Flying with a laptop

[aniki]

Anyone familiar with the targus universal air notebook and power adapter?

Targus

How useful is it?
Where on an airplane does it plug into?
Any other options out there?

 

[corkyg]

Yes, I have one. Not many planes are equipped with the connectors. I found them on American (not on every row) and on some overseas flights. But, I flew Air France to Paris last summer on a new 777 in business class and they did not have them. They didn't have them in 1st class either . . .much less in steerage.

I have had the adapter now for about a year and have yet to use it. <G>

 

[naughtysiggie]

Don't most planes used the Empower system? The new Delta 777 have them in all classes.

 

[PH0ENIX]

I'm fairly familiar with them...

>How useful is it?

I think that's really an individual thing

>Where on an airplane does it plug into?

Well, it uses a cigarette-lighter plug; so I assume something that looks like one of those...


That aside, you will notice that although you can use+charge the laptop while in a car, if you're on an aircraft you can only USE the laptop - it won't charge.
Thats because FAA regulations prohibit the charging of batteries on an aircraft, in case of explosion (the latter is a guess).

Other options...

Any inverter capable of converting 12/24 volts DC to ~19v or whatever your notebook uses, will work fine. It's got to be rated for equal or higher amperes, if it's less then it may still work, though you might find that the notebook will think it's on battery and constantly report low batt. or similar errors.

The hardest part is usually matching the notebook DC jack...

 

[aniki]

Are Airplanes still equiped with cigarette lighter plugs even though smoking is banned?

 

[corkyg]

No, they do not use cigarette lighter connectors or plugs. The Targus is equipped with the new IATA standard connector. It is much smaller than a cigarette lighter plug and has a different cross section. It is a two-pin connector tucked into a recess with a plastic shroud. Unlike a cigarette lighter plug, none of the electrical contents are exposed on the outside. The cross section is not round. It is flat on the bottom and arched above it . . . much like a tiny railroad tunnel. The size is about 1.5 inches long, and about 3/8-in across the tip. The consumer end is male and the aircraft part is a receptacle. There is a snap catch and release on the side. The input power from the aircraft is nominally 12 vdc. The Targus accepts a range of 11 to 16 vdc, at 8 amps max power. It's output is 3 to 24 vdc and it provides 70 watts of continuous power. There is no apparent way to keep the laptop battery from charging . . . there is no perceptable difference to the system between operational use of the power and battery charging.