Powering Laptops in the field

[Hunter_zero]

Im sure This has been covered before but cant find the thread

Im thinking of getting a laptop, but I want to be able to keep it running.

I know you can get leads for car, but what about in the field?

would a mobile charger do??

You could use the car leads + a gel battery.
I use an old laptop for ballistics calcs + chronograph interfacing. Just cut the power lead (13.5 v output from the transformer) and put a lighter socket on the end, hey presto, it worked.

John

 

[wingstoo]

Sorry to put a damper on it but there is no way that a 13 watt amorphous panel is going to power a laptop in any useable manner. As for Maplin's claim that it is ideal for Dc fridges, that is ludicrous and they are probably breeching trading standards.

If it is sunny on the weekend I may just have to give it a try.

The other way is to charge the laptop battery with it I guess.

I guess that you have tried the fridge thing with this particular panel then?

LS

 

[twisted firestarter]

If it is sunny on the weekend I may just have to give it a try.

The other way is to charge the laptop battery with it I guess.

I guess that you have tried the fridge thing with this particular panel then?

LS

Hi L.S.

I spent over 10 years using solar panels exclusively for my domestic electricity. Yes I have tried the fridge thing but not with that particular panel- mine was 4 times more powerful! Problem is that fridges/laptops draw loads of current. I used a 12 volt toploading coolbox (so the cold air doesn't pour out when the door is opened) and a 60 watt panel dedicated to running it and it did work when it was sunny or bright, but only just.
To put it simply the appliance needs a panel which with enough ampage to meet it's needs. I think I'm right in stating that there is no fridge or laptop which would work on 15 watts, even in full summer sunlight. Solar is brilliant but I would advise anyone to think backwards when considering getting a P.V.
What do you want to run? and how often?
Once you know these things it is straightforwards to find the correct panel.

 

[Feral]

I remember see a company was making windup laptops for third world kiddies somewhere, I will see if I can track down the link.

 

[kato]

The Brunton Solaris 26 should charge a laptop battery>
http://www.ascscientific.com/solar.html

To solve sun glare on the screen you could use one of these>
http://www.theithelper.com/laptopshade.html
or make your own from a plastic A4 folder

 

[twisted firestarter]

The Brunton Solaris 26 should charge a laptop battery>
http://www.ascscientific.com/solar.html

Nice looking panel. It would indeed charge a laptop battery as would any size panel given enough time. I would be very surprised if it could fully charge a flat laptop battery in 4-6 hours though, be suspicious of the claims made by any solar company.Think overkill and you'll have enough power when you want it.

A panel like that would be ideal for a PDA though, shame it would cost a lot more than that in the UK or I'd go and buy one tomorrow

 

[Glen]

A panel like that would be ideal for a PDA though, shame it would cost a lot more than that in the UK or I'd go and buy one tomorrow

So you might be interested in these then

24W http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-24W-12v-f...0737316QQihZ009QQcategoryZ41981QQcmdZViewItem
12W http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-12w-folda...3434062QQihZ009QQcategoryZ41981QQcmdZViewItem


I've no connection with the seller, etc

 

[MattW]

Yup, solar panel manufacturers like to quote output figures based on mid-day sun in the Sahara! Mind you the same goes for most companies jumping on the sustainable energy bandwagon (witness the complete tosh talked about the infamous B&Q wind turbine....) Unfortunately, the ones in the ebay link above will almost inevitably be disappointing.

Regarding your laptop, its a cost benefit thing.
If you really must have a laptop, and you really must be able to charge it reliably while away from external power then you are into the realms of professional expedition kit: purpose designed low power devices with solid state storage (no hard drive), low power processor, small led backlit lcd panel, large solar panels (if in a sunny country), generators etc - thousands of pounds.

If you want to be able to use a consumer type laptop in this situation, you'll be forever chasing the battery - most modern laptops aren't really designed to be used long term away from power - they have fast processors, big bright lcd's, bloated resource hungry operating systems which clobber the processor (i.e Vista) - my latest IBM thinkpad struggles to manage 1.5 hours on battery (the spec says 3.5). To power a consumer laptop, you are looking at either stocking up on spare batteries or carting round a generator or car battery and inverter (not very portable). I'd forget solar panels in the UK - they would be ok if you were prepared to just leave the thing plugged in until the battery was eventually charged (could be days in our murky climate unless you are dragging round square metres of expensive panel) - the little things sold in the likes of Maplin are really toys and would be ok to charge a couple of AA's but not much else (you'd have a hard time ever getting close to their rated output).

When I really need the connectivity and data handling, I take my palmtop as I said above, unfortunately laptops really need regular access to 240v.

all my humble opinion (but based on experience)

cheers
Matt

 

[twisted firestarter]

So you might be interested in these then

24W http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-24W-12v-f...0737316QQihZ009QQcategoryZ41981QQcmdZViewItem
12W http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-12w-folda...3434062QQihZ009QQcategoryZ41981QQcmdZViewItem
I've no connection with the seller, etc

I had a quick look at those. First impression was it looks poor build quality. The fact that they rate the 12 watt panel as producing 15-16 amps is**** :tapedshut.

Unfortunately from a buyers perspective there is a huge demand for photovoltaics so the price reflects fairly accurately on the quality. Any decent modern panel is typically warranted for 20 years which speaks volumes about their longevity so if you are really serious about getting one but want to reduce the initial cost then I would recommend looking out for a second hand unit made by a reputable manufacturer. IMHO Kyocera make the best panels ( I am not a shareholder in the company etc...)

Guess who is the biggest manufacturer of solar panels?

