11 ms·
If 110V is not feasible, can we try lower voltage? 36V DC is sufficient for laptops with correct adapters. Also I don't really want to work on laptops in tight
by riobard 16y ago
If 110V is not feasible, can we try lower voltage? 36V DC is sufficient for laptops with correct adapters.
Also I don't really want to work on laptops in tight space anyway. A 5V USB port is sufficient. All Air Canada flights have this. (Due to RIM I guess?)
- gvb 16y agoThere is nothing wrong with the voltage (110vAC), the issue is power... and to achieve a given power amount (70W typically for laptops), lower voltage requires higher current. See my comment under the 12vDC lighter plug suggestion http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1828197 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1828197. 36vDC would have similar weight problems and, in addition, would require everybody to buy and haul around Yet Another Power Brick since it is oddball.
- riobard 16y agoAh, thanks for clearing it up! Another question: I saw many international flights feature a VOD system with a LCD screen that is playing some movies on the back of every seat. Does the power to drive the system enough to charge a laptop then?
- gvb 16y agoI am not familiar with the VOD systems, but I really doubt it. A typical laptop brick is rated at 70W and it probably pulls close to that with a discharged battery. I would expect the VOD display system to be running around 10W. My guess is 1W lost in a 90% efficiency power supply, 5W for the display, 1W for an ARM processor, the rest for the video decoder chip and miscellaneous support chips.
- s3graham 16y agoAll the Air Canada flights I've flown from YVR have a 110 plug too. I've no idea what the voltage/current actually is, but it charges my laptop just fine. (There's generally only one plug for every 2 or 3 seats though.)