Correct Inverter for PC

[sloopy]

I'm planning a cruise soon and would like to take my new laptop with me. In searching for inverters and I noticed a lot have Modified Sine Waves. Can these operate laptops o.k. or do I need something else? I certainly don't want to get a cheap inverter with a Mod Sine and end up burning out some part of my laptop. HELP!!!!
thanks,
sloopy
CD25

 

[Tim R.]

It would be more efficient to get a 12v adapter for your laptop.

 

[sailingdog]

I'd second getting the automotive/aircraft DC-to-DC power supply for your laptop. Targus makes a decent multi-model one that works with most laptops, aside from the MacBooks.

 

[Maine Sail]

Agree with

I agree with Dog & Tim get a DC adapter it will consume less on board battery power. Unless you have a MacBook, with the MagSafe adapter, then any inverter will be fine but a DC adapter better.

I run my Macbook with a cheap 400W Cobra inverter and there have never been any repercussions from it.

For my PC based laptops I use DC adapters from iGo. With simple plug & play tip changes they can charge just about any device you own from a crackberry to an iPod to a laptop. Very cool devices. I use the
"Go Anywhere 130" model. A little pricey but well worth it..

iGo (LINK)

 

[Rich Stidger]

FWIW, I run my HP laptop with a 300W generic "Go Power" brand inverter that I bought on eBay for under $30. Works just fine, never any problems.

In my case, HP doesn't offer a 12V converter for this model laptop. Other laptop owners I know also use a similar generic inverter because it is a much more economic solution to buying the manufacturer's converter for upwards of $75-100.

 

[ITMaster]

For Inverters

There are "Modified Sine Wave" and "True Sine Wave" inverters as you are aware of. A modified sine wave inverter is generally more suited for appliances such as air conditioners, heaters, power tools like sanders and drills and saws, air compressors and the like.

Sensitive electronic equipment like computers, expensive TV's and the like seem to want more stabilized power supplies without the voltage fluctuations and surges normally associated with some of the modified sine wave inverters.

I'm sure you can guess the cost difference between the two. I have a modified wave inverter and have not used it for my laptop or TVs since I have 12 volt supplies available for them and that is their requirement.

I'd try to stick with a 12 VDC set up since it is a lot cheaper than an inverter.

Maine Sail, I'm like you, a big fan of the iGo device. I have a variety of adapters and invariably will have someone on board that forgot their charger for their cell phone and low and behold, I have an adapter that will fit their phone 8 out of 10 times. I love that little gadget

 

[Maine Sail]

Don't let

Don't let the list price of the iGo Everywhere 130 scare you off in my previous link. Amazon has that adapter for $74.99 and considering that it does both AC & DC plus will charge multiple devices at the same time it's a great value at $74.99.

iGo Everywhere 130 AC/DC Power Supply / Amazon.com (LINK)

 

[Roger Long]

Question:

I bought one of the small ASUS Eee machines which will be my boat computer because space and power are limited. It's power supply says "12 V" for output. Any reason I can't just wirw the right size jack to a "cigarette" lighter plug and stick it directly into my boat's 12 v system? I have two jacks for spare GPS's, the inverter, and the like.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Check the specs

I was running my laptop off an inverter because the power supply said it supplied 19 volts. Well a little checking of the battery in the laptop revealed that it was only 12 volts. The extra voltage is so the battery can be fast charged. Not much need for that on a sail boat. Now I just run it straight off the panel.
I ziptied a port replicator-dock below the nav station and ran the wire up to the panel for power. That way I don't have to fuss with wiring every time I take the laptop to the girlfriend's house.
I did have to reconfigure the monitor back lighting as the computer sensed the lower voltage and went into battery saver mode.

 

[Tim R.]

Question:

I bought one of the small ASUS Eee machines which will be my boat computer because space and power are limited. It's power supply says "12 V" for output. Any reason I can't just wirw the right size jack to a "cigarette" lighter plug and stick it directly into my boat's 12 v system? I have two jacks for spare GPS's, the inverter, and the like.

Probably not a good idea Roger. That PS in the computer is regulated and your 12v output on your boat is not. When your engine is running you could see as much as 14.5v or more. That could fry your computer.

Try one of these

http://www.nextag.com/Ttx--300000/asus/brand-html

 

[Roger Long]

Probably not a good idea Roger.

