DIY iBook Power Adapter

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Level 1

8 points

DIY iBook Power Adapter

I would like to adapt my iBook clamshell power adapter for use with my 2002 iBook. I got an iBook (details at bottom) out of the trash, but did not get a power cord for it. I have looked online but it seems even a generic power adapter would cost $20 - $40. The ibook happens to be suffering from the common GPU logic board failure and I'm not really interested in spending any money on it since it's living on borrowed time. I have power adapters for iBook clamshells (3, all out of the trash) and both versions of the iBooks have the same power requirements (24V 1.875A). The only problem is that the plug on the power adapter will not fit the 2002 iBook. Can I just buy a plug for a few dollars and wire the connections from the power adapter myself?

iBook G3 Mid 2002 (May 20, 2002), 700 MHz, ATI Mobility Radeon 16 MB VRAM, A1007, 14.1 16VRAM iBook

Power Mac G4, eMac, iBook G3 clamshell, iBook G3 dual USB, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Feb 26, 2009 10:29 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 26, 2009 10:36 AM in response to Mario1776

This will do the trick, but costs almost as much as an adapter:

http://www.thefind.com/query.php?query=%22generationgap%22iBook

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Answer 2

Mario1776 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 27, 2009 3:50 PM in response to Mario1776

I have looked at a converter ($20) that can connect to old G3 power adapters for use with G4 laptops, as well as a plug + cord ($14). It's still more money than I am willing to spend on a dying laptop.

To save money, I would like to solder the wires from a power adapter directly to the contacts on the DC board. For the wiring I have read that the center -white- is positive and the shielding is the negative, but looking at the DC board it seems the plug has five connections. Which connections should the two power adapter wires connect to?

The link below is to a pic of the DC board
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6842/dcboard.jpg

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