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Last Post
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May 27, 2006 11:41 AM
by: Geofrey Wyatt
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Posts:
79
Registered:
Nov 19, 2004
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the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Mar 29, 2006 3:55 PM
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I'd be interested in whether people think this problem is specific to my machine, or general.
I do too much travel on planes. I therefore couldn't begin to use my MPB until I could buy 3 batteries (about a month after I got the machine), and I also had to buy an inverter, since I couldn't find any iGo like tip to connect to the new magnet connection.
The first inverter I got was a Targus. It promised 90w - above the reported 85w drawn by the machine. Four flights, never would it work. Everytime, it would trip because too much power was demanded. I then bought a "CyberPower" inverter, promising 120w. That worked for a good 3 hours on an internatinoal flight, but then it began flaking as well. I then discovered that if I had a fully charged battery (so it wasn't trying to charge), it worked fine. So the obvious "solution" is either to have a fully charged battery, or to remove the battery -- though that's obviously a bit dangerous, since the cord disconnects from the laptop so easily.
This is a big problem with the machine. Is it just mine, or is it general? And is there any useful way to control how much power the unit draws? Notice, the processor speed control has been removed from the Energy Saver panel.
MBP Mac OS X (10.4.5)
PB G4
Mac OS X (10.3.6)
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Posts:
148
Registered:
Mar 12, 2006
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Posts:
437
Registered:
Jan 25, 2006
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Mar 29, 2006 5:21 PM
in response to: Lawrence Lessig
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You have to factor in the inefficieny in an interverter as well.
Most are less than 60% efficient, so you should size your inverter for a 85 W adapter so that it can deliver at least 150W.
Also, the fact that they don't do a good job of outputting a real size wave (its usually more stepped square wave), also increases the effective load.
MacBook Pro 2.0
Mac OS X (10.4.5)
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Posts:
79
Registered:
Nov 19, 2004
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Mar 30, 2006 1:48 AM
in response to: mcowger
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But then is there a way to have power on an airplane with a MBP?
MBP
Mac OS X (10.4.5)
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Posts:
444
Registered:
Oct 23, 2005
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Mar 30, 2006 9:19 AM
in response to: Lawrence Lessig
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Dr. Lessig: I can't vouch for these personally, but others have posted that these Statpower inverters have worked for them:
http://www.dsmiller.com/html/Electronics-Mobile-Audio-Power-Inverters-XPOWER-POCKET-175.htm
Most inverters on the market hit the 90% mark under low/moderate loads, good ones stay close to that under full load. Cheap models may drop down to 50-60% efficiency under full load, but those are the bottom of the barrel and should be avoided. Still, if you were attempting to use a 90W adapter, it's likely it won't cut it for a device drawing 85W. But a 120W adapter should be able to handle it, unless it's sub-par in some way. This one is 175W, so I'd hope it would be more than sufficient.
I don't know the efficiency stats on this particular model, but Statpower has cheaper car inverters that run at about 90% efficiency, so I'd guess that this one is at least as good.
I'd be curious to know what the true max power draw is for the MacBook. The Apple inverter is rated at 85W, up from 65W for the PowerBook, so I'd guess that it's somewhere between 50-70W.
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Posts:
444
Registered:
Oct 23, 2005
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Mar 30, 2006 9:37 AM
in response to: Lawrence Lessig
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In terms of limiting the power draw of the machine, I'd do the same things people do to reduce battery draw: turn off any unnecessary radios (Bluetooth, WiFi), turn down the screen brightness, do whatever Energy Saver options are available (spin down disks when possible, use "Better Energy Savings" option, etc.). But I'd still seek out an adapter that can power the MacBook on full demand, to be safe.
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Posts:
79
Registered:
Nov 19, 2004
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Apr 2, 2006 9:58 AM
in response to: jim farley
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I'll try the 175 watt version (third inverter purchased for this machine), but it would also be very cool to have a software way to turn off battery charging.