Try one of these

http://www.nextag.com/Ttx--300000/asus/brand-html

Good point. I couldn't get anything to come up at that link though. I often plug my Garmin GPS into those 12 V outlets but it can accept considerable over voltage. It would be nice though to have those outlets regulated so anything can be plugged into them.

Do you or anyone else know of a black box that can be wired into regulate the voltage?

 

[Bill Roosa]

11 to 19 volts

Lets see, the PS supplies 19 volts and you are concerned that the boat DC panel will fry the computer when it supplies 14.5????
I'm not a great electrician but I'm pretty sure if 19 does not fry it 14 will be OK.
I have a 12 volt monitor and computer and both work fine even when the charger is bulk charging at 15+ volts.
it is a little known fact that ALL electrical equipment is designed to operate on a range of voltages. I know most of my Raymarine instruments say 9-32 volts. That way they work on European 24 volt systems.

 

[sailingdog]

As pointed out, you'll probably want a dc-to-dc regulated power supply that supplies a stable 12 VDC for the computer. Comparing a mini-ATX PC with an Garmin GPS isn't really a valid comparison. The NMEA 0183 standard requires that most NMEA 0183 devices that take power over an NMEA/Power plug, as used by the handheld Garmins, tolerate a voltage range of 3-36 or 3-48 VDC. That's a pretty wide range, and the GPS units are far more tolerant of variations, both up and down, of voltage in their power supplies.

Question:

I bought one of the small ASUS Eee machines which will be my boat computer because space and power are limited. It's power supply says "12 V" for output. Any reason I can't just wirw the right size jack to a "cigarette" lighter plug and stick it directly into my boat's 12 v system? I have two jacks for spare GPS's, the inverter, and the like.

 

[Tim R.]

Lets see, the PS supplies 19 volts and you are concerned that the boat DC panel will fry the computer when it supplies 14.5????
I'm not a great electrician but I'm pretty sure if 19 does not fry it 14 will be OK.
I have a 12 volt monitor and computer and both work fine even when the charger is bulk charging at 15+ volts.
it is a little known fact that ALL electrical equipment is designed to operate on a range of voltages. I know most of my Raymarine instruments say 9-32 volts. That way they work on European 24 volt systems.

Bill, reread my post. I think you are combining a couple of differnet posts in your response. I was referring to Roger's ASUS that requires 12v. As for running on different voltages, many electronics with ICs have internal regulators because they are expected to run in environments where the voltage could vary(cars, boats, etc). but Roger would effectively be removing that regulator by wiring directly in which case it better be fairly close.

Roger, I googled "asus laptop cigarette" to find DC to DC power adapters. The link I sent you was from Amazon. If you go to Amazon.com you can probably just search ASUS.

 

[Maine Sail]

Roger

You can hard wire in any of the many available DC adapters for laptops or keep the DC adapter plugged into a 12V cigarette lighter so you could also use it elsewhere. You don't necessarily need to buy a DC adapter from your computers maker as there are many companies including iGo, Targus and others that sell these devices.

While I have personally hard wired a TV direct to 12V I would not attempt it with my computer as they are far more susceptible to over/under voltages. Most of the newer computers run on voltages from about 15 to 24, the laptop I'm on now requires 19v, while many older ones and some new ones will still run on 12v but it's still wise to have that "brick" to regulate the output voltage.

Even a computer that runs on 12v (input) has components inside that still need more than12v and there are step up devices inside the cmputer to provide this power conversion. If your 12V drops or spikes it can also have an effect on the PC board mounted items that may need more than 12v. The DC adapter bricks will regulate better than going direct.

This is not to say hard wiring absolutely won't work it's just a matter of how well and for how long the mother board and components will last doing so without some sort of regulation which a DC adapter can provide.

 

[Jenni]

The funny thing is computers work on DC voltages. and when you connect it to ac the first thing it does is step down the voltage and convert it to dc. So in answer to your question it doesent really matter what kind of sine wave you inverter puts out because the rectifier in the laptop will just be switching it back to dc. You are proably much further ahead of the game just to get the 12V dc addaptor for your unit.

 

[Benny]

I use a Black and Decker 100 watt plug-in. I think it was $18+tax.