Multi in mullti out charger?

[Lars]

Hi group,

A friend of a friend went to some electronics fair in Shanghai, and
came back home with tales of a new laptop charger "one size fits all"
type of thing. Small too.

I already have a charger that I can plug into any Voltage between 100
and 240, and Ampage between 0.7 and 1.3 as well as different
frequencies. But its output is fixed, and is not supposed to be used
for laptops rated for different juice.

This Chinese thing comes with a whole bunch of different plugs and is
meant to be used for "all" different laptops. It is supposed to
"sense" what kind of juice the different laptops need.

Is this at all possible?

Lars
Stockholm

 

[BillW50]

In news:4hdbt5pml3dlcmjv4mkh1pbqvjnq7uho2f@4ax.com,
Lars typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:11:01 +0200:
> Hi group,
>
> A friend of a friend went to some electronics fair in Shanghai, and
> came back home with tales of a new laptop charger "one size fits all"
> type of thing. Small too.
>
> I already have a charger that I can plug into any Voltage between 100
> and 240, and Ampage between 0.7 and 1.3 as well as different
> frequencies. But its output is fixed, and is not supposed to be used
> for laptops rated for different juice.
>
> This Chinese thing comes with a whole bunch of different plugs and is
> meant to be used for "all" different laptops. It is supposed to
> "sense" what kind of juice the different laptops need.
>
> Is this at all possible?
>
> Lars
> Stockholm

Yes it is quite possible. Sometimes we techs have no idea what kind some
off brand laptop takes. So we have to figure out the polarity first. A
ohm meter usually can figure this one out. And then we slowly raise the
voltage until the laptop will finally power up. And a microprocessor
controlled power supply could be programmed to do all of this.

The ones without a processor control has been around for decades. You
need to change the plugs and select the correct polarity and voltage.
They even make them for cigarette lighter plugs so you can use them in
your auto too.

I have something similar as what you are talking about. But it is a
multi-battery charger. And you can charge lead-acid, Ni-Cad, Ni-MH, and
lithium batteries. It is pretty smart. Senses if the polarity is wrong
and it tells you to reverse the wires. Some types you don't have to tell
it the voltage as it autosenses it. And you can control the current in
small steps. And it also tells you the true capacity as well. And for
Ni-MH and lithium batteries, it has a temperature sensor which you can
stop the charger at any temperature you want too for added safety.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Windows XP SP3

 

[Barry Watzman]

These have been around for over a decade. They are sold by Fellowes and
Radio Shack and Targus. Nothing new.


Lars wrote:
> Hi group,
>
> A friend of a friend went to some electronics fair in Shanghai, and
> came back home with tales of a new laptop charger "one size fits all"
> type of thing. Small too.
>
> I already have a charger that I can plug into any Voltage between 100
> and 240, and Ampage between 0.7 and 1.3 as well as different
> frequencies. But its output is fixed, and is not supposed to be used
> for laptops rated for different juice.
>
> This Chinese thing comes with a whole bunch of different plugs and is
> meant to be used for "all" different laptops. It is supposed to
> "sense" what kind of juice the different laptops need.
>
> Is this at all possible?
>
> Lars
> Stockholm

 

[BillW50]

In news:hr4j4n$1u0$1@news.eternal-september.org,
Barry Watzman typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 1390 -0400:
> These have been around for over a decade. They are sold by Fellowes
> and Radio Shack and Targus. Nothing new.

Autosensing power adapters? Where you don't have any switches to set?
Just plug it in and go?

I only know of the old universal power adapters where you have to select
the correct polarity and the voltage. Radio Shack used to have a nice 30
watt one that would plug into the cigarette lighter many years ago. And
they didn't have it long and discontinued it. And I inquired about it
and it turned out that many people didn't know that 30 watt supplies
couldn't power their high powered laptops. So they burned up those 30
watt power adapters and Radio Shack was getting too many returns on
them. I still have mine and it still works fine.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Windows XP SP3

 

[Barry Watzman]

You change the "power tips"; they don't "auto sense" the needed voltage,
that was the OP's misunderstanding of what was happening.

Here was what he posted: "This Chinese thing comes with a whole bunch of
different plugs ...."

The plugs are not JUST to change the connector; they also set the
polarity and the voltage.

