beckman@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (Peter Beckman) (09/27/90)
A friend of mine asked me help to set up a LT286 Travelmate she had purchased. She had planned to take it to England and Bangladesh. I installed her software and set up the Automenu program she was familiar with at work. Preparing for the trip she realized that she needed a 220v 50hz power adapter. Because I understood the adapter problem, she asked me to "call around" and find out what to do. This is where the problems started.... I made about 11 calls, asking about a 220 50hz --> 18VDC adapter for the TravelMate. The answers ranged from "huh?" to "Oh sure, here it is.. part xxx-xx-xxx". I then asked for the specs. on that part.... indeed it was the 110V adapter that came with the computer. "No I need a 220V adapter for someone traveling overseas". "oh, there is a difference? I guess we don't make one". TI has several 1-800 numbers, and each place I called could not tell me what to do, and suggested I call one of the other 1-800 numbers. I told them "A laptop is designed for portability, surely TI has figured out what to do when people travel with it". The response was always "Well, I don't know what to tell you. We don't make an adapter, and we don't know of any companies that do" Now one solution is to buy a step-down transformer, and plug her adapter into the 110V 50hz supply. But without knowing the schematic, this is not a good thing. Kodak, (she bought a Diconix printer) said we MUST purchase a separate 220V adapter for their printer. They gave me THREE different companys and part numbers for the 220V --> 9VDC adapter. They said some problems have been reported with 50hz and the standard adapter. It took one phone call. My guess is that some AC power supplies have capacitors and surge protecting devices that are set up for 60hz. Being electrically literate, if it were my computer I would have stripped the power supply apart and seen if the transformer output was immediately rectified, or if there might be a problem. But I felt a little uncomfortable prying open a new adapter that did not belong to me, and was still under warranty. Frustrated, I called my friend and told her, just go to England, and purchase an adapter there. Surely TI of england has adapters that run their products, and if worse comes to worse, she could purchase any old 18VDC adapter to run the computer. Well, I got a call from england today. After talking with her, I called the TI division in Bedford UK, and talked to their people. No they do not make an adapter, they do not have the Travelmate yet. No they cannot make *ANY* suggestions, as to what she should do. Still more frustrated, I decided to call TI USA again, this time asking "may I speak with your supervisor?". This time, at one of their 1-800 numbers, their technical advisor told me to purchase a step down transformer. I replied "What about the 50hz? will that be a problem?". "Hmmmm I had not thought of that. Indeed some of our transformers ARE labeled 50-60hz. Yours is NOT. Yours just says 60hz, maybe you should call technical support". I called Texas and waited for my return call. The techies called back and said "plug it in to a step down transformer". I asked about the 50Hz and explained that there may be a problem. He told me "Well, I don't think there will be a problem. But I have never done it, That's just what they told me." They do not make a step down transformer, did not suggest where to buy one, or for what wattage, nor did they express any confidence that it would work. Well that's where I am now. I told her to buy the transformer and hope. She bought a *TRAVELMATE*. I would think you could travel with a TravelMate. I would think an auto-switching supply would be nice, but a 220 adapter would also suffice. I would think that the designers would have put together a set of instructions to explain what to do. I would think that if the transformer was REALLY rated for 50-60hz it would be labeled that way, and this whole mess avoided. Well I thought wrong. You can tell what my thoughts will be about TI products in the future :-) -Pete
bumby@math.rutgers.edu (Richard Bumby) (09/28/90)
The 'disappointment' referred to in the original article concerned the non-existence of a power adapter for other than 220V 60Hz. Not all portable manufacturers are so unthinking. When I bought my Toshiba, the availability of a universal adapter was mentioned in the owner's manual. When I actually needed it, I found it in stock at a nearby shop. The only strange thing about it was the "export restriction" notice on the box. Since its output is 9V at 1.1A, it won't help with the TI. -- --R. T. Bumby ** Math ** Rutgers ** New Brunswick ** NJ08903 ** USA -- above postal address abbreviated by internet to bumby@math.rutgers.edu voice communication unreliable -- telephone ignored -- please use Email
poser@csli.Stanford.EDU (Bill Poser) (09/29/90)
In article <Sep.27.16.47.40.1990.19251@math.rutgers.edu> bumby@math.rutgers.edu (Richard Bumby) writes: >When I bought my Toshiba, >the availability of a universal adapter was mentioned in the owner's >manual. Toshiba did even better than that with the 1000SE. The power supply it comes with handles a range of voltages and frequencies automatically. Of course, you may need mechanical adaptor for the plug. Bill Poser
brevard@yo.cad.mcc.com (Laurence Brevard) (10/04/90)
In article <15570@csli.Stanford.EDU> poser@csli.Stanford.EDU (Bill Poser) writes:
Toshiba did even better than that with the 1000SE. The power supply
it comes with handles a range of voltages and frequencies automatically.
Of course, you may need mechanical adaptor for the plug.
Toshiba has done very well. I just returned from two weeks in France and
Germany. My T1000SE worked flawlessly with only a simple mechanical
adaptor to plug into the round style plugs.
I took 4 battery packs with me to be able to make it through meetings and
could easily recharge 3 in an evening. At about 2-2.5 hrs to recharge
(with the system turned off), I would put one on before dinner, another
after dinner, and finally a last pack late in the evening.
I was more than a little nervous plugging the adaptor into 220v 50hz the
first night in France and I *swear* I heard a click or pop noise. However,
it worked flawlessly for the next two weeks and still works back in the
states.
I wish ALL adaptors were that way. The Diconix 150 that I took required
plugging its transformer into a 220-120 adapter plugged into the
appropriate mechanical plug. This mess would only hold together with a big
rubber band. Furthermore, since the plugs in France and Europe were often
about a meter from the floor, I ended up building a stack of my briefcase,
a diskette box, and a spare battery to prop up the adapter mess so IT
WOULDN'T FALL OUT OF THE WALL PLUG! The printer did work fine and it
was *extremely* useful to be able to print documents in real time for
distribution in my meetings.
It was fantastic to take the laptop on an extended trip like this. I used
it for everything from keeping a journal of my trip (my first to Europe) to
my daily expenses spreadsheet (converting the currency) to real time notes.
I even took inkjet transparencies and made some slides one night to show
the next day. That blew away my colleagues!
For the record my setup is:
T1000SE ($1099)
3 spare batteries at $50 - $60 apiece
Apricorn 2M memory expansion ($395)
Holmes internal 2400baud modem ($165)
Diconix 150 printer (given to me and repaired by Kodak for $100)
I run Microsoft Works 2.0 using 1.5M of the 2.4M HardRam "D:" drive
All in all a VERY cost effective way to go.
--
LAURENCE BREVARD Home: 4705 Travis View Ct, Austin, TX 78732 (512) 266-2165
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