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Old 29-01-2012, 01:44 PM
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Computer and long battery life - help

hello all

I need some help. I need to find how to run my laptop for imaging (for hours) when I do not have access to a powerpoint. The battery life on my laptop is 1.5 hours and no new standard battery makes a lick of difference.

I am sure there are solutions out there. Any help appreciated.

Thanks
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Old 29-01-2012, 03:11 PM
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Matt just get on ebay or search for 12v DC laptop power supplies.
All you need to know is voltage and plug type and then you can run it
off any 12v battery .

Mark
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Old 29-01-2012, 03:41 PM
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Hi Mark - thanks, I will begin looking.

I have a deep cycle cell 12V battery, my computer runs off 19V (does that sound right?), so all I need to find out is my plug type?

Thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marke View Post
Matt just get on ebay or search for 12v DC laptop power supplies.
All you need to know is voltage and plug type and then you can run it
off any 12v battery .

Mark
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Old 29-01-2012, 03:58 PM
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Thats right, Jaycar and DS should have universal ones too , where they auto detect the volts and come with a range of plug adapters .
They have a cig plug for battery , when using them either take your
battery out or make sure its fully charged first this will reduce drain on your deep cycle.

Mark
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Old 29-01-2012, 04:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Wastell View Post
... I have a deep cycle cell 12V battery, my computer runs off 19V (does that sound right?) ...
No, I'm afraid that won't work.
If your computer needs a regulated 19 Volts then a 12 Volt battery and a plug on the end of a piece of cable isn't going to do the job.

You can get laptop supplies which run off 12 Volts ... but they're essentially a small inverter
That is, they step up the supply from 12 Volts to a higher voltage which is then regulated and supplied to the computer.
The other alternative is to buy a 240 Volt inverter which runs from 12 Volts and then use your existing mains power supply.

Unfortunately both those solutions tend to chew through the battery fairly quickly so your deep-cycle battery would need to be a decent capacity.
Given that you only get some 1.5 hours out of your laptop battery I'm guessing it's possibly a reasonably powerful device?
Perhaps a more modest computer such as a small, cheap and possibly second-hand netbook might be a solution?
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Old 29-01-2012, 04:04 PM
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Thanks Mark - you have been very helpful.

I just ordered one that is a match to my laptop - pic attached - all good to go now!

Thanks again!!!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marke View Post
Thats right, Jaycar and DS should have universal ones too , where they auto detect the volts and come with a range of plug adapters .
They have a cig plug for battery , when using them either take your
battery out or make sure its fully charged first this will reduce drain on your deep cycle.

Mark
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Old 29-01-2012, 04:05 PM
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Maybe I wasted a few bucks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyK View Post
No, I'm afraid that won't work.
If your computer needs a regulated 19 Volts then a 12 Volt battery and a plug on the end of a piece of cable isn't going to do the job.

You can get laptop supplies which run off 12 Volts ... but they're essentially a small inverter
That is, they step up the supply from 12 Volts to a higher voltage which is then regulated and supplied to the computer.
The other alternative is to buy a 240 Volt inverter which runs from 12 Volts and then use your existing mains power supply.

Unfortunately both those solutions tend to chew through the battery fairly quickly so your deep-cycle battery would need to be a decent capacity.
Given that you only get some 1.5 hours out of your laptop battery I'm guessing it's possibly a reasonably powerful device?
Perhaps a more modest computer such as a small, cheap and possibly second-hand netbook might be a solution?
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Old 29-01-2012, 04:23 PM
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Unfortunately both those solutions tend to chew through the battery fairly quickly so your deep-cycle battery would need to be a decent capacity.
Given that you only get some 1.5 hours out of your laptop battery I'm guessing it's possibly a reasonably powerful device?
Perhaps a more modest computer such as a small, cheap and possibly second-hand netbook might be a solution?[/QUOTE]

Actually they dont if done right , my laptop draws 0.9A or 2A at max load
so even a 60Ah battery will last 8hrs at least . I have been doing for some time now
and know it works.
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Old 29-01-2012, 04:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Wastell View Post
Thanks Mark - you have been very helpful.

I just ordered one that is a match to my laptop - pic attached - all good to go now!

Thanks again!!!!!
No you got the right thing it will work fine I use an almost identical one so dont worry.

