JST Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Whats the best way to charge an in car PC dedicated cigarette lighter wiring or mains leads and an inverter? should you run it with the battery out? to preseve battery life by not giving it lots of little charges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8bertha Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Whats the best way to charge an in car PCdedicated cigarette lighter wiring or mains leads and an inverter? should you run it with the battery out? to preseve battery life by not giving it lots of little charges? From what I read in the past charging from an inverter is not a healthy option. The AC wave created by the inverter is stepped rather than smooth which can apparently shorten the life of rechargable batteries. I'm sure a clever person will be along soon to give full techy details! If you find a 12v charging option post up about it, it's something I'll be looking at at some point in the future. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streaky Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 When I was last in UK I got one of these from Maplins in Slough. I used it for five days at the last Desert Challenge and found it superb. http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?Module...36&doy=17m7 Can't remember the exact price but it was around 25 -30 pounds I think. S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltwt1981 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 As above, Maplins about £20 I think, works fine on my toughbook. The one I have has various voltage outputs up to 24 volt I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 If your laptop has a power block then have a look at what the ouput is- usually a few amps at 12v. Seems silly to use an inverter to convert up to 240v and then a power block to convert back to 12v. You can get cheap 12v power regulators that take the spikes out of car battery supplies which means all you would need to do would be plug a power lead directly into the back of the laptop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 its 16V 3.75A it needs so if you have a 16V 6A output does that work or overpower it? ie does the laptop just take what it needs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Freak Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I use an inverter regardless of the shape of the output. Toughbook been fine like that for a year now and battery still performs when required. I agree, an inverter just for the laptop would be a waste, but I use for drilling/other power tools when working in the 110 and it has been known to power a TV and mobile satellite ! Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 and mobile satellite ! Neil Mobile satellite, surely its no worth launching your own satellites just to get a fix? must be a good inverter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 its 16V 3.75A it needs so if you have a 16V 6A output does that work or overpower it? ie does the laptop just take what it needs? yes, it's the voltage that's important and whether it's capable of supplying the current you need, 3.75A. So as the maplin one can operate at 16V and has upto 6A output you'll be OK. As long as it has the correct tip for your toughbook that is! Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Mine runs on the 12v via one of these Laptop shop 12V Adapter This one to fit yours !! Panasonic Toughbook CF 18 BVE laptop Car Adapter Stock No : CAR70T9 LARGER IMAGE KB £29.99 ex vat £35.24 inc vat Detailed specification for the Panasonic Toughbook CF 18 BVE laptop car adapter Compatible laptop car adapter for the Panasonic Toughbook CF 18 BVE 16V 4.3A output 70W total capacity DC input 11 - 16V Plugs into any standard 12V car cigarette lighter socket, and suitable for use in aircraft Warranty - 1 year return to base Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antichrist Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I have one of these, only without the mains adaptor. http://www.targus.com/uk/product_details.asp?sku=APM12EU They may not make the kit like mine anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treebloke Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Whats the best way to charge an in car PCdedicated cigarette lighter wiring or mains leads and an inverter? should you run it with the battery out? to preseve battery life by not giving it lots of little charges? Is your in car PC really an in car PC?. Mine has not got batteries and does not need an inverter. It is hard wired direct 12v. I will show it to you some time, I think you will be impressed by the size of it, its 9" long and really hard............................................................................ ............................................................wearing. Honestly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Using the Laptop with its own power supply (black block in the cable) is the best way forward to help with the long term life of the laptop. This power supply is designed to give the laptop the exact type of power required. Using an inverter will not affect the laptop, providing you use the power supply mentioned above. There are 2 main types of inverter, Modified Sine Wave and Pure Sine wave. Either type will be suitable for a laptop using the power supply inline because the power supply with smooth out the wave form and provide a stable supply to the laptop. Modified sine wave will struggle to power anything digital without its own dedicated power supply, this is because the digital appliance takes its timing points from the peaks and troughs of the sine wave, with a modified sine wave these peaks are levelled out flat causing a square wave - this confuses the digital appliance and the end result can be effected (I.e. if using a microwave the cooking time could be shortened/extended) Pure sine wave is an exact replication of the AC you receive at home, a good solid stable supply capable of running anything digital or not. If you want the most versatile inverter, suitable for any application, buy a pure sine wave model, it will cost you more but work perfectly. Avoid any power equipment with the name Stirling printed on the front of it. Like the scorpion racing of the power supply world!! Matt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Talking of in car PC's (yes, i did a search but couldn't remember the key words to find the recent thread! ) I got hold of a decent motherboard from a machine at work today, so set about installing XP and lots of other stuff onto it (well, the hard drive!). i was wondering what to use for a power supply for it? is there an "off the shelf" 12v powered supply that will smooth out the vehicle electrics into 12v and 5v? and possibly have a kind of UPS in built? or even a UPS that i can just keep "topped up" from my vehicle battery, basically running the PC from the UPS? cheeeeers! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted December 12, 2007 Author Share Posted December 12, 2007 Is your in car PC really an in car PC?. Mine has not got batteries and does not need an inverter. It is hard wired direct 12v.I will show it to you some time, I think you will be impressed by the size of it, its 9" long and really hard............................................................................ ............................................................wearing. Honestly. i guess its not strictly an in car PC then by definition its a toughbook that i want to charge up in the car. Cheers for the feedback guys and points above (Mathew - thats def worth knowing, thank you) Tim cheers for the link, looks like the one. Different to your one i think though?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Freak Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Mobile satellite, surely its no worth launching your own satellites just to get a fix? must be a good inverter! Not quite that exciting.. But I do have a portable satellite dish, decoder box etc. that does work through the other laptop, or TV powered off the Inverter.. Most pleasant way to spend time on a picnic when the Missus wants to be outside and you want to see the motor sport ! LOL Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ101 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Tim cheers for the link, looks like the one. Different to your one i think though?? Mmm, should be that same, that's where mine came form, OK, mines a later model, but can not see/doubt their is much difference ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgy 110sw Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Whats the best way to charge an in car PCdedicated cigarette lighter wiring or mains leads and an inverter? should you run it with the battery out? to preseve battery life by not giving it lots of little charges? I used a invertor last year to power my laptop i was running a GPS system through it and found that every now and then it would lockout, so i bought a 12v multi output laptop charging lead from CPC.COM and never had any bother, the invertor also seemed to draw a lot of power from battery although it never went flat i was always dubious about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I use a modified sine wave 350watt inverter to power my laptop via it's own power adaptor/leads that the laptop came with, haven't had a faults with it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I have a dedicated mobile power supply for my dell - made by Linn electronics, it replaces the factory power supply and gives a fag lighter socket on one end, and the correct plug for the laptop on the other. Works very well, but took a couple of weeks for one to come up on eBlag. With a toughbook I would have thought finding the dedicated 12V converter for it wouldn't be too difficult... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 i was wondering what to use for a power supply for it? is there an "off the shelf" 12v powered supply that will smooth out the vehicle electrics into 12v and 5v? and possibly have a kind of UPS in built? see www.linitx.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henk Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 see www.linitx.co.uk carpc's based on Via Epia motherboards work fine with the intelligent M1-ATX or M2-ATX powersupplies see above link or also http://www.cartft.com/catalog/il/459 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Slight tangent here, but still to do with in car PC's... I've got myself a decent (quite small) motherboard now, and a 120gb laptop drive (courtesy of work.... ahem... ), can anyone point me in the right direction for a decent box to fit it all in, ideally i'd like a cast aluminiuim one with built in heat-sink type fins on the top of it, something that is rather like a car audio amplifier, something like: or i'll then mount the motherboard with the sockets along one edge. with this type of box i'm after, it'll be quite "sturdy", not nececceraly kick proof, as i don't really want it kicked, but certainly able to withstand abuse from LR stuff floating about the cab. or failing that, anyone got a knackered amplifier they don't want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 what form factor is your motherboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 what form factor is your motherboard? wassat mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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