12V DC to 19V DC laptop power?

[glend]

Just wondering how people are handling getting 19V DC into their laptops in the field? I'd like to power my PHD netbook off of my camper batteries - because I have so much capacity there already. Is there an obvious solution other than an inverter and the AC power supply.

[MrB]

Jaycar (and probably others) have 12v universal laptop supplies. Take your laptop in with you wherever you go to check the correct plug comes with the kit.

[GTB_an_Owl]

this what you are looking for Glen?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Universal-For-Laptop-In-Car-DC-Charger-Notebook-AC-Adapter-Power-Supply-100W-E0X-/400437913980?pt=AU_Laptop_Accessori es&hash=item5d3bf5a97c

or

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MP3472

geoff

[Astro_Bot]

I bought an eBay one for $25 and it works fine.

[mithrandir]

No-one seems to make one of those to power a Toshiba Qosmio. It wants 19V at 9.5A and has a 4 pin plug.

[RAJAH235]

Hi Andrew,
I found a couple, (not sure if they are for your model though), but one is damn expensive.
> http://www.psaparts.com.au/laptop-notebook/toshiba/qosmio-x70-a-adapter-multi-tip--8vxwjp.html?_url=/laptop-notebook/toshiba/qosmio-x70-a-adapter--8vxwjp.html
> http://www.laptopsbattery.net.au/toshiba-qosmio-x300-ac-adapter-p33525.html

[MrB]

Those are both 240v input.

Andrew, a 200W 12v supply is pretty chunky and might be difficult to come by.
Might have too look at using an inverter with the standard supply. This is less efficient (12->240 and 240->19), but it works.

Speaking of chunky, a laptop running a 200W supply is pretty heavy duty for field use! Is it a quad core i7 or something?
I use a cheap little 10" netbook which runs ascom/eqmod/phd/cartes du ciel and sometimes backyard EOS or APT, and it never skips a beat. Runs for about 4 or 5 hours on the battery with the above software running, powering the qhy5, WiFi on, minimum backlight(still too bright!) and screen set to turn backlight off(not sleep!) after 5 mins of no mouse/keyboard input.

[glend]

Simon, that sounds like my set up, Netbook running PHD for guiding camera etc, and since I am using a Canon DSLR I only need shutter control. My AC power supply only outputs 2.1amps (19v of course), so those big expensive ones are overkill. I wanted to avoid the ones that require plug swaps but the one from China looks good.

[coldknights]

Hi Andrew let me know if you find one ! We looked just before Xmas and could not find a 12v to 19v 9.5A ....so I just use our 5000w inverter when we go camping with the original charger.

[julianh72]

I suspect you will be able to power the laptop with something quite a bit smaller than 180W (19V x 9.5A) - check the specs carefully.

My work laptop (Dell Latitude 15") is a pretty powerful CAD-class mobile workstation. It came with 2 power supplies - a big 200W unit, and a much smaller 90W unit.

The 200W power pack stays on my desk, to power the laptop and its docking hub, with a bunch of USB accessories (including hard drives etc), plus provides rapid charge capabilities. The 90W is the one that I pack in my laptop bag - it powers the laptop and a few small USB accessories (mouse, keyboard, etc) easily, but is slower to charge the battery while the computer is actually in use.

If you get a smaller power supply, you will probably power the laptop easily, but it may struggle to charge the battery, especially while the laptop is being used.

[mithrandir]

Simon, I've actually got two Toshibas. The Qosmio X770 (i7) that i can't get a PS for, and a Satellite L50-A (i5) which should be simple enough to get one for. I want to use the X770 for non-capture stuff and the L50-A for capture.


Cathy, that's probably the best solution. I can get replacement 240V power supplies for it, but no sign of a 12->19 anywhere.

[Merlin66]

Andrew,
Most, if not all the voltage convertors, 12-19V only have a few amp capacity....
I use one on the NEQ6pro (set to 15v)

[astronobob]

Hi Glen, I have been using the 2nd one that GTB Owl (Geoff) has put up for about 7yrs now, it has been faultless !
I see it delivers only 8amps @ 19V - so not sure how itd go with your lappy requiring 9.5 amps. Might be worth questioning JCar if can or need to ? They may have a bigger one ?

The one thing I considered with lappy purchase for astro was the power draw, seeing I use of a battery bank out leyburn. My Toshiba needs 19v but only draws 3.3amp tho that would equate to about a 6amp draw off the batteries at a 12v output - hense - if your needing 9.5amps @ 19v, then that would draw closer to 15-17 amps off the 12v battery supply !
Something to consider anyway !

All the best with it ...

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MP3472

[ZeroID]

APC ( the UPS people) put out a 12vDC & 240vAC universal power pack with selectable output voltage and good current capabilities.
I have one downstairs which I keep on hand for those unusual situations.
Check out their website to see if they are still available. I scored this when my wife used to work for them so it may be a promotional product.