Thread: DC-DC power supply in my setup?

yes that should be fine windows xp has settings for what to do when plugged in and running on batteries the usual problem you get with laptops is turning them on when the power comes on and also keeping them working with the lid closed assuming you are using an external screen hope that is helpful don't worry about the newbie bit the question has been answered a number of times before and the newbie section gives you a bit of a flame suit

Originally Posted by AznArkitekt

heh yea, sadly part of me is always skerred to post on this forum after reading some of the flamin that goes on in other threads For powering on the laptop I plan on wiring webmaster's laptop power on device into my remote ignition. The thing you mentioned about keeping them working with the lid closed...I'd never thought of that. The laptop I'm using is one I bought off a friend for $175 (a Gateway NX500)...he had it for a few months and accidentally broke the LCD so he has no use for the computer part of it. I figure it shouldn't be too hard to rig it so that it continues to provide video output to the lilliput either way, as I have intentions of removing the original laptop LCD from the base of it. still any suggestions as to an alternative to the $100 carnetix power supply?

PowerStream.com has dc-dc power supplies, but for powering the laptop, you won't get much better than the Carnetix. The PowerStream supplies are cheaper, but you get what you pay for ;-) And just so you know, if you do buy the Carnetix, you won't need my Laptop Auto-On Module, as the carnetix can do the same thing. You'll have to modify the laptop pretty much the same way, but instead of connnecting my module to the laptop, you would connect the PowerSwitch Jumper on the Carnetix to the laptop (using the jack/plug setup, same as for my module). lol hopefully that all made sense

Originally Posted by AznArkitekt

ahhh, that makes things a lot easier. thanks for answering all my questions for the day webmaster hope you're not upset that I'll most likely buy the Carnetix PSU, eliminating the need for your auto-on device :-/ at least your post is proof that you really are making/selling your device at the cost of the materials and not for your own profit! although I'm sure no one ever doubted you when you posted that in your thread hehe

figured I should tell you so you could save the money and buy the carnetix since it's what would be best. I'm really not trying to make money from the modules, just covering parts/time/etc...
Glad I could help. Just let me know if you have any other questions.
Cheers

Originally Posted by AznArkitekt

I've finally got all the stuff I want for my setup and installed most of it. The final step is to provide power to my laptop (requires 19v) that I'm using for my carputer and my lilliput TS (requires 12v).

First of all, let me say that your lack of formatting makes your posts difficult to read.
You know about the Carnetix, but want a cheaper alternative...
You could get a laptop car adapter for your make/model of laptop and a 12v POL PSU for the Lilliput. It would save you roughly $20-25 over the Carnetix.

On to my question, I'm wondering if it is safe to have a setup wherein my laptop runs off of my car battery via DC-DC power supply and charges the laptop battery while my car is on but auto-hibernates AND switches over to the laptop battery supply once I turn my car off.

Yes.

I searched through the forums and read some threads where people have their laptops setup to hibernate once a power supply is lost (once they turn off their car) but am not sure if their laptops are switching to the laptop battery. If not, what are the pros/cons of how I want to set up my system?

I don't think there's much difference, really. It's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

I read in some more threads that even in hibernate/sleep mode the laptop is still draining the car battery ever so slightly.

Hibernation draws no battery power whatsoever. It writes the entire contents of RAM & system state to a hile on the HDD. When the PC resumes, it restores that information from the hibernation file.
Sleep mode or standby mode do continue to draw power, as the system state is stored in RAM, which requires power to retain the information. If the PC loses power while in standby mode, the next boot will be a full boot.

I would just prefer to have a setup where my car battery isn't be used at all when my car is off. Also, are there any alternatives to the Carnetix CNX-P1900 for my purposes? I searched DC-DC Power Supply on Ebay and couldn't find anything that could provide a dual output of 19v and 12v. The CNX-P1900 sounds right for my purposes but $100 is kind of steep for me as I'm strapped for cash at the moment :-/

For a stable PC install, the PSU is not a piece where you want to be cheap. In nearly all cases, you get what you pay for.

Originally Posted by AznArkitekt

heh yea, sadly part of me is always skerred to post on this forum after reading some of the flamin that goes on in other threads

Use your brain, do your own legwork and don't act like a friggin moron, and you won't get flamed, plain and simple.
You're not getting flamed, because you certainly appear to be doing just that.