It's a pity that laptop makers don't either design their machines to
> operate on a nominal 13.8 VDC or sell a relatively inexpensive and
> commonly available 13.8-to-[whatever DC voltage the laptop uses on
> whatever oddball connector they use that seems to be unique to that make
> and model and likely serial number and unavailable anywhere].
Uh, Apple laptops plug into EmPower without transformers.
-Bill
Not the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros - Apple changed the connector, and so far have apparently refused to license it to third parties, nor have they come out with an airline power adaptor of their own.
So, on the rare occasions I find DC in-flight power available, I use an AC inverter with the airline power adaptor and then plug my MacBook's AC adaptor into that. As others have indicated, AC is in fact available on Lufthansa in business class and higher.
Once upon a time, Jay Hennigan <jay@west.net> said:
Into which the laptop user plugs the inverter he has in his carry-on
that he bought for use in the rental car, producing 115vac (240 if from
Europe). Into this he plugs the laptop SMPS, into which he plugs the
laptop. Horribly inefficient, but that's the way Joe Sixpack does it.
He probably doesn't have much of a choice.
My Thinkpad power brick has both AC and DC (car/airline) power cables.
ditto KLM Business class in a 777.
f
And on SAS it's available on Economy Plus and higher.
Excerpts from Owen DeLong on Sun, Oct 15, 2006 08:14:48AM -0700:
This may be a nit, but, you will _NEVER_ see AC power at any
In addition to all of the offered AC services others have mentioned,
some planes have power outlets for vacuum cleaners, typically behind a
small panel next to a door.
In addition to all of the offered AC services others have mentioned,
some planes have power outlets for vacuum cleaners, typically behind a
small panel next to a door.
Definitely don¹t use these hoover power supplies, UK train users will see
these with a warning tag due to the excessive outgoing voltage you might get
to your laptop.
Colin
Scott W Brim wrote:
Excerpts from Owen DeLong on Sun, Oct 15, 2006 08:14:48AM -0700:
This may be a nit, but, you will _NEVER_ see AC power at any
In addition to all of the offered AC services others have mentioned,
some planes have power outlets for vacuum cleaners, typically behind a
small panel next to a door.
ISTR, these AC sockets are "airplane flavour" 115VAC @ 400Hz.
Use at your own peril, though I know at least one person who did run a Powerbook off one, and it survived (though I'm told that the PSU ran quite hot).
Mike
and you will NEVER see this service again until there is a monetary incenctive to offer said service. So.. why is this still a discussion?
In addition to all of the offered AC services others have mentioned,
some planes have power outlets for vacuum cleaners, typically behind a
small panel next to a door.ISTR, these AC sockets are "airplane flavour" 115VAC @ 400Hz.
No. it's 60 Hz. See this picture of one of the outlets.
and this page from Qantas web site
http://www.qantas.com.au/info/flying/inTheAir/communications
Don't you think that airlines would be smart enough not to install
power outlets that would destroy the equipment that the customers plug
into them?
There are two different things that are being talked about here. If your seat has an obviously-meant-for-customer-use outlet, it's definitely going to be 60Hz.
There are other outlets that look like regular North American outlets, but hidden behind an access panel. Usually on the floor or near a door, with no markings on the outside as to what they're for. These *are* 400Hz, and are meant for support crew to clean the aircraft with, maintenance tools, etc.
I just asked a flight attendant friend of mine about them, and she says they're present on many of the aircraft she's worked on. Initially the flight crew would look the other way when a traveller would plug their laptop in, but with a "that might fry your laptop" warning if they were feeling especially generous. Not too long ago though, they were instructed to aggressively stop people from using the outlets. Partially out of fear that someone's power supply/battery would fail in some spectacular way at 30,000 feet, and partially because they have a lesser known secondary use.
While she's never seen any of it in use, there are medical devices designed to be able to use these outlets in an emergency or for a critically ill patient being transported. They're specially designed to accept 400Hz power, and draw more power than the seat provided passenger outlets. If you somehow popped the breaker for the 400Hz maintenance outlet, several bad things happen... They're required to reset the breaker, which is located in a very inconvenient place. Not only can they not take off if the alarm showing that this breaker is tripped is active, but there's some very slight chance that you've just broken the power feed that might be needed in an emergency.
