USB Shell

thingiverse

This is a simple enclosure to house a 6/12VDC-5VDC USB "buck" converter. I recently upgraded to the Arlo Pro 3 camera system and found that the optimal locations to mount the cameras made them easily stolen. To resolve this issue, I decided to mount the cameras behind plates, which I had already done, but trying to recharge the internal batteries then involved dismounting them from the plates, a time-consuming task. The cameras can be recharged by connecting a USB cable to a USB wall charger that comes with the kit. However, apart from the fact that none of the camera positions are near a power outlet, I object to them sitting there consuming my electricity. So, I came up with an idea to power each of the cameras. The camera's USB lead connects to the USB on the buck converter, which is then connected to 2x 6VDC lantern batteries wired in series (just like your car's USB port). I'm not sure how many Amp Hours there are in 2x lantern batteries, but it's got to be a lot. Certainly way more than the piddly little battery inside the cameras. Also, lantern batteries are cheap, around $2 NZD, so it doesn't really matter if I need to replace them occasionally. The enclosure is designed to screw onto the outside of the wooden battery boxes that I built. For this reason, the wire entry points for the screw terminals are on the underside. Also, note that I used 3 pole screw terminals but left the centre terminal unused. I chose 3 poles so that the terminal housing was the correct width. My original idea was to remove the fittings of the centre terminal, but ultimately I couldn't do this. So instead, I simply broke off the solder leg so that it wouldn't get in the way. Someone more detail-oriented than me might consider filling it with epoxy. Lastly, I marked the polarity on the outside of the enclosure because there is no indication on the board itself. Here's the source for the buck converter: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32815170131.html?spm=2114.13010708.0.0.4dfa4c4dLWI4NX Addendum I forgot to mention a number of things: - Although I designed this for use with my Arlo Pro 3 cameras, this concept could also be used for any other application where a device requires USB power and it's desirable not to connect it via the mains. In other words, it's an independent, standalone device. - I used 2x 6VDC lantern batteries because I had some left over from a previous experiment. The buck converter will handle 6VDC - 24VDC input. So basically, you can use as little as a single 6VDC lantern battery for an input voltage.