#272575 - 20/12/2005 03:15
Airplane laptop adapters?
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I'm going to be taking a long trip on one of these in January. I don't actually need something this expensive to make use of the armrest power jack, do I? I mean, really all one should need is a wire with the proper plug at either end, right? Isn't that the point of the amrest power jacks? The latptop in question is a Toshiba Satellite M45-S169 if that's relevant.
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#272576 - 20/12/2005 08:24
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: tfabris]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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The airline seat power is usually 15V DC in an "Empower" socket, and you need an adapter to step this up/down to whatever the laptop requires. I got a cheap adapter from CPC here in the UK, it cost £20 and worked fine, but ony supplied up to 75W. I got a higher power unit for my boss's Sony but he said it didn't work on any of the flights he took on a trip to Australia, however I don't know if it overloaded the adapter, the seat power or sometime else, I keep meaning to test in in the car and see if it works there.
Gareth
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#272577 - 20/12/2005 12:41
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: g_attrill]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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I've been using the Targus version of the same thing for 5 years. $20 cheaper than the one you linked. It's powered every laptop I've thrown at it (Dell, Toshiba, Sony, IBM, Compaq) as well as my Empeg on many occasions. Yes, I carried my empeg onto the plane with me and plugged it up for some tunes before I got a Karma.
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~ John
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#272578 - 20/12/2005 14:00
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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The last time I got on a plane with a power adapter, I went out of my way during booking to select a seat that had a socket on it. When I got on the plane, the socket was right where it should have been, but there was no power coming out of it. So make sure you have some sort of backup plan.
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Bitt Faulk
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#272579 - 20/12/2005 20:19
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14491
Loc: Canada
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Quote:
When I got on the plane, the socket was right where it should have been, but there was no power coming out of it. So make sure you have some sort of backup plan.
Or ask the steward(ess) to turn it on for you -- there's a switch somewhere, and they turn it off until in mid-flight, when they remember to.
Cheers
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#272580 - 20/12/2005 20:37
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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I specifically asked about it. She effectively said "too bad".
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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#272581 - 20/12/2005 21:23
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: wfaulk]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 25/08/2000
Posts: 2413
Loc: NH USA
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Yeah, it's so much easier to say that than 'I don't know where the switch is, sorry!' or 'I don't feel like bothering, sorry!'.
I hate when people hide their ignorance or laziness behind their authority.
Of course that might not have been the case, but I'd bet a quarter on it.
-Zeke
_________________________
WWFSMD?
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#272582 - 21/12/2005 15:01
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: Ezekiel]
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veteran
Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1525
Loc: Arizona
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There have been a lot of those adapters going bad, especially on the Airbus series. With the airlines as strapped for cash as they are, the adapters are pretty low on the priority list. There was an article in the paper a couple days ago about how US Air wasn't planning on fixing any of the adapters until the passenger backlash hit. If the flight attendant can't help you, it might not be their fault.
- Tim
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#272583 - 21/12/2005 16:14
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: wfaulk]
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addict
Registered: 23/12/2002
Posts: 652
Loc: Winston Salem, NC
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Which reminds me of the last time I flew internationally. I was on a Washington, D.C. metro and was excited to read an advertisment on the wall of the train concerning the availability of wireless internet on all Lufthansa flights between Washington and Frankfurt or Munich. A week later, as I was in transit over the Atlantic towards Frankfurt, I powered up my laptop but could not receive a signal. I questioned a flight attendant and was cheerfully informed that the feature was not yet enabled on most flights. Talk about pre-hyping a product.
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#272584 - 25/12/2005 15:38
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: tfabris]
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enthusiast
Registered: 30/01/2002
Posts: 264
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Do all Airbus jets have this adaptor, or just the US Airways version?
I have flown America West for years, but I have never noticed this adaptor (Of course, I have never looked for it either). If not, then the question is,
Are you on a US Airways jet, or an America West jet?
I have not flown in the last few weeks, so I don't know if they are keeping the fleets seperate.
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Steve
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#272585 - 25/12/2005 16:10
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: lockuplever]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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SeatGuru.com will tell you which seats on an airline's fleet have in-seat power. Usually for economy class, only the first few rows have power.
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-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#272586 - 25/12/2005 16:48
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: robricc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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Wow, that is a SLICK site. Man I love the intarwebs! Just this morning I helped my mom solve a moaning water pipe problem in a matter of minutes that has been plaguing them for weeks! I hope someone is writing all this stuff down... =]
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#272587 - 25/12/2005 17:28
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: lockuplever]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
Do all Airbus jets have this adaptor, or just the US Airways version?
According to this page at US Airways' web site (which I linked in my initial post in this thread), it is specifically certain models of Airbus A3xx series flown by US Airways. Based on that other site just linked, certain other airlines flying the same model of jet do not have laptop power in the seats. So it seems to be something offered by the airline as opposed to being built-in to the airplane. Neat link, Rob, thanks.
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#272588 - 25/12/2005 23:43
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Quote:
So it seems to be something offered by the airline as opposed to being built-in to the airplane. Neat link, Rob, thanks.
Most stuff on an airplane is like that. Pretty much everything is an optional extra which the carrier may request to be installed. Like seat back TVs etc...
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#272589 - 26/12/2005 07:50
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: tman]
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veteran
Registered: 01/10/2001
Posts: 1307
Loc: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Quote:
Most stuff on an airplane is like that. Pretty much everything is an optional extra which the carrier may request to be installed. Like seat back TVs etc...
Well, often the interior isn't even done by the original airframe manufacturer. Marshalls of Cambridge actually do a fair bit of business on aircraft interiors.
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#272590 - 26/12/2005 18:53
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
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Quote:
Quote:
So it seems to be something offered by the airline as opposed to being built-in to the airplane. Neat link, Rob, thanks.
Most stuff on an airplane is like that. Pretty much everything is an optional extra which the carrier may request to be installed. Like seat back TVs etc...
To true! Every ounce of weight = fuel burned.
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Glenn
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#272591 - 28/12/2005 01:43
Re: Airplane laptop adapters?
[Re: robricc]
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enthusiast
Registered: 30/01/2002
Posts: 264
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Thanks Rob. I fly on average a couple of times a month, that web site will be quite handy!
_________________________
Steve
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