Power Supplies for Laptops, Notebooks and PDAs

Power Supplies

From the Linux-Mobile-Guide: Some models of power plugs:

.               ____                                  _
.              / () \     _   _       _       _     _(_)_
frontal view: |()  ()|   (_)=(_)     (_)     (_)   (_) (_)
.              ------                               
.
abbrevation.:    C13       C8         ??     PS/2    C5
.
symbol......:    ??        ??        -O)-    N.N.    N.N.

C5 sockets are also called 'Mickey Mouse' plugs, as you can imagine from turning them upside down. They are basically the figure of eight style with an earth.

Caveats: Though some -O)- plug may seem to be compatible to your laptop, because of the according physical size, take extremely care it uses the same plus-minus voltage scheme, for instance plus for the inner ring and minus for the outer one. Often but not always there are the according symbols near the plug.

UPS

American Power Conversion Corp. - APC offers Surge Arrest Notebook/Pro a portable Uninterruptable Power Supply - UPS for laptops.

Solar Energy

• Cirkits, power 12V DC devices with the sun. Offers also links to "Alternative Energy Pages": Convert wind, solar and water into electricity and heat.
• Mercury Solar Panels weigh as little as 3 pounds and keep your laptop operating wherever the sun is shining."
• CirKits SCC2 10 Amp Universal Solar Charge Controller Kit

AC/Car/Air Adapters

There are car adapters for laptops available, which are charged from the cigarette lighters of a car. For PDAs such adapters are not yet available. The one from CONRAD does not work reliable. There are some cases of destroyed Linux PDAs known. This is probably to a short high voltage occuring the start of the car.

The Kensington Universal AC/Car/Air Adapter fits more than 685 notebooks. See the compatibility list.

Miscellaneous

• Energy from keyboard clicks. CT or iX xx/1999
• Linux tools for batteries in laptops and PDAs
• newsgroup: comp.sys.laptops
• sci.electronics.repair
• How to Make, Repair and Upgrade Laptop and Notebook Power Supplies

Credits

• Martin Wood <martin_at_dasos.com>