I've never seen anyone use 30-watt adapters for laptops, or claim that
you could. Even 1995 laptops drew more than that. But a number of
older universal supplies are 60 watts, which is really too low for many
of today's laptops. You can, however, get away with a lot less than the
stated power requirements. The laptop's OEM power supply is rated to
handle a worst case situation .... maximum load on everything while
charging a discharged battery. And the laptops still usually draw 10%
or more less than the rating. I routinely do use 60 watt adapters with
laptops rated for 75 to 90 watts, and have never had a problem, although
I would not say that I never would have one.

BillW50 wrote:
> In news:hr4j4n$1u0$1@news.eternal-september.org,
> Barry Watzman typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 1390 -0400:
>> These have been around for over a decade. They are sold by Fellowes
>> and Radio Shack and Targus. Nothing new.
>
> Autosensing power adapters? Where you don't have any switches to set?
> Just plug it in and go?
>
> I only know of the old universal power adapters where you have to select
> the correct polarity and the voltage. Radio Shack used to have a nice 30
> watt one that would plug into the cigarette lighter many years ago. And
> they didn't have it long and discontinued it. And I inquired about it
> and it turned out that many people didn't know that 30 watt supplies
> couldn't power their high powered laptops. So they burned up those 30
> watt power adapters and Radio Shack was getting too many returns on
> them. I still have mine and it still works fine.
>

 

[BillW50]

In news:hr50l4$r5l$1@news.eternal-september.org,
Barry Watzman typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 170:06 -0400:
> You change the "power tips"; they don't "auto sense" the needed
> voltage, that was the OP's misunderstanding of what was happening.

I don't know... Smart power adapters is the next step and autosensing
the polarity and the voltage is the next step.

> Here was what he posted: "This Chinese thing comes with a whole bunch
> of different plugs ...."

Read again:

Lars typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:11:01 +0200:
>> It is supposed to "sense" what kind of juice the different laptops
>> need.

> The plugs are not JUST to change the connector; they also set the
> polarity and the voltage.

Some plugs can be reversed, but some others can only be connected one
way and the polarity needs to be switched on the unit. And all universal
power supplies up to now had a switch to select the right voltage.
Selecting the right plug doesn't select the right voltage.

> I've never seen anyone use 30-watt adapters for laptops, or claim that
> you could. Even 1995 laptops drew more than that.

Radio Shack did. And they recalled them. Although I still have mine. lol

> But a number of older universal supplies are 60 watts, which is really
> too low for many of today's laptops. You can, however, get away with
> a lot less than the stated power requirements. The laptop's OEM power
> supply is rated to handle a worst case situation .... maximum load on
> everything while charging a discharged battery. And the laptops still
> usually draw 10% or more less than the rating. I routinely do use 60
> watt adapters with laptops rated for 75 to 90 watts, and have never
> had a problem, although I would not say that I never would have one.

All of my four Gateways use 65 watt supplies. Although if you measure
the wattage without a battery, the laptops use 22 watts or less. And
they work just fine with a 30 watt supply. Although all bets are off if
they are charging a battery too. All of them run Celeron M CPUs which
are known for their low power use.

This M465 for example with the second battery and an extended main
battery can run about 7 to 8 hours. And the second battery allows you to
swap out the main battery without powering down the laptop. So if you
have spares like I do, you just keep swapping batteries and keep on
going without effecting what is going on with the laptop.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Windows XP SP3

 

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

On Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:04:12 -0500, "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:

