Maineah Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I see. What is the point for buying an expensive DC boost converter over buying a $27 DC adapter like this one http://tinyurl.com/bdhvh28 that is designed for my computer? Nothing. What some of the guy are trying to do is use a DC to DC converter and make there own and it can be done fairly cheaply but involves a bit of cut and paste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I've got six laptops here. All have 18 volt battery packs. Toshiba and HP. What laptop has an 11 volt battery as you say? Acer, Toshiba and a Panasonic your results may vary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Acer, Toshiba and a Panasonic your results may vary. I'm aware that many laptops use 11.1 or 14.8 volt battery packs. 18.5 volt packs are the most common with recent laptops. I wish they'd all use 11.1 packs. It would make them more easiy compatible with 12 volt systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I think I see where the difference might be, of the 3 laptop I have been playing with they all are reasonably newer and the battery chemistry is Li-ion but every one of them are under 12 volts with AH ratings in the 3.5 to 5.4 range. I did dismantle a dead one and there is some interesting stuff in side that explains why there are numerous pins it is a combination of series and parallel wired cells to archive different voltages. There is also a good bit if electronics that interface with the computer it’s self. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I think I see where the difference might be, of the 3 laptop I have been playing with they all are reasonably newer and the battery chemistry is Li-ion but every one of them are under 12 volts with AH ratings in the 3.5 to 5.4 range. I did dismantle a dead one and there is some interesting stuff in side that explains why there are numerous pins it is a combination of series and parallel wired cells to archive different voltages. There is also a good bit if electronics that interface with the computer it’s self. With a lithium-ion cell being 3.7 volts, there are many voltage possibilities. 3 in series = 11.1 volts, 4 in series = 14.8 volts, 5 in series = 18.5 volts, etc. I've seen 11.1 volt packs with 9 cells (3 strings of series-hooked batteries). I don't know for sure why there are so many variations. A higher voltage allows a smaller cord which is one reason I can think of. Most the stuff inside only needs 3-5 volts. I guess a higher input voltage results in more stable low voltages. That's why gas gauges in cars usually run on 4-5 volts instead of 12 volts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 I'm aware that many laptops use 11.1 or 14.8 volt battery packs. 18.5 volt packs are the most common with recent laptops. I wish they'd all use 11.1 packs. It would make them more easiy compatible with 12 volt systems. I did run the Panasonic on 12 volts and it works fine it will not however properly charge the battery it's line powered supply is 15.6 volts and the battery is 11.1 same as the Acer. I have a DC to DC converter made for Panasonic and the power consumption is within 1/2 a watt of using the converter and powering it with 12 volts so from what I have seen it's just a lot easier to use the DC to DC converter and let it charge the battery. The charging system is very intelligent and laptop battery usage is very low when it is externally powered. I would believe any laptop would run on 12 volts because nothing inside other then battery charging requires 12 volts the 2.5"HDD drives are all 5 volt and so are the CD drives.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 With a lithium-ion cell being 3.7 volts, there are many voltage possibilities. 3 in series = 11.1 volts, 4 in series = 14.8 volts, 5 in series = 18.5 volts, etc. I've seen 11.1 volt packs with 9 cells (3 strings of series-hooked batteries). I don't know for sure why there are so many variations. A higher voltage allows a smaller cord which is one reason I can think of. Most the stuff inside only needs 3-5 volts. I guess a higher input voltage results in more stable low voltages. That's why gas gauges in cars usually run on 4-5 volts instead of 12 volts. Yes some of the newer memory modules are down into the 1+ volt range now. The ones I have been playing with are 3.3 and 5 volt it is a lot easier to reduce/regulate voltage then it is to make it higher with dc stuff. I was gifted a laptop with issues (no one ever gives me any thing that works) and having no fear of damaging it after removing 6 dozen screws I did get to probe a bunch of stuff inside. The biggest energy hog was the display hands down all of the ones I have are CC back lit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 . I would believe any laptop would run on 12 volts because nothing inside other then battery charging requires 12 volts the 2.5"HDD drives are all 5 volt and so are the CD drives.. The same can be said for a AC powered TV set. Everything inside runs on low voltage. Just not so easy to hook direct to low voltage source and eliminate the AC cord. With a laptop I assume it depends on it's internal power supply/regulator/converter and how sensitive it is. I've got some battery powered devices e.g. my GPS and a camera that run on alkaline batteries but won't run properly on rechargables due to the slight drop in voltage. My GPS takes four alkalines. 1.5 volts each that total 6 volts. Nickel based rechargables are only 1.2 volts each and total 4.8 volts. That small 1.2 volt results in the GPS not working and showing a "dead battery" alert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 I feel reasonably certain in saying that not one person contributed anything useful to the orignal topic. Its Guess the original topic of this thread has gone away..... and Stamar still does not have an energy efficient laptop despite page after page after page of the BS he is always complaining about and contributing to. I really feel confident in saying after looking at all the posts that not one person contributed too much to the orignal topic or question at all. The best idea was to use a tablet. Just a lot of free flow crazy stuff really. I tried to even have the conversation about the what uses more power with myself even in case there was someone reading and not posting. but overall I feel like the thread was taken over by mr magoos. Its all a new concept to me kind of senility inspired spam. Theyre talking about whatever they are talking about now. If theres anything worth passing on Ill try and put a link in my signature so people will know what I figured out without reading through the senilispam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Im not buying anything for someone elses entertainment value. I might end up never buying a thing I just shop. I was hoping someone had a low power laptop to talk about. Even really old ones like an old panasonic laptop use very little power, even less than modern ones. I ended up getting a tablet a toshiba thrive. Im going to get a keyboard and a 128 gb sd card for it. Im going to end up with a couple different machines. My particular goal is to run a business online from the toyhome shooting for leaving the thing on for 12 hours a day running on solar and alternator. I am going to get a windows computer but closer to when I need it actually. Heres the main guideline http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/sponsors-of-tomorrow/ultrabook.html thats just a intel guideline, apple and amd also do the same thing using their own name for it. But its a laptop with a 45w gdp or less. Whoever led me to research it and it might have been karin and is shopping for an rv friendly laptop, thats mostly what that is. Its not meant for rvs exactly but for airports. the smaller the screen the better. So a 12 inch macbook air is the best one. Im not getting one but thats the best laptop for rv life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 I did run the Panasonic on 12 volts and it works fine it will not however properly charge the battery it's line powered supply is 15.6 volts and the battery is 11.1 same as the Acer. I have a DC to DC converter made for Panasonic and the power consumption is within 1/2 a watt of using the converter and powering it with 12 volts so from what I have seen it's just a lot easier to use the DC to DC converter and let it charge the battery. The charging system is very intelligent and laptop battery usage is very low when it is externally powered. I would believe any laptop would run on 12 volts because nothing inside other then battery charging requires 12 volts the 2.5"HDD drives are all 5 volt and so are the CD drives.. you definitely have the type of laptop im looking for. new those panasonics are over 2k but they use a whole mini laptop parts chain not for sale in the us as such like mini ram and mini hds. And they are used as 12 volt low power machines in business here, at least they were, used by cops and ambulance drivers. i found really old ones refurbed for under 200$ on tiger direct. Im not positive which has more power the old panasonic or the modern cell phone based tablet. I think the kicker is they are really just about the same thing. a cell phone cpu really just is a pentium 4 class thing using really low power. the cell phone tablet revolution is a way to sell consumers the same old technology again. http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/business-rugged-laptop-toughbook-SX2.asp?cm_sp=PSC-Web-Site-_-Medium-Banner-_-ToughbookSX2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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