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12 volt laptop

B

Bob Owen

Does any know which laptops run off 12 volt and therefore do not need an
inverter I think the old Toshiba one did
Cheers Bob
 
B

Bob Owen

I have a compac 1700 which has a power cord that goes straight to it

I do know that some computers have a step-down converter that takes mains
voltage and brings it down to 13 volts so were that plugs into the computer
it only need 13 volts which will normally run on a 12 volt system, that is
what I am after.

Cheers Bob
 
B

Bob Owen

Thanks Steve
do I understand that your Toshiba 8000 runs on 12 volt directly. I have not
come across a voltage conditioner what does that do. A inverter is not good
for me as I use the computer for weather fax and an inverter interferes with
the radio.
Cheers Bob
 
R

Rodney Myrvaagnes

Does any know which laptops run off 12 volt and therefore do not need an
inverter I think the old Toshiba one did
Cheers Bob
I have never had trouble getting a 12-V charger for any laptop. I have
used NEC, IBM, and Toshiba.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a


"Wanting to meet a writer because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate."
Margaret Atwood
 
B

Bob La Londe

I think all of the Laptops I have had ran off of 12V DC. I'ld just go down
to a computer store and look at some. One had a weird connector, but most
did not. The biggy is the current capacity of the power supply is fairly
high becasue it runs the laptop and charges the battery at the same time.
ON a boat I would consider putting in an outlet for it with heavier than
average wires going directly to one of your batteries. Fused of course.


--
Bob La Londe
Yuma, Az
http://www.YumaBassMan.com
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S

Splitpair

If you dont need a bunch of processing power the Itronix 6250 is an
excellent very heavy duty weather-proof laptop that will run with and charge
its battery on 12vdc

SP
 
D

Dennis Pogson

Len Krauss said:
I have an old Toshiba Satellite notebook that runs fine direct from 12vdc.
Few if any of the newer notebooks will do that, as their voltage
requirements are much higher. Someone suggested the higher voltage was
mainly a battery charging requirement and that by removing battery some
notebooks will run off 12vdc. My new one didn't. And it draws lots of
current too, by comparison to old notebook -- more than most pocket
inverters can handle.
Len
The manufacturers wouldn't supply 16 volt power units if the modern laptops
would run on 12 volts. Since most batteries are only 10.8 volts, the power
requirements are all to do with the laptop, not the battery as has been
suggested. Can't understand why so many boat owners won't invest in an
inverter, it can't be the expense, and these voltage step-up units are more
expensive than inverters, mainly due to lack of demand I guess. My laptop
runs happily on my small 180-watt inverter, using it's own power unit for
step-down. The last laptop I got to run on 12 volts was an ancient Tosh,
which ran Dos 3.2 only, not much bloody use in a modern navigation
envirnment!
 
D

Dennis Pogson

I guess I'm spoiled, as the sailboat I crew on has a 2000-watt inverter
located well away from any other radios and equipment, with eight 240-volt
AC outlets at convenient locations around the boat. No HF or SSB radio, just
VHF.

It would seem that what you use to power a laptop or PC is dependant on your
total electronics setup and it's a question of "horses for courses".
 
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