>In news:hr50l4$r5l$1@news.eternal-september.org,
>Barry Watzman typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 170:06 -0400:
>> You change the "power tips"; they don't "auto sense" the needed
>> voltage, that was the OP's misunderstanding of what was happening.
>
>I don't know... Smart power adapters is the next step and autosensing
>the polarity and the voltage is the next step.
>
>> Here was what he posted: "This Chinese thing comes with a whole bunch
>> of different plugs ...."
>
>Read again:
>
>Lars typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:11:01 +0200:
>>> It is supposed to "sense" what kind of juice the different laptops
>>> need.
>
>> The plugs are not JUST to change the connector; they also set the
>> polarity and the voltage.
>
>Some plugs can be reversed, but some others can only be connected one
>way and the polarity needs to be switched on the unit. And all universal
>power supplies up to now had a switch to select the right voltage.
>Selecting the right plug doesn't select the right voltage.
>
>> I've never seen anyone use 30-watt adapters for laptops, or claim that
>> you could. Even 1995 laptops drew more than that.
>
>Radio Shack did. And they recalled them. Although I still have mine. lol
>
>> But a number of older universal supplies are 60 watts, which is really
>> too low for many of today's laptops. You can, however, get away with
>> a lot less than the stated power requirements. The laptop's OEM power
>> supply is rated to handle a worst case situation .... maximum load on
>> everything while charging a discharged battery. And the laptops still
>> usually draw 10% or more less than the rating. I routinely do use 60
>> watt adapters with laptops rated for 75 to 90 watts, and have never
>> had a problem, although I would not say that I never would have one.
>
>All of my four Gateways use 65 watt supplies. Although if you measure
>the wattage without a battery, the laptops use 22 watts or less. And
>they work just fine with a 30 watt supply. Although all bets are off if
>they are charging a battery too. All of them run Celeron M CPUs which
>are known for their low power use.
>
>This M465 for example with the second battery and an extended main
>battery can run about 7 to 8 hours. And the second battery allows you to
>swap out the main battery without powering down the laptop. So if you
>have spares like I do, you just keep swapping batteries and keep on
>going without effecting what is going on with the laptop.

Bill,

FWIW, I also still have my working Radio Shack 30 watt supply,
although I admit it's not used very often. Still works fine, though.
--
Charlie Hoffpauir

Everything is what it is because it got that way....D'Arcy Thompson

 

[Barry Watzman]

This was fact:

"This Chinese thing comes with a whole bunch of different plugs ...."

This was the OP's conjecture:

"It is supposed to "sense" what kind of juice the different laptops need"

There is no way to auto-sense the needed voltage or polarity.

On MOST of the "Universal" adapters, there is a "tip" specified for each
model of laptop. The tip sets the voltage and polarity (there are
components other than the connector itself in the interchangeable tip).
On some, you set the voltage an polarity manually, and changing tips
only changes the connector.

 

[BillW50]

In news:6mhct5pcp1ltkt9dqga0ochv8ohah3klmq@4ax.com,
Charlie Hoffpauir typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:08:57 -0500:
> On Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:04:12 -0500, "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:
>
>> In news:hr50l4$r5l$1@news.eternal-september.org,
>> Barry Watzman typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 170:06 -0400:
[...]
>>> I've never seen anyone use 30-watt adapters for laptops, or claim
>>> that you could. Even 1995 laptops drew more than that.
>>
>> Radio Shack did. And they recalled them. Although I still have mine.
>> lol
[...]
> Bill,
>
> FWIW, I also still have my working Radio Shack 30 watt supply,
> although I admit it's not used very often. Still works fine, though.

Hello Charlie! Good to hear from another Radio Shack 30 watt universal
power supply user. And yes, I could see that not many would use a 30
watt power supply too often. Still very handy when you need one though.


Cat No. 273-1826
Input: 11-16VDC 5A MAX
Output: 9-24VDC 30W MAX

Manual
http://support.radioshack.com/support_accessories/doc64/64796.pdf

--
Bill
Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2

 

[BillW50]

In news:hr5km2$aqt$1@news.eternal-september.org,
Barry Watzman typed on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:11:56 -0400:
> This was fact:
>
> "This Chinese thing comes with a whole bunch of different plugs ...."
>
> This was the OP's conjecture:
>
> "It is supposed to "sense" what kind of juice the different laptops
> need"
> There is no way to auto-sense the needed voltage or polarity.
>
> On MOST of the "Universal" adapters, there is a "tip" specified for
> each model of laptop. The tip sets the voltage and polarity (there
> are components other than the connector itself in the interchangeable
> tip). On some, you set the voltage an polarity manually, and
> changing tips only changes the connector.

I guess we should ask Lars. As I was under the impression that the one
Lars is talking about, all you need to do is to select the right tip and
everything else like voltage and polarity is automatically set for you.

--
Bill
Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2

 

[Lars]

Previously, on Usenet "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:

>I guess we should ask Lars. As I was under the impression that the one
>Lars is talking about, all you need to do is to select the right tip and
>everything else like voltage and polarity is automatically set for you.

