.