MBP
Mac OS X (10.4.5)
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Posts:
36
Registered:
Apr 26, 2005
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Apr 2, 2006 10:20 AM
in response to: Lawrence Lessig
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Helpful
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This is REALLY getting old. I travel a lot and I need a car/airplane adaptor! This is a portable laptop right? I am at a loss as to how the MacBook Pro Product Manager could let this situation go for so long. There should have been an Apple solution at launch or an agreement with one of the major suppliers to have a product shortly after. This has gone on too long and forced me on more than one occasion to revert back to my PowerBook. I've already written to every manufacturer I can think of. I hoep all of you are too!
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.4.5)
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Posts:
24
Registered:
May 20, 2005
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Apr 10, 2006 9:50 PM
in response to: Lawrence Lessig
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I just flew internationally on a plane with AC power so thought I could work on the flight. However, the power is limited to 75W and shuts off for the MBP. I think this is a pretty general restriction.
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.4.6)
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Posts:
2
Registered:
Sep 22, 2004
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Apr 26, 2006 11:20 AM
in response to: Lawrence Lessig
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I recommended the Kensington Ultra Portable Power Inverter 150 to someone. It didn't work. The light on the inverter was green, but would switch to red as soon as the A/C brick was plugged in.
Are there any other recommendations?
Mac OS X (10.4.6)
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Posts:
17
Registered:
Apr 13, 2006
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
Apr 27, 2006 6:49 PM
in response to: JHalvorson
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Same happened to me. I was on 4 planes this week and the inverter did not work with my mbp. It is really frustrating as I am finding a few things that are reason to return my mbp. Any suggestions? My major problems are about airline converters, isight not working, audio chat not working....
Mac Book Pro
Mac OS X (10.4.6)
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Posts:
24
Registered:
May 20, 2005
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
May 2, 2006 4:15 AM
in response to: Lawrence Lessig
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I just discovered that the AC adapter on planes will work with the MBP IF you have a fully charged battery. As long as it is just powering the MBP, the power drain must be low enough that the overload switch does not trip. With a 1/2 charged battery, it tripped right away.
MBP 2GB
Mac OS X (10.4.6)
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Posts:
11,001
Registered:
May 26, 2003
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
May 2, 2006 5:00 AM
in response to: William J. Radu...
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Or remove the battery.
You don't need the battery to run the MBP when powered by AC.
iFelix
G5 PowerMac Dual 2GHz G4 PowerBook 1.5GHz MacBook Pro 2Ghz Mac mini 1.5GHz
Mac OS X (10.4.5)
iPod video, P910i, AEBS, AX, eyeTV, VAIO, Windows XP, 2000, TARDIS, Citroen C3
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Posts:
1,226
Registered:
Feb 23, 2006
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
May 2, 2006 6:28 AM
in response to: iFelix
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No, but you’re vulnerable to power interruptions, including the disconnection of the MagSafe, in ways you are not when a battery is installed.
If you’re going to do this, be very careful not to let the MagSafe connector disconnect.
Randall Schulz
iMac 20" Core Duo; MacBook Pro
Mac OS X (10.4.6)
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Posts:
3
Registered:
May 2, 2006
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Re: the problem with airplanes and the MBP
Posted:
May 2, 2006 9:41 AM
in response to: William J. Radu...
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Just as a data-point, I used a CyberPower 120w inverter to power my MBP (with fully charged batery) for many hours on an international flight last week.
On the way back I was on Lufthansa, which had 110v ac outlets right in the seat... but it wouldn't stay on for my MBP no matter what... I suspect the limiter was very sensitive.. after I tripped it 5 times it stayed off for the entire flight.
It would be nice to have a bootup key that put the MBP in "very low power consumption" mode or something...
MacBook Pro 2ghz
Mac OS X (10.4.6)
2g ram, 7200rpm 100g
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