Car Charger for MacBook Pro?

[teejay]

I am mostly mobile and most of the time I need to use my MBP while on the road. The problem is I always run out of juice. Can you suggest other car charger solution other than a power inverter. Is Mikegyver Power Travel Kit any good? Thanks.

[djmyke]

i think you can find a regulator in ace hardware... the one you can plug sa car charger.

[icetraxx626]

you need a power inverter for you to use in your car so you could plugin your standard charger.

[ricocamus]

Can you suggest other car charger solution other than a power inverter.

I think he said 'other than a power inverter'!

Just curious teejay, what do you have against a power inverter? They are simple to use, relatively inexpensive and easy to find.

[teejay]

Thanks djmyke and icetraxx626 for your replies.


@ricocamus: I read this interesting article in MikeGyver.com. I dunno if this is just BS or not. Decide for yourself.

Inverters convert DC power (car/Airplane/boat power) into AC power (household power). If you are using the Apple adapter with an inverter, the Apple adapter actually converts the AC power BACK to DC power. As you can see you are wasting a tremendous amount of energy converting from DC to AC, then BACK to DC. This could mean a dead car battery sooner then you think!

[jpdm]

yes i agree, do get an inverter from ace. it cost around P2200 for the 200watts unit. dont get the 100w coz it wont be adequate for the macbook. i bought a 100w for my iBook G4 but had to return it to ace since it cant power up my unit. thankfully the people from ace were kind enough to exchange mine "no questions asked"

[jpdm]

teejay - this is what the ifonix 200w inverter looks like. its cool and you can use it during brownouts to power several electric fans from a car battery

[teejay]

Looks like inverter is the only way to go.

@jpdm: I'll definitely check it out when i get back to manila. Thanks for your input.

[ricocamus]

Thanks djmyke and icetraxx626 for your replies.


@ricocamus: I read this interesting article in MikeGyver.com. I dunno if this is just BS or not. Decide for yourself.

The article is sort of true. Power in the car is DC, from the lighter. And the inverter does convert it to AC. And most (actually I think all, but I could be wrong) electronic devices (computers, TVs, amplifiers, radios, etc) use DC power at their core, so the Apple power supply does convert the power back to DC from AC. All of this is true.

The great leap is when the article says that you will soon wind up with a dead CAR battery. This just does not follow. Yes there is probably a lot of power wasted from converting back and forth from DC to AC to DC. The real key is that you should use the inverter when the car is running and not from the battery. If your engine is running, the power does not come from the car's battery, but from the alternator of the car. In a car, the only time the battery is used is when you start the engine. After the engine is running, the batttery is not used.

So if you use your inverter right, you won't have a dead car battery.

[teejay]

@ricocamus: Great input. Thanks!