This is what I was told. But like I said it comes from a friend of a
friend, so there is ample room for misunderstandnings.

Since we last talked I have seen pictures of the adaptors. One is for
90W and the other 70W. Both have a small window where digital numbers
seems to indicate a current voltage. At least it displays 16.0.

I have pictures of both top and bottom. There are no signs of switches
on the power unit itself.

Actually they don't seem as small in footprint as my friend first said
on the phone, but probably are very thin/flat.

They have a printed sticker saying 12V/15V/16V/18.5V/19.5V/20V/24V.

Lars
Stockholm

 

[BillW50]

In news:5p5lt5ta13qs7b4vfdif5d7cqldkc0p14e@4ax.com,
Lars typed on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:53:25 +0200:
> Previously, on Usenet "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:
>
>> I guess we should ask Lars. As I was under the impression that the
>> one Lars is talking about, all you need to do is to select the right
>> tip and everything else like voltage and polarity is automatically
>> set for you.
>
> This is what I was told. But like I said it comes from a friend of a
> friend, so there is ample room for misunderstandnings.
>
> Since we last talked I have seen pictures of the adaptors. One is for
> 90W and the other 70W. Both have a small window where digital numbers
> seems to indicate a current voltage. At least it displays 16.0.
>
> I have pictures of both top and bottom. There are no signs of switches
> on the power unit itself.
>
> Actually they don't seem as small in footprint as my friend first said
> on the phone, but probably are very thin/flat.
>
> They have a printed sticker saying 12V/15V/16V/18.5V/19.5V/20V/24V.

Sounds very interesting Lars. I for one would be very interested in
learning more about it.

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 (quit Windows updates back in May 2009)

 

[Barry Watzman]

I don't think it's any different than the Targus units, in which the
interchangeable tips select the voltage, polarity and connector.

BillW50 wrote:
> In news:5p5lt5ta13qs7b4vfdif5d7cqldkc0p14e@4ax.com,
> Lars typed on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:53:25 +0200:
>> Previously, on Usenet "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:
>>
>>> I guess we should ask Lars. As I was under the impression that the
>>> one Lars is talking about, all you need to do is to select the right
>>> tip and everything else like voltage and polarity is automatically
>>> set for you.
>> This is what I was told. But like I said it comes from a friend of a
>> friend, so there is ample room for misunderstandnings.
>>
>> Since we last talked I have seen pictures of the adaptors. One is for
>> 90W and the other 70W. Both have a small window where digital numbers
>> seems to indicate a current voltage. At least it displays 16.0.
>>
>> I have pictures of both top and bottom. There are no signs of switches
>> on the power unit itself.
>>
>> Actually they don't seem as small in footprint as my friend first said
>> on the phone, but probably are very thin/flat.
>>
>> They have a printed sticker saying 12V/15V/16V/18.5V/19.5V/20V/24V.
>
> Sounds very interesting Lars. I for one would be very interested in
> learning more about it.
>

 

[BillW50]

In news:hrfb9o$5oe$1@news.eternal-september.org,
Barry Watzman typed on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 153:10 -0400:
> I don't think it's any different than the Targus units, in which the
> interchangeable tips select the voltage, polarity and connector.
>
> BillW50 wrote:
>> In news:5p5lt5ta13qs7b4vfdif5d7cqldkc0p14e@4ax.com,
>> Lars typed on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:53:25 +0200:
>>> Previously, on Usenet "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I guess we should ask Lars. As I was under the impression that the
>>>> one Lars is talking about, all you need to do is to select the
>>>> right tip and everything else like voltage and polarity is
>>>> automatically set for you.
>>> This is what I was told. But like I said it comes from a friend of a
>>> friend, so there is ample room for misunderstandnings.
>>>
>>> Since we last talked I have seen pictures of the adaptors. One is
>>> for 90W and the other 70W. Both have a small window where digital
>>> numbers seems to indicate a current voltage. At least it displays
>>> 16.0. I have pictures of both top and bottom. There are no signs of
>>> switches on the power unit itself.
>>>
>>> Actually they don't seem as small in footprint as my friend first
>>> said on the phone, but probably are very thin/flat.
>>>
>>> They have a printed sticker saying 12V/15V/16V/18.5V/19.5V/20V/24V.
>>
>> Sounds very interesting Lars. I for one would be very interested in
>> learning more about it.