Mark
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Old 29-01-2012, 04:29 PM
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I have an AGM gel battery 75Ah with one of those small 19V inverter from Jaycar and I can run my laptop 2 nights without a problem. You just have to be consistent with recharching the battery after use each time and store it in a cool place. I've had mine for a couple of years now.
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Old 29-01-2012, 06:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Wastell View Post
Maybe I wasted a few bucks!
No, you've got exactly what you need if you got a supply specifically intended to run a laptop from a vehicle supply.
I probably wasn't very clear. What I meant was that you couldn't just get a piece of cable and a plug and run a 19 Volt laptop directly from a 12 Volt battery.

Regarding my remarks about chewing through batteries.
How long it will last will depend on how much current your laptop is drawing, how much the other equipment is drawing and the capacity of your deep-cycle battery.
While Mark's laptop might draw 0.9 Amps with a peak of 2 Amps, yours might be different. As I said, if you're only getting around 1.5 hours from your laptop battery it could be a reasonably hungry beast.
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Old 29-01-2012, 07:14 PM
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Hi Andy,
I am pleased I have a solution to my issue. I think my laptop is a bit of an old beast and battery life has improved over the years.
I will test my deep cycle cell battery and the adaptor and if I get 4 hours out of it I will be very happy!
Thanks for your posts!

Regarding my remarks about chewing through batteries.
How long it will last will depend on how much current your laptop is drawing, how much the other equipment is drawing and the capacity of your deep-cycle battery.
While Mark's laptop might draw 0.9 Amps with a peak of 2 Amps, yours might be different. As I said, if you're only getting around 1.5 hours from your laptop battery it could be a reasonably hungry beast.[/QUOTE]
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Old 29-01-2012, 07:50 PM
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It's worth trying to conserve energy at the laptop too if you can. Keep screen dim, avoid using DVD player if you have one. A script or utility to completely blank the screen can help too.

I've got an Acer that's a few years old that draws about 2.6amps screen fully lit, 2.2 full dim, 2.0amps darkened. All adds up over a couple of 8-10hr nights. Little netbooks are nice, but I've seen a couple of people stuggle to run the applications they want to (and how they want to) on the smaller screen.

I'm sure I've read here before the 240V invertors are nowhere near as efficient as 12V/19V units you can buy as Marke mentioned - I tape mine to make sure it stays on the right voltage and to cover up the bright red LED.
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Old 01-02-2012, 04:58 PM
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Thanks all for the advice and guidance - the cord thingo arrived today and I have been banging away for hours on my laptop and deep cycle cell battery!
I will be well served now - thanks again for responding and assisting!
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Old 01-02-2012, 05:53 PM
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No prob Matt just remember to either take out the battery or make sure it
is fully charged if leaving it in . It wont hurt but will use double battery power trying to recharge .
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Old 01-02-2012, 06:59 PM
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That has been good advice - I fired it up at 2.30pm this arvo and removed the laptop battery to ensure it all worked well - still going now - I have watched DVD's, processed and done anything that would chew through the juice and it all works perfectly!
Long remote imaging sessions ahead!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marke View Post
No prob Matt just remember to either take out the battery or make sure it
is fully charged if leaving it in . It wont hurt but will use double battery power trying to recharge .
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Old 01-02-2012, 08:18 PM
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And if you go "dark sky" with a full battery, then you've still got a 1hr "emergency reserve" when you start to see the laptop go from 240V mode to "charging mode" - just disconnect your dying battery and use last hr in laptop. Not ideal to drain deep cycle that far mind you.
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Old 01-02-2012, 09:20 PM
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have you tried a 3 or 6 cell LiPo battery from a local hobby shop? These batteries last extemely long. 3S 2200mah = 11.1V, 6S 5000mah = 22.2V, you can always regulate the voltage to suit.
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Old 06-02-2012, 11:03 PM
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Matt,

When I'm on battery always am trying to optimize the load. This also affects the power performance. Here are few ideas:

- Disable wireless network - this is one of the main drawers
- Switch to battery optimized profile - lower CPU consumption (don't forget to disable USB powering off and auto sleep/hibernation too)
- Lower the brightness as much as possible, when it is needed you can rise it, but keep it at lowest.
- Stop all unneeded in the moment soft.
- Don't keep the planetarium program running unless it is needed
- Don't play much with the PC. Leave what is possible for home - stacking, stretching and so on.

These sill give only few percents boost, but when you are way from power, everything matters
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