Dell Docking Station / Monitor Stand Power

kirk78h · 05-09-2007, 03:54 PM

So, the auto / air adapter for my Dell D600 won't power the dock and stand I bought for my install. I would rather not buy an inverter because I'm afraid of introducing noise. Is there an auto adapter that is strong enough to power the Dell dock? I know about the proprietary issue with Dells not charging with aftermarket power supplies; but I'm not concerned with that.

Thanks,
Kirk

lbridges · 05-09-2007, 04:57 PM

I have no direct experience with the Dell dock, but for HP machines the laptop alone takes like 65 Watts, but the adapter for the dock (replicator) takes 90 IIRC (this is a work machine so I can't look). There are bigger auto/air adapters, but they also tend to cost more. I was considering one for a Gateway M675 I have, but in the end I decided the fan is too noisy and went with a Dell D610 without dock for my carputer (the dell auto/air was like $30, but the Gateway was about $85). It (the gateway) requires a 150 Watt adapter - so I know higher power adapters exist.

thebranded · 05-10-2007, 01:34 AM

i used a none dell power supply from jaycar.com.au (aussie site, similar to radioshack) it put out 20v at 6amp from car 12v. So was about to get 120w that powered the a Dell latitude docking station fine (with no battay) was $50AUD

To get aroundthe propirety dell sockets i soldered to wires of the dock socket and mounted my own one in the case.

kirk78h · 05-10-2007, 08:35 AM

I found this adapter on the Dell site:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=A0514668

According to the specs, it puts out 130W; and the docking station requires 90W. It's a little pricey at $119, but I'll give it a shot.

Thanks,
Kirk

moahdib · 05-12-2007, 01:20 PM

Newer laptops that use the D-Port docking station are a pain in the ***...
All new Dell adapters have a center pin which is a com line between the adapter and the laptop that tells what "kind" of adapter you're using. Its proprietary and you can't just feed 19.5V to power and expect it to work. I got a generic auto dc power adapter rated at 19.5V 4.62A (90w) to power my dockign station and i get a unknown ac adapter message in bios. Laptop boots BUT battery doesn't charge. This happens even when I'm not docked.
LIND is the only company that makes a 90W auto adapter which will power a dock and charge the battery since they have probably figured out the com line protocol for dell laptops. Cheapest I can find these PSU's are $100. Not cheap if you go the docking route!! The Duracell auto dc adapters won't charge the battery either although its listed on Dell website, along with most generic chargers... I might just use an inverter for now before I decide to cough up another $100 for a lind psu.

Hooking up a carnetix P1900 PSU won't work either. Someone gotta figure out what that center pin does in order to tell the laptop its a DELL 90W rated PSU.

I dismantled my docking station and its no easy hack... stupid dell and their proprietary PSU's.... I had no issues with my old inspiron 4100 + dock. Its been running fine in my trunk for last 2 years.

kirk78h · 05-20-2007, 06:46 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by moahdib

Newer laptops that use the D-Port docking station are a pain in the ***...
All new Dell adapters have a center pin which is a com line between the adapter and the laptop that tells what "kind" of adapter you're using. Its proprietary and you can't just feed 19.5V to power and expect it to work. I got a generic auto dc power adapter rated at 19.5V 4.62A (90w) to power my dockign station and i get a unknown ac adapter message in bios. Laptop boots BUT battery doesn't charge. This happens even when I'm not docked.
LIND is the only company that makes a 90W auto adapter which will power a dock and charge the battery since they have probably figured out the com line protocol for dell laptops. Cheapest I can find these PSU's are $100. Not cheap if you go the docking route!! The Duracell auto dc adapters won't charge the battery either although its listed on Dell website, along with most generic chargers... I might just use an inverter for now before I decide to cough up another $100 for a lind psu.

Hooking up a carnetix P1900 PSU won't work either. Someone gotta figure out what that center pin does in order to tell the laptop its a DELL 90W rated PSU.

I dismantled my docking station and its no easy hack... stupid dell and their proprietary PSU's.... I had no issues with my old inspiron 4100 + dock. Its been running fine in my trunk for last 2 years.

The Duracell powers and charges the laptop fine. However, when I plugged it into the docking station, the laptop would not boot. I went back to the users guide for the docking station, and it said that it had to use the AC power supply that came with the PC (90W; not the 65W). At that point, I said screw it, I'll just use an inverter. I don't know if other laptops are this difficult, but my Dell D600 is an absolute pain. There has to be a better way...

mrstang01 · 03-08-2008, 10:06 AM

I'm also working with a D600, any better/newer resolutions to this problem?

Thanks,

Michael

kandyman676 · 03-08-2008, 10:21 PM

Its the good old converter. Used a D-Port before in my 2nd setup a few years back. Had bought the targus one.

moahdib · 06-06-2008, 03:46 PM

Just an update... I now use a Dell D510 laptop with the PR01X docking station. The power adapter i chose is the LIND auto adapter for the latitude series. Works great and puts out enough power for both dock and laptop together.