And so I got a Panny branded DC adapter today...

I thought LIND was the only company that did the DC end of things with panny, but I guess not. I got one of these: NEW PANASONIC CF-AAV1601AU TOUGHBOOK CAR ADAPTOR 12V CF | eBay - This is OC Depot, and they have em for $75. I however, will sell it for $50

Thanks

 

These are working well enough
IBM AC adapters are much cheaper than original Panasonic too. No sense to pay more

 

You know why LIND is better though? They GUARANTEE that they will work + they are the ONLY authorized panny DC adapter... If panny finds out that you're using one of these garbage ones they won't honor warranty claims...

 

Us folk in the cheap seats don't have warranties.

 

True...

 

A quick check of the Panasonic branded OEM AC adapters that we have lying around reveals the following : CF-AA159 M7 - Made in Korea
CF-AA1527 C3 - Made in China
CF-AA1653 M2 - Made in Indonesia
The component parts and manufacturing technology of switching power adapters are pretty standard and although there may be differences in manufacturing and quality controls, IMO too much is made of the inherent "quality", "warranty" etc. of name branded units.
What qualifies a unit as "garbage" ? Is it country of origin/manufacture ?
low price ? or simply brand prejudice ?

 

If you check the UL numbers, you will be able to find out who actually made the item.


Underwriters Laboratories

 

Start with a "brand new" no-name adapter for sale for under $10, probably junk. All of the adapters I use started with prices north of $50, the Lind adapters list for well north of $100. Hold a Lind unit in your hand and there will be no question why they cost as much as they do. Of course enterprising shoppers can find lots of new Lind adapters for less than $20, I've never paid more for one, it just takes a little patience. There is no "might" about "differences in manufacturing and quality controls", that's why they call them name brands.
CAP

 

I was waiting for someone else to state what I feel is common sense here and didn't feel like wasting my time typing a response for such a question

THANKS CAP!

 

I have found at least one (the 8amp I think) adapter that the Panasonic and IBM were made by the same company. IBM is a large enough company that I trust their power bricks. They are cheaper due to the vast supply of used ones in the marketplace.

 

This is true and yes I agree with you.

 

My 8 amp IBM sitting on my desk was made by Lite-On.
The 5 amp Panasonic was made by SANKEN ELECTRIC
The 4.5 amp IBM was made by DELTA ELECTRONICS
The cheapo one that I got bundled with a CF29 from fleabay is not even UL listed

I did not realize that Lite-on made power supplies. I had always considered Lite on to be less than.

 

Lite-On is also the "OEM" for Acer laptop power adapters.
(Just had to come up with one for the step-daughter's Acer Aspire laptop.)

 

Lite-on is WAY MEGA HUGE in the Ac adapter industry! Their products are preatty damn good too if you ask me. They make VERY WELL BUILT optical drive stuff too. I would ONLY buy a LITE-ON optical drive - I've owned HUNDREDS of LITE-ON optical drives and have YET to have 1 issue with any of them! Currently I have a Lite-On DVD burner + a Lite-On Blu-ray player in my desktop that's hooked up to my 50" Panny plasma

They make the adapters for Acer's, gateways, HP's and Toshibas too!

w00t!

 

Here are (2) adapters
Both have similar part #'s and capacity
The original Panasonic adapter (made in japan)at the top weighs 50% more than the cheap geniric (made in china) adapter below

 

You say light Chinese like it's a bad thing.

 

The reason that Japan made models cost more is the higher production cost
But in general terms Japan made models are more reliable
I have seen quite a few customer laptops fail after the 1 year warranty runs out (even within a year)
Toughbooks keep running until you are sick of them lol

 

Get a Dremel and open up a rectangular IBM, then open a cheapo. Half as many parts. Heat sinks 1/4 the size. The inside of an 8 amp IBM is really artwork. Every bit as strong as a Toughbook on the inside.

Holy deju vu Batman
Don't we discuss this topic every month?

 

My last IBM's are rated @4.55 amps (the ac/dc combo type)
Made in China, but well built
I liked them so much I bought 8 lol

 

Don't know what scares me more. Using 8 Toughbooks at the same time or driving 8 different vehicles. I just hope none of them are airplanes.

 

yep, sounds about right

 

I'm using many IBM (80% not original) AC and DC adapters. Chinese copies work very well, no problems with them. Also you can buy 2 copies and save 30 bucks instead of one original Panasonic and 0 bucks )
I have a few dead "original" adapters from Lite-on and HP. I also don't believe so much to quality of Lind, though I use them myself. I prefer to have backup