Noisy 12v Car adapter?

[westsailor]

Long story short:

I live on a boat and use my T30 for music. I feed the headphone out to the aux in on my CD player. When using the AC adapter or internal battery everything is fine/works great.

When I'm using the 12v auto adapter I have all kinds of noise/static/etc..

I now find the adapter is made by 'Suncomm' and 'made in China'. It's rated for 60w max.

Is this the problem? Any way to verify it?

Would a Genuine IBM adapter solve my problem?

[jdhurst]

I use a "Port" adapter and I don't have any problem with it. It was made in Taiwan.
... JD Hurst

[JHEM]

Would a Genuine IBM adapter solve my problem?

First, welcome to the Forum.

A "genuine" one would probably correct the problem, but I would think that any better quality one would also clean up the line noise.

There are any number of name brand adapters available, your biggest problem will probably be finding one in your present location. Double duty (and triple duty) adapters usable on AC/DC and in aircraft Empower sockets are normally better shielded than generic adapters and provide "cleaner" more stable power as well.

(Does your NIM allude to the fact that you live on a "Wetsnail"?)

Regards,

James

[440roadrunner]

If the thing is that noisy, then it is generating spikes and hash ond the DC line, probably. I'd be concerned that it might damage, or even "kill" your laptop.

[westsailor]

Yep, I'm on my Westsail 32 (s/v Haliai). I really should rename it the 'Minnow' since I left New Orleans last June for a 1-2 month shakeout cruise (after a year re-fitting).

My '3 hour tour' has now lasted over a year. I just kept getting pushed South dodging all the 'canes. Once I made it to Guatemala I decided it just wasn't worth going all the way back to the states.

hmmm... I hadn't considered that the adapter might be generating spiky DC. I just thought it was picking up RF/hash from something. Wish I had an o'scope to look at the output. Heck, my lil Xantrax portable 400w inverter is dead quiet compared to the Chinese auto adapter.

It still irks me that my boat got burgled in Honduras and my T20 & IBM auto adapter was stolen (among about another 6 grand worth of stuff). I've since replaced it with a refurb T30. I was researching a replacement anyway but I hated to be forced into it.

FWIW, I wouldn't have another brand laptop on my boat than the 'T' series. I don't have a lot of experience with the other IBM series but I know my T20 literally was 'launched' off the nav station, across the cabin, hit the stove and bounced around the cabin sole during that crossing of the Yucatan strait. I just knew it was history (or at least likely the display) but it survived without a hitch.

Plus, the reason I like the 'T' series is because they're one of the last that incorporate a genuine serial port for use with my GPS & PC Nav software. I know there are usb/serial adapters but I've run into too many boaters that seem to have trouble with usb/serial adapters.