How to charge up your batteries


Adapting to Plane and Car

As a modern road warrior, if I'm not at my desk, in a hotel, or on a cruise ship, I'm probably in a car or on an airplane. The laptop's internal batteries come in handy at these places ... provided they last. You have several ways to operate your computer or recharge batteries (or both) while in a car or airplane.

Powering up in the air

Some airlines, on some planes, offer power to the people at some seats. If this sounds a bit iffy, that's which is; you can't predict with any certainty whether a particular plane will offer this feature. A few airlines promote this service on certain long- distance flights that cater to businesspeople. The most typical design is a system called EmPower, which delivers DC current; you want a special adapter (available from either your laptop manufacturer or from a third party) to connect to your machine.

Some airlines offer DC power through circular outlets similar to the ones you find in automobiles. And a handful of planes come equipped with 110 volts of AC power to some or all seats. (Some commuter and long- distance trains offer AC outlets.) Powering up down on the ground We used to call a car's power outlet a "cigarette lighter," back when they held circular devices that glowed red hot after a couple of moments of power, long enough to light a tube of tobacco that the user then inhaled. It all sounds so barbaric, doesn't it? Today, many cars come with several outlets for use with adapters to power or charge cell phones, music players, GPS receivers, and laptops.

Like an airline DC source, an automobile DC power outlet can generally deliver enough juice to run an electrical device like a laptop, but takes a long time to recharge batteries. And there's a chance of overloading the car system by trying to draw too much power; the vehicle's electrical system is protected by fuses that can shut off the charger (or the engine, if you really overdo it).

One other option is an AC power inverter, which converts the DC power from your car into 100 volts of AC, which can provide voltage to an AC adapter for your laptop (which then reconverts the power to DC). If that sounds like a fair amount of wasted power and possible danger from overheating, that's because all of that is true. For most laptop users, a better solution is by using a direct DC connection.

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This article was sent to us by: Emanuel Moreno at 08192010

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