Running a laptop on the move (1 Viewer)

hotrod91

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Jul 28, 2008
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I have just last week bought a motorhome and nowadays with mobile internet i presume i can easily run my laptop for the kids while we are on the move...............or can we?
What would be the best dongle to use, we generally will be at stock car track locations which vary from city centres to a few out in the sticks ie Smeatharpe and whilst on the move it will almost always be motorways and main roads so who or what do i choose.?
Also my laptop says it runs off of 19v so bearing in mind we will almost always be running off the vehicle itself how on earth do i produce 19v to run it?
All thoughts appreciated!
 

johnsandywhite

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Jul 29, 2007
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:Cool: Hi hotrod91. Any of the Mobile Internet connections will work depending on coverage where you will be.

For 19volts Laptop supply? You could use an 150 Watt Inverter (or larger) to supply 230 volts or a 12volt Laptop supply that plugs into the cigarette lighter. You can buy either from Maplins, ebay or some Motor-home suppliers.
 
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hotrod91

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Jul 28, 2008
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I have a 1000w inverter that i use for my racing ie to run lights and power tools so can i use that? How many watts is a lap top??? Suppose if its low wattage i will be able to run the laptop for ages, im not a massive lover of inverters as they bugga up the batteries that power them.
Also if i use a 12v supply then the laptop wont run will it and the voltage is too low?

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johnsandywhite

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Jul 29, 2007
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I have a 1000w inverter that i use for my racing ie to run lights and power tools so can i use that? How many watts is a lap top??? Suppose if its low wattage i will be able to run the laptop for ages, im not a massive lover of inverters as they bugga up the batteries that power them.
Also if i use a 12v supply then the laptop wont run will it and the voltage is too low?

Yes you could use the 1000W Inverter. A Laptop uses around 60 Watts.

The dedicated 12volt Converters for Laptops are usually variable up to 19 volts. I run both my Dell and Toshiba on one when I am not using the Inverter. :winky:

BTW. Inverters only B****R up the Batteries if you discharge them too LOW. :winky:
 
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hotrod91

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But surely you cant get 19v from 12 v.....can you? So you are saying i need to run from the inverter and plug in to 240v.....so how do i get 19v without starting with 240v if you catch my drift. Maybe you could direct me to the thing i need. I want to use the inverter as little as possible as its hassle keep starting the engine or forgetting to turn the inverter off at night and waking up with a dead battery!
 

GJH

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Aug 20, 2007
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But surely you cant get 19v from 12 v.....can you? So you are saying i need to run from the inverter and plug in to 240v.....so how do i get 19v without starting with 240v if you catch my drift. Maybe you could direct me to the thing i need. I want to use the inverter as little as possible as its hassle keep starting the engine or forgetting to turn the inverter off at night and waking up with a dead battery!

I bought a device Link Removed which works fine when I need to recharge the laptop away from mains.

Graham

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Thepips

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Sep 26, 2007
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I bought a device Link Removed which works fine when I need to recharge the laptop away from mains.

Graham


Hi Graham,
If you bought one similar to these be very, very careful with the tip as you can swap the polarity by simply turning the tip through 180 degrees. We saw a number of laptop motherboards blown up this way. We used to sell 120 watts adapters that used these tips but we'd superglue them on so they couldn't be reversed.::bigsmile:

Regards
Doug
 
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hotrod91

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Presume just about everything negative earth ie the + and the tip join yes?

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Thepips

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Sep 26, 2007
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To my knowledge every laptop with a round plug and socket have the positive on the inside and the negative on the outside. Which is why I never understood the point of a reversible polarity adapter. The adapters we sell can't be accidentally reversed.

Doug
 

johnsandywhite

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Presume just about everything negative earth ie the + and the tip join yes?

:Cool: The 230v adaptor for your Laptop should have the tip terminal connections marked positive centre (+) or negative centre (-).

Just like an Inverter converts 12 volts into 230 volts. A Laptop converter works the same way. It converts (transfomer) from 12 volts to 19 volts. Which is the opposite to what a Laptop Transformer does in that the tranformer converts 230 volts to 19 volts. :thumb:

In actual fact. They are BOTH Transformers. One steps UP the other steps DOWN in voltage.
 
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GJH

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Hi Graham,
If you bought one similar to these be very, very careful with the tip as you can swap the polarity by simply turning the tip through 180 degrees. We saw a number of laptop motherboards blown up this way. We used to sell 120 watts adapters that used these tips but we'd superglue them on so they couldn't be reversed.::bigsmile:

Regards
Doug

Thanks Doug, I can imagine how pleased people would be if that happened :whistle: :Smile:

On the model I have the two pins on the adapter and the two socket holes are of different sizes so the adapters can only be plugged into the socket one way. I assume that is a refinement the manufacturers came up with after receiving complaints ::bigsmile:

Graham

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Apr 27, 2008
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I have a laptop converter from Maplin that was about £25, it is rated up to 120watts and voltage selectable up to 24v. The multitude of adaptors supplied with it are not reversible. I am actually using it now to send this message and it even comes with the funny 3 pin adaptor for this elderly Dell laptop. I have an inverter but don't use it with the laptop because it draws a relatively large current from the battery.
I use a vodaphone mobile broadband USB dongle, available from £0 to £69 according to contract which seems to work pretty well everywhere, though not always at high speed.
 
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aynishamansbus

Deleted User
Dongle

we have just signed up with orange internet anywhere it has good coverage having tried it in the derbyshire dales and dorset rural so far it works fine slower than home internet, but a great asset for our rv. £15.99 a month!
good hunting


I have just last week bought a motorhome and nowadays with mobile internet i presume i can easily run my laptop for the kids while we are on the move...............or can we?
What would be the best dongle to use, we generally will be at stock car track locations which vary from city centres to a few out in the sticks ie Smeatharpe and whilst on the move it will almost always be motorways and main roads so who or what do i choose.?
Also my laptop says it runs off of 19v so bearing in mind we will almost always be running off the vehicle itself how on earth do i produce 19v to run it?
All thoughts appreciated!
 
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hotrod91

Free Member
Jul 28, 2008
23
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Just an update to say all is well.....eventually.
Have signed up with O2, £20 per month but get my home bb free so in effect it costs me £12.50 per month so that seems good to me. Had dongle problems and major customer service problems but got there eventually. O2 have been one of the best companies i have ever dealt with in recent years but their knowledge regarding this product is sparce to say the least. I sent mine back when it didnt work and, as instructed, i wrote in about 5 different places THIS IS NOT A RETURN IT IS FAULTY yet the dunces still managed to cancel my account, then eventually i got sent out another dongle but no sim card!!! Luckily i got a great customer services guy and got it all sorted out so whilst i generally rave about O2 i would exercise caution if you choose to go with them.
Thanks for all your input everybody.

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bsb2000

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Apr 24, 2008
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I've used Vodafone for several years now and manage to get 3G in most places which is certainly a lot better than the 9600 connection I used to get when that was all there was.

Tip: Carry a USB extension lead, if you can only manage to get 2G then use the lead so you can stick the dongle out of a roof vent. Can often make the differance between 2 & 3G.

Ian
 
Apr 27, 2008
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Whenyou're close to the edge of 3G reception then even a few inches makes a difference. I can get 3g on the left hand side of my desk 9just) but not in the middle :whatthe:
 

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