Topic: Powering an iRiver audio player in my car

[Chuck]

I've decided to stop making CD's to play in my car and start using my iRiver H320 as my music player.
I have a cigarette lighter adaptor and the right DC plug for the iRiver. I just need to figure out the best way to get 12v DC stepped down to clean 4.5v DC inside the cigarette adaptor.

The two ways that come to mind are:

1. A voltage divider with resistors.
2. A 5v zener diode with a current limiting resistor.

Is either one way better than the other?
There's some room inside the cigarette lighter adaptor. I know I can fit a couple of resistors and a capacitor or two in there.
If I use the zener for voltage regulation, I'd probably have to follow it with a capacitor (or two) for filtering.

[rsimms3]

Not that I am answering your question, but an alternative is to use a Cigarette Lighter > USB adapter and a USB cable.  They make retractable USB cables that are specifically for power, but generally come with some sort of powering solution.  The 320 will play and charge at the same time on USB power.  You need to enable that in Rockbox, turn on your 320 and your car, then plug in the USB, otherwise if you already have it plugged in before boot it will go into USB mode and you can't play without a restart.

http://www.pdapreferred.com/hp-ipaq-3100-3600-3700-usb-hotsync-and-charger-f8q0003-hp-.html?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=product

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R40&dfsp=32&satitle=usb+adapter+car&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sabfmts=1&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=32%26fsoo%3D2&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=

[sunjan]

The 320 will play and charge at the same time on USB power.  You need to enable that in Rockbox, turn on your 320 and your car, then plug in the USB, otherwise if you already have it plugged in before boot it will go into USB mode and you can't play without a restart.

Cool, I didn't know this!

Or if you want to go on plain power, just grab this for $7 incl S&H:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200338500024