At 8:42 AM -0400 5/30/02, Beverly Woods wrote: > I have a question about using inverters with powerbooks. I have an off-grid >cabin with solar panels and a 500W Trace inverter. I also have a cheapie >small car inverter. I am hesitant to use either inverter with a powerbook, >because in the course of building my place and dealing with the electricity >there, I found that various items with chargers might work for a while, but >some would bite the dust after not very long if used with inverters. > > Solar equipment retailers I know say some charging units are not too happy >with the modified sine or square wave (as opposed to true sine wave) that >inexpensive inverters put out. I have killed a cordless drill and a >rechargeable flashlight by using them with inverters. They appeared to work >fine initially, but died within a few months when plugged into inverter >power. > > Therefore I have been a bit surprised to see computer retailers marketing >inverters for use with powerbooks. Does anyone know for certain whether this >is really safe for powerbooks in the long term? > > Meantime I got a pb car adapter so I could use the 12 volt without >inverter, because amount of available power is sometimes an issue, and >running the inverter just to run the powerbook isn't particularly efficient. >But I do wonder about plugging into the inverter sometimes.
If the power supply is a switching type then it will be fine with a modified sine wave. Transformer units (linear supplies) tend to have the most problems with a modified sine wave. The PB1XX series are, I think, linear supplies. AFAIK everything after the PB5xx are switching (they have to be to get the power needed without melting the wall wart). -- Clark Martin Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting [EMAIL PROTECTED] "I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway" -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
