A little over a year ago, I treated myself to a nice gaming headset. I did a little bit of research and found a pair that were all that I could ever want and their sound was apparently really good (as far as reviews went), with a bonus that I am able to apply voice filters. So I purchased a Turtle Beach XP500 wireless headset, and absolutely loved them, and still do today. They are extremely comfortable, the sound you get out of them is absolutely amazing, and the voicer filters are great for annoying my friends online Xbox Live. The only problem I have with them is that they require two AA batteries, and although I generally always have some rechargeable batteries kicking around, I do not always remember to charge them! So a project I am going to undertake in the new year is to improve these headphones so that I no longer require batteries.
So basically what I am thinking is to remove the batteries and their cover, create a simple circuit that connects to a Lithium Ion battery, provides a USB socket and for it to fit snugly in the headphones. Ultimately, it will allow me to use them with the new batteries when they are charged, and when they are running low on power, I can simply hook a USB cable into them, and they can charge AND continue to work at the same time.
Here is a video of what I am planning on “upgrading” :