Advice on moving computer:AC Inverter
Gabriel24
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Hello, I need to move my computer to a distant location, and the battery lasts only one hour. I have a Vector 750 Watt Inverter that I connect to the battery of my Van for other tools. I am not sure if the computer connected to the Inverter will cause damage to the software or memory. I have not been able to find a battery to install to my computer which lasts more than five hours. So, I have to trust the Inverter getting power from the battery of the Van. Has anyone tried this connection? Has anyone connected the computer to the Inverter? Any advice?Thanks. I appreciate any advice because I am afraid to damage the software.
Replies
Yes I have done that it worked very well. Mine was a laptop though.
why not just turn the PC off for the move?
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This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George needs to have an electrician rig up a temporary battery to an old "Frogger" arcade video game while he unplugs it and moves it (because his high score from his old high school days is still on the game, and he doesn't want to lose it).
"Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." - St. Francis of Assisi
I know there has just GOT to be some reason behind this.Just can't stretch my imagination far enough to know what it is.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
i too am curious, mystery of the day.
what could possibly be the reason for not wanting to turn off the computer?
After reading it twice, I'm going to venture that the distant location, where the computer will be located, has no power, and therefore will have to run off the van.
But that's only because I couldn't make any logical sense out of the alternative. Drive for less than an hour to a place with power, run in with an extension cord, until you recharge the battery, then drive another hour.....long way to go cross country.
I can to the same conclusion that you did.I think that it was just poorly worded..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Thank You for the advice and the sense of humor. If I already have the Vector A.C.Inverter, that I use for other tools, why do I want to stop every hour in a gasoline station to ask for power? To charge my battery?...As far as shutting off the computer, there is no mystery. I was merely asking if the A.C. Inverter will damage the software.Therefore, the only thing that remains to be said is "Thank You for your sense of humor".
I was merely asking if the A.C. Inverter will damage the software.
Actually too many variables.
Normally, you have a/c power, in the US at 60Hz, coming in the power cable to the power supply. The p/s then uses a transformer to bring the voltage down to that used by the internal components. The better the p/s, the less it "passes" variations in the a/c power through to the important parts inside the computer. Some of the internal components are at risk from changes in voltage, caches and RAM, for example.
Some inverters are better at converting 12VDC to 120VAC. That generally devolves into an EE argument about wave forms, cycles and the like. Some places have a/c power a bit like that, too. Generally, a better UPS will "condition" the incoming power, as well as help guard against voltage changes. So, having a a UPS is generally a good idea. Keeping one in-line while using an inverter is probably also a good idea. Note that inverter sizing will be as important as UPS sizing.
Now, the greater risk of traveling cross-country with a running computer is in hitting enough of a bump or pothole to jar one of the spinning crucial bits of hardware. Now, wobbling a fan is bad, power suppy fan very bad. Wobbling the read heads into the HDD, on the other hand (crashing them into the media surface) is uniformly bad, although that's not a "software" problem--except for where the magnetic media bearing it is damaged.
This gets very exciting in setting up stormchaser vans, trust me.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
This brief electronic explaination was what I was looking for. Thank You. Also, I appreciate the tip about " Hitting enough of a bump or pothole to jar one of the spinning crucial bits of hardware."I di not think about that. Thank You.
Hitting enough of a bump or pothole to jar one of the spinning crucial bits of hardware."I did not think about that
Neither did the storm chasers, not until about the third time.
Modern HDDs use so many disks anymore that the read head clearances are getting in the micron range (if only to not need that many fractional millimeters). Makes them vunerable to stout hits, especially at right angles to the disk plane.
It can help to consider all of the parts used as expendable. Also, that all data needs backing up at nearly every stop (or mirroring, or both). Which gets to some tough sledding if we are talking about a person's only computer, stockpiing enough parts to build another gets pricey, quick. But one HDD crash can expensive too. About 10-15¢ the byte to manually read off in a clean room, one disc at a time.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads started offering a feature a few years ago where an accelerometer triggers the drive head to park. If you drop it, it senses it's falling and the drive head parks itself before it hits the ground. At least that's the theory - don't know how the reality is.
http://www.pc.ibm.com/ca/think/thinkvantagetech/aps.html
-Nate
OK, now I get it: will my inverter damage the software?
It might. Not definitely.
There is no way to tell. It depends on how well the power supply for your computer was designed. How pure and accurate of a signal does it need? The inverter probably does not put out a pure sine wave signal and may be off frequency or voltage. Why not connect the inverter to the computer for a couple of hours before you attempt the move? That way if there is a problem, you'll know about it in time to reconnect to the power grid.
Actually, That is a very good idea, and if I could reach, I would kick myself in the behind for not thinking that. I am going to try for a couple of hours over-here, and if it works fine then, I will travel. Thank You.
OK, I think some of the confusion here is because you are calling a "laptop" a "computer" - technicly it is, but a more accurate description is "portable computer" or just "laptop". When you just say "computer", everyone thinks of the 22"x22"x9" beige box plugged into the wall... which might work just fine off an inverter...
If I interpreted your question correctly, you are asking if you can charge and run your laptop of an inverter plugged into your van. Yes, you can. I do it all the time. As a matter of fact, airlines are starting to put in cigarette lighter (ironic, isn't it) sockets under the seats so you can recharge phones and computers in flight with an inverter.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Save the Whales! and Guns!
Thank You for the encouraging input. Tha was good news that they have now cigarette lighters to charge computers inside the airplanes. Thank You.
last I checked when I worked on airliners it was not a cigarette lighter socket. It's smaller and has a couple of different pins in it. Google empower or inpower inflight charging or something like that. The system is switched from a flight atendant station IIRC.
Some airlines still use the older proprietary power outlet, but I've only seen that once - and yes, I do have that adapter... but I'd never needed it for years - until I got on that one flight!
No, this is the standard barrel outlet that you have on your car dashboard, neutral aound the outside, positive on the center pin, about an inch wide hole.
Both United and American have them now. They alternate the rows that have them, and they are placed between the seats. Not every plane model has them. Older planes might use that proprietary outlet. There is a little LED that lights up when there is current available. Note: The flight attendents can be clueless about turning them on however. Last flight took me three requests to get them powered up - and then only the other side of the plane powered on. Lucky for me there were few seats occupied and I could just move over to a working outlet.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Save the Whales! and Guns!
I have 2 PCs running in a car and truck as MP3 players (since way before MP3 players were the size of a BIC lighter). I have never had a problem with bouncing around hurting the hard drive, inverters hurting anything or cranking them up in a 120 degree car.