iPod USB adapter

I've always been a little annoyed at the proprietary iPod plug because it means that I need to remember to take a special cable with me if I want to charge my iPod or add music to it. I eventually found something called the SendStation:

It's a cool idea, but there's one glaring problem. They used a USB B connector, and if you go check all your gadgets to see which ones use that type of cable you'll probably not find any. The only things that come to mind that use the USB B connector are printers and USB hubs and I'm about as likely to carry one of those cables around as I am to carry an iPod cable. What I really wanted was an adapter that would let me use a mini USB connector to interface with my iPod. So I made one.

I initially couldn't find a place that sold blank iPod connectors, so I bought the SendStation and ripped it open. USB is only 4 wires, so it was all that complicated after I looked up the pin out. What I ended up with is this:

It's not as pretty but it gets the job done and now I only need to carry one cable to charge my iPod, phone, GPS, etc... I've since found a place that sells the iPod connector, so I bought a few of them so I can make a cleaner version. I kind of munged the line-out connector with the soldering iron on this one too. Function over form I guess.