Charles Curley wrote: >> Anyone know of a good PORTABLE AC power source? Something like a UPS >> or something, but smaller. It doesn't have to be big, just enough to >> power a couple of external devices to my laptop. > > Simplest solution: an inverter. Get one specifically designed for solid > state electronics, e.g. laptops, etc. It must produce a sine wave, and > if the salesman doesn't know what a sine wave it, it doesn't. For what > you are doing, a 140 watt inverter is fine. My Lenovo R51 is rated for > 70 watts and actually draws around 40.
Of course converting DC to AC back to DC is convenient, but not efficient. If his portable hard drive is 12 V (many are these days), then maybe he could run it directly off his car electrics with a regulator. I've used el-cheapo inverters for years (probably square wave instead of a nice sine) and they seem to work fine, although they induce some noise in my computer's audio. A ferrite choke helps that though. /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
