Thinkpads Forum

Hi, guys.

I'm the proud new owner of an http://www.apc.com/resource/include/tec ... b=features that I'll be unboxing and reviewing on Bright Hub soon.

It came with several power tips, including a pair that will fit my R52, but, alas, not my T61p. They don't list a compatible tip for the T61p.

I presently have it charging up with the R52, but here's the question: what's a good source for a 65 watt to 90 watt plug adapter? The thing is auto-voltage sensing and capable of 90 watts continuous output, so just adapting the power tip to work with the T61p would be the easiest thing for me to do to maintain compatibility with both machines.

Thanks.

Lamar

There is a voltage difference between the 5x series which uses a 16V adapter, and the 6x series which uses a 20V adapter. Be verwy-verwy careful.

Scott

SafeHarbor wrote:The thing is auto-voltage sensing

The auto part is almost certainly related to sensing which tip you have attached, so unless you have a specific tip for the Lenovo 20 Volt connectors used from the ThinkPad x6x series forward, you wont get the correct voltage.

A simple adapter from a ThinkPad 16 Volt tip (even if you could find such a thing) would not provide the correct 20V output voltage.

You need to go back to APC and ask them about a Lenovo 20 Volt tip.

Cheers,

Bill B.

Hi, Spuddog and Bill,

Thanks for the replies. It starts showing the 16V for the 65 watt brick as soon as I plug it in, even without the TP attached, so I don't think there's any logic circuitry in the jacks and plugs. I will check with APC about this before I try anything and I'll experiment with same other tips and jacks to see if it indicates an error.

Lamar

The plot thickens. After digging around at their website, I found that the models that have the user-selectable voltages ship with the same tips set as this one. Further, there is a tip/jack set - M/M - that plugs into the 90-watt power adapter. Finding this led to more digging, and this: The M/M set works with the ThinkPad 3000, R60, T60, and X60 series without discrete graphics. Hmm...

Right now, I'm doing a runtime test on the R52 - DVD at full brightness and 50% volume. This zapped the 6-cell into auto-hibernation at 1 hr 47 min. Plugged into the external battery, it's now at 4 hours and still going.

I'm going to try the M/M jack with the 90w adapter to see if it correctly identifies 20 V it if this runtime test ever ends.

SafeHarbor wrote:Thanks for the replies. It starts showing the 16V for the 65 watt brick as soon as I plug it in, even without the TP attached

It probably senses the value of a resistor that is built into the tip to determine what the output voltage should be. This will work whether or not a laod (the THinkPad) is plugged in or not.

Does the "tip" have two, three or four pins on the side that connects to the APC pack?

Cheers,

Bill B.

HI, Bill,

The part that plugs into the TP and the TP's power adapter have two prongs. It's a little hard to describe. The jacks that receive them appear to have four contacts, but I think that's just the way they're made.

I have the battery charging now on the 90w 20V adapter, and the display is saying that both input and output are set at 20V. This is using the tip set for the T60/X60.

This is a pricey little sucker, and I wonder if they would claim that it's auto-voltage-sensing and auto-voltage-setting if relied on the tips to tell them. Also, why would the same tip set be used with the models that have to be manually set for voltage with a small screwdriver?

Bear in mind that I haven't actually plugged it in to my pride and joy T61p yet.

Lamar

Hi, guys,

The review is up.

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hard ... 18779.aspx

As always, thanks for the information and help!

Lamar

SafeHarbor wrote:The jacks that receive them appear to have four contacts

That's a very strong sign that the connection cable has something wired into it (usually a resistor) which informs the battery pack what voltages that particular set of socket and plug connectors are intended to work with.

That is, the selection of a particular cable is what automatically sets the voltage.

Cheers,

Bill