Topic: Laptop Power Help

[waltflanagansdog]

Hi!  I am VERY new to the laptop taping thing, and I was curious to know what the cheapest/easiest way to power the laptop during recording is?  I know the Li-Ion Battery won't hold a charge for very long.

Thanks in advance!!

Mike
www.phishhook.com/lists/gmichaelmorrison

[Craig T]

Cheapest & easiest?  Has to be wiring up a 12v SLA with a cigarette lighter adaptor like you have in your car, then get a car adaptor for your laptop.  You can find female car lighter plugs at your local Rat Shak.  Look up "batteries" in your yellow pages to find a local retailer with 12v SLA's and charger.

12v SLA $20-25 (charger $30-60)
female cigarette lighter plug $5
car adaptor for laptop $70 (I'm just guessing)
total cost approx. $100 ($130 w/ charger)

[DaryanLenz]

Craig,

Can you use any old cigarette adapter assuming you have/can get the correct plug end for it?  Then which end would you hack off of the adapter to attch to the 12svl?  I would think you would hack the cigareete adapter, attach the 12v or 4-pin xlr to that and wire it up, +4, -1.  Just checking!

Daryan

[DaryanLenz]

One more quickie...what size battery can this be pulled off with?  I would think a 12/12 would do the trick, but lighter would be nicer!

daryan

[Craig T]

I would personally stick to a larger 12v SLA, like the 12/12 you mentioned.  The smaller SLA's aren't rated for the amps a laptop pulls, so the discharge curve will be much shorter than what you'd expect for the amp-hr rating.

As far as your other question about the car adaptor, I'm not clear on what you're asking.  "Any old car adaptor"?  I would only use the one recommended for your laptop.  If that isn't possible, you're going to at least have to make sure it will output the correct voltage and amp rating (laptops typically need 14-17v, with narrow tolerances).  There may be some "universal" 12v/car adaptors out there that may work.  You could hack the male cigarette lighter plug end and put a 4pin xlr or mini-xlr, but then you lose the ability to use it in a car (charging internal batteries, watching movies, etc).  I guess you could hack a male AND female xlr into the power adaptor so you could put it back together to use in a car.

Did I answer your questions?  

[DaryanLenz]

Yes you did, that is exactly what I was asking.  Guess it will be back to hauling the big ass 12/12 with me again.  Jeesh, I just got rid of that damn thing!  I only will be using the laptop for recording, so watching movies is most certainbly not an issue at all!

Daryan

[waltflanagansdog]

Would it be possible for me to just add another Li-Ion battery to my system??  Would that be enough juice??

[RRobar]

Look to see if you can get a quad capacity Li-Ion for your laptop. It may take some tweaking on your end (closing the lid, ect) to see how long it will last now. I run 2 external batteries that each run about 3-4 hrs each. I switch at set break to be safe. But if you have swapable drive bays you may be able to put 2 batteries in the laptop and should be fine to do a show.