Maybe, maybe not! I suppose we will start seeing these things soon. I
wonder if this is one of them?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Universal-AC-DC...=Laptop_Adapters_Chargers&hash=item3cac4399d8

It sounds like there is no voltage adjustment. But the voltage switches
depending on which tip you use. Plus it sounds like center is always
positive. Which is very common, but not always universal.

Oh I guess this is different than what Lars is talking about. As I don't
see the digital voltage output reading.

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 (quit Windows updates back in May 2009)

 

[Barry Watzman]

BillW50 wrote:
> In news:hrfb9o$5oe$1@news.eternal-september.org,
> Barry Watzman typed on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 153:10 -0400:
>> I don't think it's any different than the Targus units, in which the
>> interchangeable tips select the voltage, polarity and connector.
>>
>> BillW50 wrote:
>
> Maybe, maybe not! I suppose we will start seeing these things soon. I
> wonder if this is one of them?
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Universal-AC-DC...=Laptop_Adapters_Chargers&hash=item3cac4399d8
>
> It sounds like there is no voltage adjustment. But the voltage switches
> depending on which tip you use. Plus it sounds like center is always
> positive. Which is very common, but not always universal.
>
> Oh I guess this is different than what Lars is talking about. As I don't
> see the digital voltage output reading.
>

 

[Barry Watzman]

It is EXACTLY like the Targus units (which have been on the market for a
decade).

The tips have a resistor in them that sets the voltage. Also, if the
polarity needs to be reversed, that, too, is done in the tip; it is not
ALWAYS center positive, but there are very few devices that are not
center pin positive (note also that some laptops do not have simple
coaxial barrel connectors; some IBM and at least one Toshiba model have
a multi-pin rectangular connector).

BillW50 wrote:
> In news:hrfb9o$5oe$1@news.eternal-september.org,
> Barry Watzman typed on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 153:10 -0400:
>> I don't think it's any different than the Targus units, in which the
>> interchangeable tips select the voltage, polarity and connector.
>>
>> BillW50 wrote:
> Maybe, maybe not! I suppose we will start seeing these things soon. I
> wonder if this is one of them?
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Universal-AC-DC...=Laptop_Adapters_Chargers&hash=item3cac4399d8
>
> It sounds like there is no voltage adjustment. But the voltage switches
> depending on which tip you use. Plus it sounds like center is always
> positive. Which is very common, but not always universal.
>
> Oh I guess this is different than what Lars is talking about. As I don't
> see the digital voltage output reading.
>

 

[BillW50]

In news:hrfov6$fis$3@news.eternal-september.org,
Barry Watzman typed on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:26:28 -0400:
> It is EXACTLY like the Targus units (which have been on the market
> for a decade).
>
> The tips have a resistor in them that sets the voltage. Also, if the
> polarity needs to be reversed, that, too, is done in the tip; it is
> not ALWAYS center positive, but there are very few devices that are
> not center pin positive (note also that some laptops do not have
> simple coaxial barrel connectors; some IBM and at least one Toshiba
> model have a multi-pin rectangular connector).
>
> BillW50 wrote:
>> In news:hrfb9o$5oe$1@news.eternal-september.org,
>> Barry Watzman typed on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 153:10 -0400:
>>> I don't think it's any different than the Targus units, in which the
>>> interchangeable tips select the voltage, polarity and connector.
>>>
>>> BillW50 wrote:
>> Maybe, maybe not! I suppose we will start seeing these things soon. I
>> wonder if this is one of them?
>>
>> http://cgi.ebay.com/Universal-AC-DC...=Laptop_Adapters_Chargers&hash=item3cac4399d8
>>
>> It sounds like there is no voltage adjustment. But the voltage
>> switches depending on which tip you use. Plus it sounds like center
>> is always positive. Which is very common, but not always universal.
>>
>> Oh I guess this is different than what Lars is talking about. As I
>> don't see the digital voltage output reading.

And some Dells also has a third line sometimes called data. Which quires
the device to make sure you are using an original Dell power adapter as
well.

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 (quit Windows updates back in May 2009)