barr@frog.UUCP (Chris Barr) (09/19/89)
Zenith refuses to sell a car battery adapter for their '386 laptop, the Turbosport, because 'its quick-charge batteries draw too much current for a car battery'. A friend of mine dearly needs this. I found some solutions, and pass them on here, while wondering if better ones exist: The Turbosport battery is labelled '24 V, 2.0 amp'. The AC adapter and computer's baseplate label give voltages & amperages ranging from 27 to 37 V, 0.18 to 1.8 volts. Most importantly, Zenith tech support says their ac adapter draws 1.1 amps from a wall socket. I assume this is a peak value. Two types ofsolutions: I. AC adapter from cigarette lighter/car battery: a. Zirco, Wheat Ridge Colorado sells a 115 volt/100 watt inverter, in a very small (< 1 lb.) package. It has auto shutdown when either it or the car battery approach a danger point. b. 'PowerVerter', sold by local electronics shop, in several wattages: 100-250-400. Heavier, no cigarette lighter adapter. II. DC->DC adapter a. Axonix, Salt Lake City, sells one designed to power both a '286 laptop and a printer, so it puts out 26 V/ 2.0 amps. This would probably work - if it mated with the Zenith's unique 4-prong external power connector!
davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr) (09/28/89)
In article <1972@frog.UUCP>, barr@frog.UUCP (Chris Barr) writes: | Zenith refuses to sell a car battery adapter for their '386 laptop, | the Turbosport, because 'its quick-charge batteries draw too much | current for a car battery'. The 386 draws about 25w *max*. Your starter draws about 1200w max. Do you believe Zenith? They probably assume you are a duffus who would leave the computer on for two hours with the engine off, and want to protect themselves. Now when you don't start, they can say "I told you so." | | The Turbosport battery is labelled '24 V, 2.0 amp'. The AC adapter | and computer's baseplate label give voltages & amperages ranging | from 27 to 37 V, 0.18 to 1.8 volts. Most importantly, Zenith tech ^^^^^ did you mean amps? I assume so. | support says their ac adapter draws 1.1 amps from a wall socket. | I assume this is a peak value. That's not very efficient, but 37*1.8 {ballpark equal} 120*1.1. | II. DC->DC adapter | | a. Axonix, Salt Lake City, sells one designed to power both a | '286 laptop and a printer, so it puts out 26 V/ 2.0 amps. This | would probably work - if it mated with the Zenith's unique 4-prong | external power connector! For what my opinion's worth, sounds like a winner. I have a compressor which draws 10 amps from a cigarette lighter and it hasn't been a problem yet. I would expect the converter to pull about 5a, so you shouldn't have any problems. I *would* measure the current draw and base my engine off usage on that figure. -- bill davidsen (davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen) "The world is filled with fools. They blindly follow their so-called 'reason' in the face of the church and common sense. Any fool can see that the world is flat!" - anon
weekley@oldcolo.UUCP (Bob Weekley) (10/04/89)
>In article <1972@frog.UUCP>, barr@frog.UUCP (Chris Barr) writes: > Zenith refuses to sell a car battery adapter for their '386 laptop, > the Turbosport, because 'its quick-charge batteries draw too much > current for a car battery'. > The Turbosport battery is labelled '24 V, 2.0 amp'. RADIO SHACK has exactly what you need. Their automotive inverter will convert 12V to 24V (you have to read the literature sheet with the product to find this out.) at 3A. It retails for $27.95 These inverters are in short supply, since they are made in mainland china (I think) and there is (were) problems after the June uprising. Let us know how you solved your problem. ---------------------- Robert R. Weekley @ oldcolo.UUCP THE OLD COLORADO CITY ELECTRONIC COTTAGE | Standard | 2502 W. Colorado Ave. #203; C.S., CO 80904 |Disclaimer| (719) 632-3391 [8-N-1]; 632-4848 [voice] "Freedom is the opportunity for self dicipline" -Dwight D. Eisenhower ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -