Laptop on a Long-haul Flight...

Hi,

New to the laptop world of gadets, tips and tricks. I am bringing a laptop
on my upcoming long-haul flight and wish to watch a few 2 hour typical
Hollywood movies on it.

My laptop battery only allows for 2-3 hours max.

However --- I hear that there are chargers that allow you to charge your
laptop on the aircraft seat socket? Is this true and any recommendations on
the best of the best out there?

I will be flying a combination of Continental/Swiss/AA airlines if that
helps.

Thanks.

p.s. I'd rather not have to buy a 12-cell battery, since that would kill
this rather light and mobile laptop! But if that's the only choice......

"Brett Aires" wrote:

I hear that there are chargers that allow you to charge
your laptop on the aircraft seat socket? Is this true and any
recommendations on the best of the best out there?

I will be flying a combination of Continental/Swiss/AA airlines if
that helps.

Here is a site that shows which aircraft have power ports, and what type
they are.

http://seatguru.com/

You will need to look at the current schedules, and determine what type
of aircraft you will likely be flying in, then look at that particular
model on the above site.

In short, Swiss only has power ports in business and first. None in
economy. American and Continental have them on their long-haul aircraft,
at all seats in the premium classes, but only at some seats in economy.

Look also in the "Travel Resources" menu on the left of the page for a
discussion of the various types of connections. You might need to
obtain a special charger to use the power ports.

On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 02:37:32 GMT, "Brett Aires" wrote:

Hi,

However --- I hear that there are chargers that allow you to charge your
laptop on the aircraft seat socket? Is this true and any recommendations on
the best of the best out there?

I will be flying a combination of Continental/Swiss/AA airlines if that
helps.


As others have said, check "setguru.com" for specifics on your airline. Some seats differ in the type of power
provided. Some have "AC" power, some have something called "EmPower" (CO has this). Make sure you have an
adaptor that can handle the type of power your seat provides. Also, make sure you fly an aircraft where the
laptop port power is offered (CO generally offers it on it's 777's and 767's for all BF seats but only a
limited # of coach seats).

Another important factor is how much power your laptop draws. These seats (under Empower especially) usually
only put out 70watts. Be sure your laptop doesn't draw any more than that or it may not work. Sadly, my laptop
draws 160 watts @ 19.5 volts DC (it's a huge 17" Vaio) and so for most Empower adaptors like the "Juice-70,"
it fails - it won't even power up. I'm actually thinking of having to get a smaller one just for air travel. I
can't seem to find an adaptor that will convert properly.

Finally, understand that using a laptop in flight can be seen by some FA's as a safety risk (not necessarily
from a "terrorist" angle, but more "turbulence" angle). On my most recent long haul flight, I seemed to have
drawn "Atilla the FA" who constantly reminded me that at the slightest hint of turbulence (ie. when "fasten
seat belt sign is turned on), I would have to pack up the laptop and put it away. Each and every time!!!

Not very conducive to watching a 2 hour movie.... sigh

____________________________________________
Regards,

Arnold

"Jim Davis" wrote:

You can buy an adaptor that will fit in the airlines sockets, providing
the aircraft *has* the sockets available. You'll probibly have to
check with the airline, although someone else in the group may have
more knowledge on the subject.

Some airlines have standard 110v outlets that take a standard power cord. Others
require the use of an "Empower" cord which comes in 3 or 4 versions, some of
which look like a miniature cigarette lighter plug.

One thing you should keep in mind is that most seat systems do not provide
enough current to operate the computer with the battery installed. The charging
circuit will overload the outlet and trip the breaker.

mag3 wrote:

Another important factor is how much power your laptop draws. These seats (under Empower especially) usually
only put out 70watts. Be sure your laptop doesn't draw any more than that or it may not work. Sadly, my laptop
draws 160 watts @ 19.5 volts DC (it's a huge 17" Vaio) and so for most Empower adaptors like the "Juice-70,"
it fails - it won't even power up. I'm actually thinking of having to get a smaller one just for air travel. I
can't seem to find an adaptor that will convert properly.

You might also try removing the battery. The charging circuit counts for a large
part of the current the laptop draws.

On a recent Lufthansa flight, I had a bunch of people asking me how I was able
to operate my laptop for the better part of the flight when theirs kept dying.

On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 22:13:44 -0700, Rick Blaine wrote:

mag3 wrote:

Another important factor is how much power your laptop draws. These seats (under Empower especially) usually
only put out 70watts. Be sure your laptop doesn't draw any more than that or it may not work. Sadly, my laptop
draws 160 watts @ 19.5 volts DC (it's a huge 17" Vaio) and so for most Empower adaptors like the "Juice-70,"
it fails - it won't even power up. I'm actually thinking of having to get a smaller one just for air travel. I
can't seem to find an adaptor that will convert properly.