Why it's B.P. of course - good old British Petrolium.

If I wasn't a cynical so and so I would have said they know
something we don't

 

[Zodiak]

I use a yellow car charger/booster, £25 Aldi special offer, and a 100watt invertor which £15 from maplin last year.

From this I can run my laptop for 30 mins a day, recharge my phone using a car charger, power my razer through the invertor ( the recharge circuits died 5 years ago) and power an 8 watt flourescent light for half an hour while the wife and I get ready for bed and read for a bit.

This will just about last a week like this when we are camping but if we go somewhere by car then it gets plugged into the ciggarette lighter for a quick recharge and keep it topped up.

My mate has just made an LED tent light from an australian kit which will only be 1 watt but he reckons it will be brighter than my tube light and beiong less power last much longer.

 

[Tengu]

Um, where does the power come from in that set up?

If its car based then Im fixed, I have an invertor and connections from my mobile.

the problem is charging the car battery to begin with....

 

[bent-stick]

I hope nobody comes up with a sensible solution. I'm more than happy to leave my laptop at home

I do usually have a gravity defying Russian Space Pen and a Hipster PDA however:

http://www.npw.co.uk/onlinesales/product.php?product_id=185 (execpt I ay half this for a dozen of them)

http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda/.

 

[Tengu]

I am not that hi tech, I have a pile of old bits of paper and one of those biros that certain charities are philamphropicaly giving me

 

[anthonyyy]

I remember this topic coming up a few months ago but things change so quickly in the field of computing I was hoping there might be some developments

How useable are modern PDAs compared to laptop computers? For example could you access this board using one?

 

[MattW]

I remember this topic coming up a few months ago but things change so quickly in the field of computing I was hoping there might be some developments

How useable are modern PDAs compared to laptop computers? For example could you access this board using one?

Yep - I access this board and British Blades on mine all the time. The disadvantage is that they aren't the best thing for a lot of typing (however, I do have a foldable bluetooth keyboard for when this is necessary).

Mine is a Palm Lifedrive, but there are lots of others ( I fancied mine because it includes a hard drive).

cheers
Matt

 

[andyn]

How useable are modern PDAs compared to laptop computers? For example could you access this board using one?

yup,

you'd need a method to get online though. So either a wireless "hotspot" or a pda with a built in phone and connect via gprs/gsm.

 

[JURA]

Hells bells ! and there i was thinking taking my mobile was a bit too techno for the woods !!

 

[MattW]

yup,

you'd need a method to get online though. So either a wireless "hotspot" or a pda with a built in phone and connect via gprs/gsm.

Or bluetooth it through your existing mobile like I do when away from a wifi hotspot (my pda has built in wifi).

Matt

 

[Zodiak]

Um, where does the power come from in that set up?

If its car based then Im fixed, I have an invertor and connections from my mobile.

the problem is charging the car battery to begin with....

Its one of these

You can either charge it from mains, or the fag lighter in your car, which is actually much quicker.

There are a couple of fag lighter sockets on the front panel, so you can have two things going at once, one of which could be the invertor. You can also get adaptors that add more sockets but if you need too much stuff the battery will die faster.

 

[edispilff]

Yes, you can charge your laptop with a certain amount of portability, but to be able to run it would require the wattage/amperage listed on the power supply of the laptop you are using.
- 10W is a minimum to charge most electronic devices
- PDA's are much more compact, but harder to type on ( i use voice on mine and then when i get back into civilization, transcribe from the PDA to computer)
- You will most likely have to make your own adapters to interface with the solar panel unless you have a car charging plug
- consolidate your cords and see if any of them are interchangeable. This will save pack space and cord tangle!
- flexible solar panels are easier to pack, take up less space, and are usually more durable than hard panel based models. look for "marine" approved salt water repellent panels for the best
- you'll spend about $10/4.5UK per watt for a decent panel setup
- look for panels that operate in less than ideal sunlight conditions. Make sure that it has a reverse drain diode so it doesn't kill your charge when the clouds come out

-Brunton make flexible panels but IMHO they are overpriced
-ICP (discontinued) can be found at auction sites like eBay and are extrememly durable and powerfull
-Do a search for solar clothing and gear on google or something and you'll find a load of alternatives to packing a solar panel

Other than that, don't expect to get a WiFi signal or a cell signal if your North American based... Euro has different options. If you make the big bucks, you can get a SatCom link to work over the internet.

An Ideal setup (hmmm.. the one i have now?) would be a 10W ICP flex10 ($90), Dell Axim x30 w/bluetooth-WiFi(new but discontinued for ~230 with a 1Gig SD card), a Rikaline Bluetooth GPS ($70-100). Leave the Dell power cord at home and charge it with the GPS cord (interchangeable).
OziExplorer for PDA ia a great chunk of topo mapping software with more options than most will ever use ($30). If you want to create your own maps ArcGIS for PDA ($290+ depending on options) is also really really good.

What do i use all this techno-stuff for?
I'm a trapper from Colorado USA to Canadienne Rockies. Waypoints mark where the trapline and traps are. 200+ traps a week is hard to keep track of in the field. Sometimes i throw a little music on the PDA and listen for a couple of hours after prepping dinner. You can download ebooks to read later, take field notes, write reviews, play chess against a computer, edit pictures from your digital camera.. Back in town you can surf the net, upload reviews, FTP a website, edit HTML pages, watch movies, control your TV, download next weeks weather, navigate with TomTom (as long as you don't mind driving off of bridges), balance the bank account you're not using, and more.

Add a nice digital camera... and you are set!

hope this gives you some ideas on what's possible.

edispilff