She says she's only heard of one person breaking their laptop (or power supply, she wasn't sure) from trying to use one of those outlets with dozens more cases of seeing people using them without problem, but at least on her airline she's not allowed to look the other way if she sees anyone trying to use them anymore. She recalls at least one fight where they were delayed at the gate waiting for someone to go reset the breaker under the cabin floor to restore power to it, even though they had nobody onboard with a device that was supposed to be used in it.
What time does the 4:20 flight take off?
All that is needed is for there to be coverage in economy cabins equipped with EmPower, such as transcon 767-400 and 777.
Thus spake "Kevin Day" <toasty@dragondata.com>
There are two different things that are being talked about here. If
your seat has an obviously-meant-for-customer-use outlet, it's
definitely going to be 60Hz.
... or DC.
There are other outlets that look like regular North American
outlets, but hidden behind an access panel. Usually on the floor or
near a door, with no markings on the outside as to what they're for.
These *are* 400Hz, and are meant for support crew to clean the
aircraft with, maintenance tools, etc.
I've seen many outlets on planes marked 400Hz, usually in the galleys.
I've never seen one that a customer could use without running an
extension cord down the aisle, though.
I agree that power isn't as critical on board as the network access; my
laptop battery lasts about 6hrs, and I've got a second one in my bag I
keep charged just in case. Many airports provide outlets at the gates
you can use to charge phones and laptops before takeoff, and for
non-transoceanic flights that's good enough for virtually everyone these
days.
My problem with Connexion was that it's (a) too pricey for my company's
expense rules, and (b) not available on enough planes to factor into my
travel plans anyways. I don't doubt that it's worth the $27.95/flight,
but my company allows a max of $10.00 for internet access. Even if I
could somehow convince the trolls in accounting to accept triple the
standard hotspot rate because it's on a plane, the IRS requires an
original receipt for any expenses over $25 and Connexion doesn't
provide one. No dice. Three dollars cheaper and I'd use it regularly;
$9.95 and I'd use it every single flight.
Instead, I use my company's corporate account at the departure airport hotspot to grab all my mail, work on it during the flight, and then use the hotspot at the other end to send it all when I land. That's good enough for a 2-5hr flight, and it doesn't get me in trouble with accounting.
S
Stephen Sprunk "God does not play dice." --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723 "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking
So, given that some of us aren't required to submit original receipts for things like rental cars etc, I think you might want to ask a good accountant to check into the veracity of that statement and try to discern between a company's accounting troll policy and actual law. Credit card transaction records are sufficient for some expenses (except hotels), far above $25.
Best regards,
Christian
The actual law is insanely vague and requires "proof and a written record".
The court system and IRS have been all over the map about what constitutes
proof vs. just a written record, and, as such, accounting trolls have developed
a myriad of different policies.
However, I think we have wandered far afield from the operational portion
of this topic.
Owen
Many portals for hotspot services provide an HTML splash page with the amount paid - one can save that to one's hard drive and print it out later.
And, of course, this thread is now irretrievably off-topic, heh.
In article <C1584DC1.2DB69%colinj@mx5.org.uk>, Colin Johnston <colinj@mx5.org.uk> writes
In addition to all of the offered AC services others have mentioned,
some planes have power outlets for vacuum cleaners, typically behind a
small panel next to a door.Definitely don�t use these hoover power supplies, UK train users will see
these with a warning tag due to the excessive outgoing voltage you might get
to your laptop.
Although many UK trains that have been manufactured or refurbished in the last few years have clean AC sockets next to every pair of seats (even in coach). And some also have Wifi (to get a little closer on-topic).
John Levine wrote:
In addition to all of the offered AC services others have mentioned,
some planes have power outlets for vacuum cleaners, typically behind a
small panel next to a door.ISTR, these AC sockets are "airplane flavour" 115VAC @ 400Hz.
No. it's 60 Hz. See this picture of one of the outlets.
Lufthansa business class jacks | Power, ethernet and USB plu… | Flickr
and this page from Qantas web site
http://www.qantas.com.au/info/flying/inTheAir/communications
Don't you think that airlines would be smart enough not to install
power outlets that would destroy the equipment that the customers plug
into them?
I don't think the earlier poster was referring to the sockets you as a member of the travelling public are invited to use - i.e. the ones which are in your seat and labelled. Those *are* converted to 110V @ 60Hz.
These are occasional sockets, discreetly mounted at floor level, usually just forward of a door, often have a flip-up cover, for plugging in bits of airline equipment.
Mike