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laptop use in car

posted by  cx on  Mon Sep 6 01:54 CST 2004
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last visit: Wed Oct 8 07:56 CST 2014
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Just thought i would share an idea that worked out very well for me. I have an old laptop that I wanted to bring back into use for mobile computing but did not want to be limited to battery use. I purchased a voltage inverter from an online vendor for cheap $ and am thrilled with the performance. My computer is such an antique that a car power cord is very hard to come by ...and very expensive, not to mention very prone to failure judging from my experience with car cell phone chargers. I paid $35.00 +/-(incl shipping) for the 200watt unit and am planning to also use it with my home cell charger in the car.



Dan








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    laptop use in car

    posted by  walrus3 on  Mon Sep 6 03:48 CST 2004
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    last visit: Mon Dec 2 14:20 CST 2013
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    Seems like going the long way around since the equipment you cite uses low
    voltage DC, and the chargers transform high voltage (120V) AC to a low voltage
    and then rectify it back to DC. Maybe you would do better to make/convert
    a cable and some resistors to provide the voltage you want without going through
    all the rigamarole. Plug&Play is not always the best answer!
    --
    George Downs, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Central US








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      laptop use in car

      posted by  cx on  Mon Sep 6 04:44 CST 2004
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      last visit: Wed Oct 8 07:56 CST 2014
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      Hi George,

      As I said in my post, I will be using this inverter with different types of equipment ,i.e., at the very least my cell phone which requires 5.2v dc and my antique laptop which needs 7.5v dc. In addition, when camping in a state park without elec hookups I will use it to power a mini tv, mini coffee maker etc. In short, this solution works for me(so far) and I thought someone else may find it useful.



      Dan








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        laptop use in car

        uid 5008's pic
        posted by  Colin UK on  Mon Sep 6 07:36 CST 2004
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        I came to the same conclusion a couple of years ago as my old laptop needed an 18V supply (my new Toshiba has a 19V supply)

        As you say it is also possible to run any other low power mains kit.

        The downside is that these inverters take quite a lot out of the car battery, so, to avoid flattening the car battery, I run mine from the booster starter (Contains it`s own battery) which I always carry.

        When I told a friend about this set up he wanted to know why I didn`t plug in a mains battery charger and connect it to the battery to charge it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        Colin.

        1990 740SE B200E/M47, remote C/Locking.








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          laptop use in car

          posted by  cx on  Mon Sep 6 13:02 CST 2004
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          last visit: Wed Oct 8 07:56 CST 2014
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          Hi Colin,

          I'm sure this inverter draws a lot from the battery so I am using it with the vehicle running so as not to kill the battery. Mostly this combo is used in my work vehicles for company business so my fuel is supplied by the company. Thanks for the reply.



          Dan







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