Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I was having a read through the K Mon thread and it seems people like Guilt Toy and a few others are a step ahead with "reliable" power supplies for Lap Tops .

Just today I was looking at inverters at my local Jaycar outlet and they carry two kinds of Digitech units in a range of outputs ie 150/300/400w - thats the modified sine wave type , and 150/380w etc in the pure sine wave type .

I gather the pure sine wave type is better but I'm not sure which wattage level is the go and what 240AC devices that say the 380w one could run .

Also I'd like to know more about the 12v 12v power pack device as well .

Cheers and thanks , A .

If your laptop is has a common power plug on it (ie not the dell square connector) you are better off getting a 12v converter that just plugs into the cigarette lighter as you will generally find they are cheaper than getting a decent 12v > 240v inverter that wont introduce lots of signal noise. Check out the jaycar ones as they offer a few different options at fairly good prices.

My lap tops AC adapter "brick" (67x36x165) reckons its output is 20V 5a and it gets very warm .

Is a 12v 12v gasper adapter going to run this thing ?

Actually I've just checked out the AC adapters on the other two LT's in this joint and they are 19v 3.5a and 15v 2a . ? .

Yeah the pure sine wave Digitech 380w rated 240v AC inverter is ~ $240 .

What else would it be able to feed - 380 watt ?

Cheers A .

Just back from Jaycar again , they can't supply a DC DC adapter to feed this lap top 5 amps . Up to 3.5 amps only .

They suggest that I see Hardley Normals and their best offering was a white AC and DC fed charger - for $199 ...

No chance .

Any ideas ?

I use the 150w digitech without drama. $48

i bought the same one, my lappy seems to disagree with it though.

the converter only turns on for short "bursts" once every 5 seconds or so...

You have to remember that you are talking about peak power, power usage depends on CPU usage rate, your laptop won't use 5.5 amps continuously. Things like burning CD/DVD, huge data set manipulation etc will have a high power usage. We use 150 watts units for work all the time and they never run out. I can plug my dead flat laptop in, boot it up, and use it to download big [but simple] data files from loggers [try a weather station with approx 10 parameters logged every 10 minutes for two months] and it does it easily.

I'm with Adriano and co, you will be fine with the $48 special.

I'll see if Jaycar still do that 5.5 - 6a DC power supply , fella may not have known about them if he's new or was not in stock .

All this BS is over using a dated lap top with a serial port and it only wants to work on battery power and the Datalogit few a few moments - no matter how long it's charged for .

It can play a DVD movie for nearly 40 min on battery power but caves in very quickly with the Datalogit .

Am I to assume that the Datalogit has high power demands through its serial port or is it some other weird electronic glitch ? This is using the Datalogit with the supplied USB serial converter BTW ...

Yes I can hear the thoughts - why is he bothering with serial ports and not using them ?

If that USB converter dies (and they can at times) your stuffed if you don't have the RS232 serial port .

Cheers A .

Disco, with that sort of power drain, I'd be thinking that the laptop is also using the RS232 looking for a printer at the same time, burning up power trying, so you get conflicting issues. If you do use the USB is the power usage better? I'd have to say would be.

All I have used is the supplied USB/serial converter cable so far meaning USB at the lap top end .

I've stuck the missuses Toshiba 3.95a / AC power adapter into this thing to see what will happen - sky didn't fall in so cig powered 3.5a DC adapter should work ok provided the cars socket still works .

BTW I was thinking of using the socket to power the Tech Edge WB02 , is the socket going to carry it and lap top or do I really need a dedicated power supply ?

Cheers and thanks , A .

Problem solved , Jaycar DO still sell a higher powered DC auto lap top power adapter .

It's called a Power Tech Plus MP-3472 Auto Lap top Power Supply 150w .

It lets you select 15 or 16V 8.5a regulated - 18 or 19V 8a regulated - 20v 7.5a regulated - 22V 6.5a regulated - 24V 6a regulated - 150w max . Damage is $59.99 .

It's socket plug has a 15a blade fuse in it and the kit includes 9 different replaceable plugs to fit various lap tops power sockets inc a weird looking Hewlet Packard one .

Will give it a go tomorrow , cheers A .

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I just got to work and skimmed through 61508 and 61511. I was surprised the CSA adopted both, but neither are enforced. To recap what I read, it states that in a perfect world, they should be segregated but they acknowledge that this is not industry standard and clearly mention that they allow mixing of safety and non-safety. 61511 also mentions software segregation like AB does in their safety PLC's.   Now if only I could go back to control, let alone safety over comms. In my current line of work, we're only allowed monitoring and basic control over comms. Everything critical must still be hard wired as much as possible. 
    • I've unfortunately never been as they're on the complete other side of the continent and another country that isn't currently letting us in as easily as they use to. I even heard their stop signs over there actually say "Stop" instead of "Arret". If I decided to trek the 48h drive, I wouldn't know when or where to stop haha. Whenever I order parts from UP Garage, I order from Japan as it's cheaper. Same with GKTech... oddly enough, it's cheaper shipped from Australia then it is the US.  UP Garage Japan operates their US leg though, unlike Tomei. If Tomei JPN had the power to close down Tomei USA, I'm sure it would be done in a day. They're two completely separate entities. Tomei JPN messed up somewhere originally agreeing to its creation and got sacked big time. 
    • I asked someone about this and he told me about the Audi 1.8T engine. But I think it would be difficult to swap
    • I don't know that machine specifically, but I'd personally go for something with a little more kick than 130amp. Around up to 180 would be good. At the 6mm range, you're really pushing the machine hard and don't have a long period you can run for with out needing to give it a rest. Lots of MIG machines come with a regulator and hose. A lot will come with a starter roll of wire too, but it isn't too expensive to buy. I'd recommend NOT buying a massive roll too, as you don't want it sitting around FOREVER in the machine between uses and potentially going to shit. For thin sheet metal, get a roll of 0.6mm if you're doing over 3mm and above, switch over to 0.8mm wire. Even by 2mm you'd probably really want to switch. As for gas battle, it's all swap and go style now. You'll pay a bottle deposit, and then X amount to swap for a full one. I think it's like $200 or $300 for a D Size bottle upfront as "deposit", and like $110 to $150 per swap. My D size CO2/argon bottle lasts a fair bit of welding on the MIG. And I run an E size bottle on the TIG. For DIY MIG, stick with a D size bottle. If you really start to get into a LOT of welding and doing it really regularly, then upgrade. If you're like most DIY car guys, one D bottle will last you 2 or 3 years easily. I think I've been on my current bottle about 5 years. It is starting to get low, but I've been smashing it a lot more the last 6 months.
    • SR20s came with cars like the Bluebird and Primera, but the RB20 never came. The ones in Turkey were either brought in specially or from abroad. That's why RBs aren't as common as SRs. And if a part breaks or I need to replace it when doing maintenance, it's harder to find parts for RBs.
×
×
  • Create New...