apple magsafe airline adapter

Quoted from Apple:

Important notes:

• Using the MagSafe Airline Adapter provides power for your computer but does not charge the battery.
• The MagSafe Airline Adapter is not compatible with automobile power ports.

The airline adapter has a special chip inside the head, which disables charging. Info comes from this informative link: http://pangea.stanford.edu/%7Eschmitt/magsafe/

Ok, I'll chip in here with some facts.

1: The airline adapter can be used in a airplane or a vehicle, the airplane uses something like 15v and the cars 12v.

2: Airplanes and most vehicles don't have enough power to charge the battery, however the airline adapter will extend the life of a fully charged battery.

3: Step up transformers like 12v to 110V converters, then using the 110v to 13-15v Magsafe step down transformers (aka Mac white power brick) doesn't miraculously work either, power still needs to come from the original 12v end. So doing this in a lot of normal vehicles can burn out the wires or cause fuses to blow.

Now there are some 12v systems in RV's, generators and boats that can produce a lot of consistent power that can run air conditioners, microwaves, TV's and the like, it's this sort of system that #3 can likely work and what those adpaters was designed for.

4: Not confirmed yet, but it's looking like one can't use the airline adapter on a empty battery.

5: Portable solar charging a Mac is impractical. You need a large enough solar system to generate enough power, perhaps if the roof of a large RV was covered with panels it could work.

squirrel20 wrote:

I have already asked the people at apple if it can be used in the car and they said yes.

Yes it can be used in the car, but it only extends the life of a fully charged battery, however the official Apple stance it's not designed to work in a car, obviously because a car only supplies 12v and the adapter requires 15v.

In other words its a harmless hardware hack, using something other than it's original exact intention.

You can use it in the car, but don't expect Apple to back up any warranty/AppleCare claim if a issue arises out of mis-use of the device.

There are 12v to 15v adapters, which if placed between the car and the airline adapter, supply it with enough power and thus meet the incoming voltage requirements.

No, it is not designed to be used in your car.

More Info

No. The expect and input voltage of 15 volts.

Allan

After reading the specs for the airline adapter, I would say that who ever you spoke to at Apple does know what they are talking about. But it is your equipment so do as you please.

Allan