[Duo2400] Electrovaya PowerPad results

[Larry]

Excellent review, and as far as the weight is concerned if you were to 
remove the internal battery then the actual weight of powerbook + 
external is a lot closer to the weight of the Powerbook and internal 
battery.

~ Larry, Darn Good Design


On Wednesday, July 23, 2003, at 05:33  PM, Gary Shigenaka wrote:

> A long-time list-lurker here…I thought I would share with you my early 
> experience
> with the Electrovaya PowerPad 160 external power source and my 2400c 
> (G3 320 mhz).
> I know that a few others had indicated they would post their results 
> but I don’t
> recall seeing anything yet.
>
> For those of you who aren’t familiar, the Electrovaya batteries are 
> lithium ion
> power sources for notebook computers.  There are three models, the 80, 
> 120, and the
> 160.  The number represents the power capacity in watt-hours.  Weight 
> ranges from
> 1.4 lbs (for the 80) to 2.4 lbs (for the 160).  Size of the PowerPad 
> 160 is just a
> little bigger than the footprint for the 2400c and about 3/8” thick.  
> The size and
> thickness of these batteries mean that they pretty easily fit into 
> backpack or
> briefcase-type computer carriers.  These buggers are expensive—around 
> $400 for the
> PowerPad 160 at Provantage—but they can be used for any G3 or G4 
> PowerBook, not just
> the 2400c.  I bought this thing for work, to use in remote field 
> research situations
> where access to AC power is not very consistent.
>
> I had a problem with the first one I received.  At first I thought 
> that the thing
> was for some reason incompatible with the 2400c because no power was 
> supplied and my
> internal PowerBook battery ran down as it normally does when I’m not 
> using an AC
> adapter:  maybe 1.5 hrs worth of charge.  However, I had an 
> electronics tech where I
> work test the power output, and surprise…almost zero.  The PowerPad 
> comes with two
> output cables (to fit G3 and G4 PowerBooks), and both showed no 
> output.  So I
> contacted Electrovaya.  To make a long story short, it took a long 
> time and many
> calls/emails to get an RMA to return the battery and get a 
> replacement, but I
> finally did and it arrived yesterday.
>
> So I charged it up and this morning thought I would see what kind of 
> duration I
> would get out of the thing.  The result:  it has powered my 2400c for 
> 9 hrs straight
> and the built in LED “fuel gauge” indicates that the PowerPad is still 
> at 10-20%
> capacity.  That’s not the lowest power level the gauge will show, but 
> I don’t want
> to sit around waiting for the battery to drain (it’s actually hot and 
> sunny in
> Seattle).  So...I would figure a nominal 10 hrs of use from the 
> PowerPad before the
> internal PowerBook battery has to kick in, which would give another 
> hour or so of
> use.  That’s a pretty decent long day’s work and might even last 
> through an ugly set
> of flights complete with airport delays.
>
> The two main disadvantages are the initial cost (about the same as a 
> 2400c on eBay),
> and the fact that the battery has to be recharged via its own AC 
> adapter (included)
> (some notebook chargers provide the proper input voltage for the 
> battery and an
> additional charger is not needed—that’s not the case for PowerBooks).  
> Now that I
> have a unit that works—I have to say the performance of the PowerPad 
> 160 is
> outstanding.  The fact that it works with the whole family of G3 and 
> G4 PowerBooks
> makes it a pretty versatile external source of power if a couple of 
> pounds of
> additional weight (and the cost) aren’t a deal-breaker for you.
>
> Cheers, Gary