BiteAway – modified (USB instead of batteries)

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Updated – January 21, 2023

Anyone who has an allergy to mosquito bites can usually be found indoors during mosquito-prone times. He avoids the evening hours or sits around the campfire in full gear in summer temperatures. Mosquito bites not only itch, they lead to thick swellings the size of a good 5 marks and, if you have the right predisposition, also to blood poisoning.

One day we were visiting Scandinavia fans and got to know BiteAway. Ordered three of them - and the mosquito bites stopped being frightening.

However, the parts quickly ate up the most powerful Duracell AA batteries. A little more than a dozen applications and the batteries were exhausted. Another solution had to be found.

Attention: this modification will void the manufacturer's warranty!

Said and done. A USB converter is used to convert the USB 5 V voltage to the required 3.3 V. The spindle trimmer for voltage adjustment can, after removing it, be replaced with a 5.6 k 1% metal film resistor between the center tap and the left connection. This prevents accidental adjustment of the potentiometer and subsequent damage to the BiteAway.

A Spiral cable is misused. The car plug was dismantled and the cable ends were unsoldered. The other end is cut off directly at the plug, the cables are exposed by about 5 cm, the ends are stripped of 2 mm and tinned.

The end cap of the BiteAway has a hole in the middle that is about one to two millimeters smaller than the largest diameter of the remaining kink protection.
The cable is guided through this hole from the inside and the kink protection is tightened in the hole.

The cable is connected to the USB plug using two screw terminals. Strain relief can be achieved, for example, using a loop that is fixed to the housing with insulating tape. Of course, it is also ideal to use a separate anti-kink grommet.

With a PowerPack or any USB port you can now get rid of an almost unlimited number of mosquito bites.