A power question.

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

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

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.

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?

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

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