Shutdown Controller and Laptops - Page 2

Bobby Digital · 03-31-2005, 06:45 PM

KyferEz, I don't mean to be a dick here but I think you should stop "helping" people by advertising your products. MP3car.com is a retailer and probably wouldn't appreciate a competitor advertising on their site...

Unless you already have authorization by the owners to do so, in that case I really am a dick.

Anyway, LinuxRacr, if you don't have a battery and the voltage drops below the inverter's minimum input during your crank, then it will shut off. Although, if your battery holds enough charge to keep the system alive even a few seconds you may be able to get through a crank.

Peoples · 03-31-2005, 06:56 PM

moahdib, just wanted to ask a couple questions, first of all....do you have an invertor, or just a dc adapter......basically i'm asking if you docking station takes an AC or DC input, i know all of the new IBM docks in my office are AC power and dont use the laptop dc power supply. Also.........wouldnt the standard ITPS work as a shutdown controller for a laptop perfectly? I was thinking of using one to regulate power for a LCD in a buddy's car, and using it to controll startup/shutdown for a laptop through a dock.

blackflux · 03-31-2005, 07:58 PM

"if your battery holds enough charge to keep the system alive even a few seconds you may be able to get through a crank."

If your laptop is in hibernation mode why is the battery an issue?

KyferEz · 03-31-2005, 10:23 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Bobby Digital

KyferEz, I don't mean to be a dick here but I think you should stop "helping" people by advertising your products. MP3car.com is a retailer and probably wouldn't appreciate a competitor advertising on their site...

Unless you already have authorization by the owners to do so, in that case I really am a dick.

Anyway, LinuxRacr, if you don't have a battery and the voltage drops below the inverter's minimum input during your crank, then it will shut off. Although, if your battery holds enough charge to keep the system alive even a few seconds you may be able to get through a crank.

Yes, I do. In fact, they are a distributor of our Power Controllers

KyferEz

LinuxRacr · 04-01-2005, 02:40 AM

My battery holds 0 charge. Not even a second's worth of charge. It is just there to continue the circuit (extra weight). I have a 400 Watt Coleman inverter and also a DC-DC power adapter that does 19v too that I got off ebay. Now what are my options?

KyferEz · 04-01-2005, 09:52 AM

Any of the shutdown controllers will work. With ours, you will have to go into the Configuration settings and disable the PC Monitor if you cannot connect to a 5v rail that is only powered when the laptop is on.

About connecting to the power button: I recommend that if the button has more than 2 pins that you see (using a multimeter) which pins are connected when the button is pressed before beginning to solder.

As for surviving crank, you will just have to try them to see if it will work without some sort of tank setup.

KyferEz

blackflux · 04-01-2005, 11:24 AM

Well I'm going with an CarPC EZ SDC. I hope I'm getting the right one!

***crossing my fingers***

moahdib · 04-01-2005, 12:42 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Peoples

moahdib, just wanted to ask a couple questions, first of all....do you have an invertor, or just a dc adapter......basically i'm asking if you docking station takes an AC or DC input, i know all of the new IBM docks in my office are AC power and dont use the laptop dc power supply. Also.........wouldnt the standard ITPS work as a shutdown controller for a laptop perfectly? I was thinking of using one to regulate power for a LCD in a buddy's car, and using it to controll startup/shutdown for a laptop through a dock.

I have a DC-DC car adapter for Dell. I don't know how ITPS works exactly...

blackflux · 04-06-2005, 07:35 PM

I just received my CarPC EZ SDC and KyferEz I have two questions for you.

1st: I noticed there is no fuse protection, what's the best wire/line to add a fuse to?

2nd: In step 4 of the manual, it says the yellow (+12) and black (-) should be supplied by a constant, always on 12 volts and ground. Where on the car to I tap off? A fuse?

KyferEz · 04-06-2005, 08:07 PM

Here is the fusing: http://carpc.kyferez.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=15. Do as much or as little as you think you need.

On step 4, wire the +12 directly to the battery, to a power wire running to your amplifiers, or any other always on +12v. Wire the Black wire to the car body or any other good and convenient ground. The most that will be pulled is .2Amps when powering all relays, all leds on. (~.1A is typical max current draw).

Fusing of the yellow wire is discussed in the link I provided too.

KyferEz

blackflux · 04-06-2005, 09:00 PM

Are you serious? That's a lot of fuses, I wish I had know that before.

You might want to add a fuse to your SDC in your next revision.

KyferEz · 04-06-2005, 11:15 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by blackflux

Are you serious? That's a lot of fuses, I wish I had know that before.

You might want to add a fuse to your SDC in your next revision.

I'm was not trying to say you _need_ to use all those fuses. It's just if you are overly cautious and want to cover anything that could possibly happen, those are all the wires you may want to consider fusing (which was the case with one customer, and is how that FAQ originated).

All those fuses are not necessary, and are really overkill. Just use the 5amp fuse on the yellow wire, mount the power controller in a plastic box, and forget the rest.

It's likely you won't ever have a problem. Many customers ignore fusing altogether, and while that isn't recommended, it is unlikely damage or a dangerous situation could result as everything on our Power Controllers is low current. The most common and likely way to damage the Power Controller is to allow the back of it (solder side) to short against some metal.

KyferEz

P.S. I updated the FAQ on the previous address. I had not considered that anyone would think all the fuses were required.

blackflux · 04-07-2005, 07:49 AM

Ok only one fuse. That's more like it. I read someone that it's best to place the fuse close the the battery, right?

Thanks for your help KyferEz, I really appreciate the feedback. It is suppose to rain here this weekend but if it doesn't then I am going to test the SDC this weekend.

KyferEz · 04-07-2005, 11:17 AM

Close to the battery is correct if you are running a new wire for the SDC. If you were tagging it off a larger power wire, then it would be at that point.

Hope all goes well in the install. If you have any more questions or problems, send me an email.

KyferEz