Topic: Powering my laptop in the field

[mmmatt]

I was told by batteryspace.com that you base the voltage on the battery voltage and not the wall converter voltage... is this not true or does this lappy actually have a 19v battery.

Matt

[peeeper]

I was told by batteryspace.com that you base the voltage on the battery voltage and not the wall converter voltage...

I believe this is incorrect unless you are trying to find a replacement battery for a lappy.  Now if your intention is to use the DC input jack on the laptop then you want to follow the voltage rating for the jack.  Many times the jack will be labeled with the required voltage and possibly the ampere requirements needed.  If there is no label or markings on the laptop refer to you user manual under the specification section.  Often the battery side of the power supply of a laptop is a regulated circuit among other charging and monitoring circuits.  Where as there is a small chance that the DC input jack is not regulated do to the fact that the input voltage on the jack is coming from the supplied AC/DC converter of the laptop which is regulated.  I highly recommend matching the voltage that is called out for the DC input jack and not the voltage that is labeled on the laptop battery.  Also it is important to note, which ever way you are supplying the current to the laptop, that you have the required amperage that is needed to power the laptop plus an additional 20% so not to stress your converter.   i.e. If your laptop requires 19VDC @ 1A then you want to make sure your converter is rated at 19VDC with the ability to supply 1.2Amps of current.

[mmmatt]

I was told by batteryspace.com that you base the voltage on the battery voltage and not the wall converter voltage...

I believe this is incorrect unless you are trying to find a replacement battery for a lappy.  Now if your intention is to use the DC input jack on the laptop then you want to follow the voltage rating for the jack.  Many times the jack will be labeled with the required voltage and possibly the ampere requirements needed.  If there is no label or markings on the laptop refer to you user manual under the specification section.  Often the battery side of the power supply of a laptop is a regulated circuit among other charging and monitoring circuits.  Where as there is a small chance that the DC input jack is not regulated do to the fact that the input voltage on the jack is coming from the supplied AC/DC converter of the laptop which is regulated.  I highly recommend matching the voltage that is called out for the DC input jack and not the voltage that is labeled on the laptop battery.  Also it is important to note, which ever way you are supplying the current to the laptop, that you have the required amperage that is needed to power the laptop plus an additional 20% so not to stress your converter.   i.e. If your laptop requires 19VDC @ 1A then you want to make sure your converter is rated at 19VDC with the ability to supply 1.2Amps of current.

Thanks,
I'm going to have to give that a try.  FWIW, on one laptop my 12v 7.5ah sla worked fine and the other it didn't.  Both were 10.*v Lion batts and 19.*v convertors.  The one it didn't work on is an older computer that I don't care too much about, so I'm now trying to hack the internal battery (it's long since dead) and run through thoes jumpers.  That is no easy task either... if there was just two wires all would be good   I'm trying to avoid spending a bunch of dough on batteries for the lappy, but I may end up dropping some more dough whether I like it or not.

Matt

[C.Clark]

just to add to the discussion, ive been taping with my lappy since last summer, so ive had to
find power solutions for it.  you have to go by the voltage that is written on your ac adaptor not what
voltage the internal battery funs on.  for instance, my internal battery runs at 14v but my ac is 19.2v
and you must run it off the latter voltage.  i have been using 19v, 4000mah battery's from batteryspace
but im considering a custom solution from batterygeeks in the near future, so i can ditch those 1.75 hour nimh batteries for something that can power the lappy in the field for 5+ hrs, switching batteries is a pain
during setbreak.  just to add, the batteryspace externals are relatively cheap and come with a special charger as well as being
.02
-chris

[peeeper]

just to add to the discussion, ive been taping with my lappy since last summer, so ive had to
find power solutions for it. you have to go by the voltage that is written on your ac adaptor not what
voltage the internal battery funs on. for instance, my internal battery runs at 14v but my ac is 19.2v
and you must run it off the latter voltage. i have been using 19v, 4000mah battery's from batteryspace
but im considering a custom solution from batterygeeks in the near future, so i can ditch those 1.75 hour nimh batteries for something that can power the lappy in the field for 5+ hrs, switching batteries is a pain
during setbreak. just to add, the batteryspace externals are relatively cheap and come with a special charger as well as being
.02
-chris

Probably a better reiteration of what I said earlier.   

Good job!

[mmmatt]

Thanks Guys... I will go that route.  It just seems a shame to cqary around all that voltage when I could be carieing more amperage, but such is life.  +Ts

Matt

[C.Clark]

Thanks Guys... I will go that route.  It just seems a shame to cqary around all that voltage when I could be carieing more amperage, but such is life. +Ts

Matt

i feel the exact same way mmmatt, but such is life. +T