I have a PB (see sig) and my charger died last year so I bought another Apple charger. The old one works great, but on the plug that goes into the computer the wire is all pulling out and I had to tape it in one direction to keep it charging. Is there a plug I could splice in to have a second charger? I want one to keep in my backpack and one to have here at my apt. It gets old having to reach under my desk to unplug it every single day and then grab the charger out of my backpack after classes to charge it up. Thanks a bunch.
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What to use for a connector? (PB charger)
- Thread starter joecool85
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Like the previous post, I don't recommend messing with the power supply, but is you want to.
At RadioShack they sell a power system for multiple devices called the iGO. It has adapters for cell phones, PDAs, laptops, etc. This includes the Apple laptops. I know you can buy whole kits as well as just adapter kits, like laptop specific. I don't remember how much everything cost, but maybe you could get the connector for Apple computers and solder it onto your power supply.
At RadioShack they sell a power system for multiple devices called the iGO. It has adapters for cell phones, PDAs, laptops, etc. This includes the Apple laptops. I know you can buy whole kits as well as just adapter kits, like laptop specific. I don't remember how much everything cost, but maybe you could get the connector for Apple computers and solder it onto your power supply.
The problem isn't the cable but the plug itself basically. There is so little wire left on the plug and it is all garbage, so I need a new plug I can solder on. And I don't care if it isn't recommended, I'll do it anyway, I know what I'm doing, I just can't find the damn plug anywhere.
joecool85 said:
Yeah, the plug is NO WHERE.
Maybe get another, OPEN BOX one. Open box = hella cheap.
It's a pretty unusual plug, possibly something Apple custom designed. It's not complicated though, so if it's not custom, you may be able to find it. It's like a stereo phone plug with a shield around it.
If you can't find it (I've never seen one for sale, but haven't looked too hard either), you can get away with just using a stereo phone plug and ignoring the shield, as apparently the shield is only used for the LED, which is not really a necessity. I don't know which size the 867 MHz PB uses, but I'm assuming it's 2.5 mm like my 1.33 GHz 12" PB. The ring (bottom section) on the plug is the positive supply voltage (24 V), the middle section is the negative/ground connection, and the tip is not connected. If you can find a connector with the outer shroud on it, connect a relatively large resistor between the negative/ground connection and the shroud (something like 500K-1000K).
Try www.digikey.com or www.mouser.com for the plug itself. 2.5 mm is not a terribly common size for a 3 conductor phone plug, but they are available. If you have a nearby electronic parts shop, they will probably have it.
DISCLAIMER: I've never done this myself, and if it causes damage to your PowerBook, I'm not responsible. You would be wise to measure your good adapter to verify that the information I just gave you is correct. I'm assuming that you really do know what you're doing, and will do a good job of wiring the new plug on so that it doesn't short out or apply a harmful voltage to the wrong input terminal in your PowerBook.
If you can't find it (I've never seen one for sale, but haven't looked too hard either), you can get away with just using a stereo phone plug and ignoring the shield, as apparently the shield is only used for the LED, which is not really a necessity. I don't know which size the 867 MHz PB uses, but I'm assuming it's 2.5 mm like my 1.33 GHz 12" PB. The ring (bottom section) on the plug is the positive supply voltage (24 V), the middle section is the negative/ground connection, and the tip is not connected. If you can find a connector with the outer shroud on it, connect a relatively large resistor between the negative/ground connection and the shroud (something like 500K-1000K).
Try www.digikey.com or www.mouser.com for the plug itself. 2.5 mm is not a terribly common size for a 3 conductor phone plug, but they are available. If you have a nearby electronic parts shop, they will probably have it.
DISCLAIMER: I've never done this myself, and if it causes damage to your PowerBook, I'm not responsible. You would be wise to measure your good adapter to verify that the information I just gave you is correct. I'm assuming that you really do know what you're doing, and will do a good job of wiring the new plug on so that it doesn't short out or apply a harmful voltage to the wrong input terminal in your PowerBook.
katie ta achoo said:
I have another charger that works, I don't NEED to buy another one, but if I could fix this one cheap it would make sense.
And mduser, thats a good idea...and yes, I do know what I'm doing
Thanks for the suggestion.
joecool85 said:I have another charger that works, I don't NEED to buy another one, but if I could fix this one cheap it would make sense.
And mduser, thats a good idea...and yes, I do know what I'm doing
Please let us know how it goes.
Definetly. I probably won't get a chance to play with it until saturday or so. School through friday and I have way to much work to do.
**edit**
btw, do you think that shroud is uber important or do you think it would be ok without one? I'm tring to remember what the iGo had for a tip and if it had a shroud...I'm gonna have to visit Radio Shack I think.
**edit**
btw, do you think that shroud is uber important or do you think it would be ok without one? I'm tring to remember what the iGo had for a tip and if it had a shroud...I'm gonna have to visit Radio Shack I think.