But wouldn't firewire voltage be universal? It must be 12v for everything, right?
The charger for the powerbook is 65watts,which would only be .54 amps, and those cig lighters are pretty beefy.
I just did a search and I found voltage ratings for FW to be from 8-40V. I don't know how accurate this info is as I couldn't find the IEEE standard for FW.
65W is 5.4A at 12V. .54A would be the current for 120V mains power which is not involved here.
Whatever the voltage is doesn't matter, the Firewire port simply won't power the computer. And an iPod charger simply won't produce 65W, it's way beyond what an iPod needs.
BTW, I'm an electrical engineer so you can take it for what it's worth.
Karen
From: MikeRF/A2 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: "G-List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "G-List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: power a powerbook with ipod car charger? Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 14:32:28 -0400
Karen inquired:what, if any, harm could I do by powering my powerbook with the charger for my ipod?
I've got a firewire charger which runs off my car cig lighter, and was wondering if anything bad could happen from running the power to the laptop thusly.
Well you could burn up your iPod charger/adapter for one and possibly do damage to your Powerbook as well.
It's all about matching the power that your adapter provides with the power requirements of your Powerbook.
I don't own an ipod or powerbook but I am going to guess your powerbook pulls way more amps (1.75 - 2.5 ?) than the ipod and I'll bet it also wants to run at a higher DC voltage (24V ?) level than the ipod.
Someone else with access to the ipod charger adapter specs and Powerbook power specs can ultimately verify this but I would say DO NOT DO IT.
If you have a universal DC to AC power converter for your car cig/accessory plug and the *proper* adapter for your powerbook that is not a problem.
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