12 v laptop?

[SAWDOC]

Hi i am running my admiralty chartplotter on a conventional laptop, and would prefer to run same on a 12 volt laptop which i could power from my battery without use of an inverter. Does such a laptop exist ? how much does one cost an what type of spec is required for the intended use? TIA

 

[SamWinstanley]

Virtually all laptop manufaturers can supply a 12V "cigarette lighter" based power supply as this is the outlet usually provded on planes/trains etc.

If you baulk at the prices you may well find people selling after-market unbadged models.

[edit] I thought I should add here that you may see battery drain 5-9W depending on the model of laptop and what you are using it for. However this would be the drain associated with a "fast charge" of the laptops own battery you may actually only experience this level of battery drain rarely... in actual day to day usage expect more like 1-3amps while the laptop is on.

 

[SAWDOC]

thanks that sounds ideal. any recommendations for unbadged supplier?

 

[SamWinstanley]

I have never used them directly but I know other people who have bought things from: http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/car-adapters.htm and they carry quite a large range of 12V adapters.

 

[Gin]

My old Dell Inspiron doesn't have a manufacturers model available but I just bought one from China for about £9 inc. postage- should be here next week

E-bay of course! Just type in car charger and your computer name & model and something should pop up

 

[Amulet]

Maplin sell a ciggy lighter one which can be configured to any voltage within reason, any polarity and having a complete selection of plugs. I have two for two laptops. They were easy to configure and work fine. I did have a wierd Dell laptop which no plug fit into, but it works for all other Dells I think. (That problem was solved with a butchered mains adapter soldered on to a new socket.) Remember to fix your power settings to make it run lean and mean. Plugged into the charger it thinks it's on mains, and will default to a power hungry regime. I have a power regime defined which spins disks down, dims the screen, switches the DVD drive off, switches the wireless card off. It more than halves the power drain.

Take the laptop with you to the Maplin store if you want to be sure it is going to fit.

 

[Stork_III]

Try kensington

 

[gianenrico]

Well, I'm rather satisfied with Asus pc eee 900XP + a 19" LCD TV cun DVD: they are native 12Volts machines.

 

[BAtoo]

Second the Maplin 12v jobby; works fine on my Acer 5610 supposedly needing 19v 4.7a; set it to 19v and all fine. Only £20 ish.

 

[SAWDOC]

Thanks all
There is a maplin branch nearby so iw ill pop in tomorrow with laptop underarm - gracias

 

[l'escargot]

I have used a Maplins one on an Advent and a HP, there is a high and low wattage version so make sure you get the one that suits your laptop. I've got the 150w one here:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=223723&DOY=9m9

 

[Haven't-a-Clue]

Yup, that's the one I bought and it runs my HP just fine on board. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[moody1]

Nearly all Notebook PC's will run direct of 12v. Best is to remove the battery and cover contacts and replace so battery still balances the unit, but does not contact and try to charge. The extra voltage above 12v - the power supply rating is actually to charge the battery pack.
If you still want the battery to be in contact when not plugged in then with only 12v plugged in, the low battery charge light will always be on.
The other way of course is to get to Maplins or similar and buy a DC-DC converter and set to the voltage shown on PC's power supply.

 

[PIGLETSDREAM]

I have been running my Toshiba sattellite pro for about 6 years without a battery, just plug into 12v supply and up she runs