You might also try removing the battery. The charging circuit counts for a large
part of the current the laptop draws.

Sorry.That doesn't work with the Juice-70 adaptor. It's simply not putting out enough wattage. I have seen
adaptors though that put out 140 watts with an Empower source, and maybe removing the battery with one of
those might just work.

Worth a try anyway.

____________________________________________
Regards,

Arnold

mag3 wrote:

Another important factor is how much power your laptop draws. These seats (under Empower especially) usually
only put out 70watts. Be sure your laptop doesn't draw any more than that or it may not work. Sadly, my laptop
draws 160 watts @ 19.5 volts DC (it's a huge 17" Vaio) and so for most Empower adaptors like the "Juice-70,"
it fails - it won't even power up. I'm actually thinking of having to get a smaller one just for air travel. I
can't seem to find an adaptor that will convert properly.

I saw this "laptop to laptop" varition occur personally last month:
the guy sitting in the row with me had been on a series of flights and
was running out of juice, so he bought the Empower adaptor off of the
"In flight Duty Free" cart. He proceeded to plug it in, get a green
status light, etc, but the thing would trip as soon as he plugged in
his Dell.

In trying to troubleshoot the device (to see if he had gotten a
defective adaptor), we plugged in my IBM laptop and the system worked
fine.

The tyrrany is that we checked through all of the specifications and
his Dell *should* have worked (being 70W), but still did not. Perhaps
the battery charging was the underlying issue, but we didn't know that
trick at the time.

Overall, I see the Empower jacks as a good idea, but one that was
poorly implimented, since it does seem that too many people have
problems. And considering that products such as the "iGO" are
relatively heavy copper/iron transformer bricks, in some circumstances,
you're probably better off buying/carrying a second battery pack.


-hh

"-hh" wrote:

Overall, I see the Empower jacks as a good idea, but one that was
poorly implimented, since it does seem that too many people have
problems.

True, but consider what they were up against: A retrofit solution for a fleet of
older aircraft that have a limited amount of current to share with 150 or more
seats.

Ideally it would have been good if they could have provided a 2000w 110v jack at
each seat, but that leads to people trying to run equipment that isn't allowed
("What's wrong with this space heater, I'm cold!)

Although some airlines have current limited 110v jacks, by going with Empower,
they at least control the users to those who might have some understanding of
the limitations.

I suspect newer "all electric" aircraft like the 787 will have much more
capability in this area.

And considering that products such as the "iGO" are
relatively heavy copper/iron transformer bricks, in some circumstances,
you're probably better off buying/carrying a second battery pack.

Very true.

In message Rick Blaine
wrote:

"-hh" wrote:

Overall, I see the Empower jacks as a good idea, but one that was
poorly implimented, since it does seem that too many people have
problems.

True, but consider what they were up against: A retrofit solution for a fleet of
older aircraft that have a limited amount of current to share with 150 or more
seats.

Ideally it would have been good if they could have provided a 2000w 110v jack at
each seat, but that leads to people trying to run equipment that isn't allowed
("What's wrong with this space heater, I'm cold!)

Is a diesel generator on the forbidden list?

--
If you take a shower, where do you put it?

p.s. I'd rather not have to buy a 12-cell battery, since that would kill
this rather light and mobile laptop! But if that's the only choice......

If you do have to go this route, keep in mind you'll get much better
battery life if you 'rip' the movies to your hard drive and watch them
from it, as opposed to just putting a DVD in your drive - The DVD will
spin continuously for 2 hours and eat up battery life like nobody's
business. Also, if it's a PC-laptop you can go into the bios and
adjust the backlight settings, which will extend your battery life.

The other thing to keep in mind is if you're in economy you may not
have seat pitch space to watch a movie anyway. If you're in economy
and the person in front of you reclines you'll barely be able to open a
paperback book, much less a laptop. At least that's been my experience
with my laptop.

Finally, you may want to shop for some good headphones, or get a
"Boostaroo" ( http://www.boostaroo.com/ ) - A number of the laptops
I've had over the years (Toshiba & Dell to name two) simply didn't
output a 'loud' enough signal out of the headphone jack for me to hear
a movie clearly - It needed to be further amplified. A good test would
be to put the headphones on and watch a movie on a city bus at rush
hour. If you can hear it you should be fine.

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada