CF51 Mk3 duo cores need bigger AC adapters?

The Mk3 t2500 t2300 cpu's require a larger AC power adapter, 120W 8A 15V, correct? Anyone using an aftermarket one thats good?

 

The 5 amp charger will work just fine. It may take a little longer to charge the battery.

 

If you use the lower amp (under 5 amp) then you will notice when charging the screen gets bright then low and the battery light flickers. Once the battery is charged it runs ok.
I was using a 3.75 amp (CF-30) and should of been using the 5 amp.

 

Ok , thanks, I have a 5A one laying around and I noticed the Panasonics
8A are selling for about $50

 

Used to be a guy on ebay Mr.Radioman that sold the panasonic ac adapters for a very reasonable fee. He might have some new ones available. got some generic ones but they spark when I plug them in, that worries me a bit. Mr.Radioman sells theCF-AA1653A 15.6V-5A for around 20.00. Also sells new batteries for the cf-29/cf-51 as well..........Driller

 

These are the ones I use on all my 51's Genuine Panasonic Toughbook CF-AA1653A AC Adapter - eBay (item 260747615985 end time Apr-04-11 08:03:31 PDT) and Panasonic ToughBook 15.6V Laptop AC Adapter CF-AA1653A - eBay (item 270690306504 end time Apr-08-11 19:10:06 PDT)

Adapter Only - AC Cord Not Included (Requires 3-Prong Input)​

 

Hurry! The $15.19 Sale Price ends in 8 Hours!

 

Yup. Now it's $14.24...

mnem
Cheepoid!

 

ROTFL!!! :laugh:

So much for his "Sale Price"

 

I tried to buy all of these under 3 different ebay accounts and it won't let me

 

"This seller has set buyer requirements for this item and only sells to buyers who meet those requirements.

You are unable to bid on or buy this item because:

You are currently winning or have bought the maximum-allowed number of this seller's items in the last 10 days.

Note: If you are still interested in bidding on or buying this item, you may contact the seller and ask that they exempt you from any buyer requirements."

Interesting; since I've never bought anything from them.

BTW: it will allow me to purchase two of these; so, Rob; use each of your accounts to buy two each.

 

Great, each employee at my company just bought 2

 

Yea; I noticed. <ROTFL! >

 

But did these Mk3's come with a 120W 8A power supply when bought new?

 

The sticker on the bottom of my mk3L duo core says 8.0a. Panasonic would have shipped an 8.0 amp with it then. A 5.0 amp may work, but personally I have an 8.0 amp for mine. I feel a 5.0amp would be overworked. Eventually it will overheat and shorten the life of the adapter. I don't know much about the circuitry design of these powers supplies, but basic electricity tells me if the amperage draw gets too high, the voltage will drop according to ohms law. That will affect the laptop's lifespan.
I am not attacking anyone personally, but I find interesting that the overwhelming opinion here is to buy OEM Panasonic only. Yet everyone says to ignore Panasonic's amperage requirements. That makes it a "Not quite so Toughbook"
Why invest about $200 in a laptop and then try to save $20 or less by buying a undersized power supply?
I would rather use an aftermarket 8.0amp power supply than a Panasonic 5.0 amp unit. I personally have an different OEM's 8.0amp unit that works great. No it was not a direct swap unit. I needed to adapt it.
If you really want to know, get the power consumption numbers and add them up yourself. Ohms law calculators are all over the net. Why guess when you can figure out the actual requirements.

example NOT REAL SPECS
cpu..75watt
lcd...100watt
dvd...25watt
HDD..47watt
figure at 5 volts
that will give you a close amperage requirement.

It will be over 5.0 amps. Been there done that. If I recall correctly it was near 100watts, without considering any battery charge draw.
I am sure mnem will chime in and correct my mistakes as he knows a lot more about switching power supplies than I do.

 

We seem to have to keep going through this.
1. The laptop, CF-51, runs very happily on 11.1v, the rating of the battery. So if you are going to be doing Ohms law calculations to determine voltage drop, be sure you are using the right voltage which is what. The voltage inside a laptop is bounced up and down so much, who knows.
2. I know this is anecdotal, but not once in all the posts on this forum has anyone ever reported damage to a computer from use of a power supply of correct voltage, REGARDLESS OF AMPERAGE RATING!!!
Now if it makes you feel good to have the "correct" AC brick, have at it. If you are suggesting that there is a reason, other than feeling good, for using only OEM, original amperage AC adapters, that is incorrect. That said, you should only use good quality power supplies, not the cheap Chinese sailing vessels commonly sold on the flea.
CAP

 

Not to start some issue, but my 8a adapter is not Panasonic. It is however a quality name brand unit. I said those numbers are examples not actual, A little bit of Google will find you the wattage and voltage of almost any device inside a computer.
If it doesn't make any difference then why did Panasonic bother with the higher amperage ones?
I will mod something as fast as anybody, but I personally won't ever tell someone it's ok to use an under rated electrical source. For me it's too risky to start fires. Some one reads the post that any amps are ok as long as the volts are correct, goes out and gets an unbranded over rated adapter. The marked 5a unit might actually be a 3.0a. I may sound dramatic, but electrical fires happen all the time. I guess my electrician schooling and background is showing. For me it would be the same as telling someone it's ok to use 14 gauge wire in a 20 amp circuit. Sure a 14g wire can actually handle over 20a but it's not rated to handle that amperage safely. I always have to look at the idiot factor. Especially when giving electrical advice. In ideal conditions the low amp units will probably be fine. However, I can't know what extreme or stupid conditions that low amp adapter is going to be used. I will continue to go with the safe advise. We live in a world where people are too stupid to know a cup of coffee is hot. I have enough sense to grab a hold of the low amp adapter every so often and check it. I can't be so sure of the random internet guy who doesn't know coffee is hot.

Not to mention that 8a IBM adapters cost $15 or less. Swap the ends or splice the cable and for less than a $20 bill you have a top quality name brand 8a adapter. Why bother with the under rated ones?

Cap I respect you and your opinion. My working graveyard for 8 months has made me a just a tad argumentative. I have been over trained on the safety factor in life. Between electrical codes and 18yrs as a school bus driver I am a bit stubborn about safety issues and under wired devices.

 

Don't worry..............We love to argue here,it keeps some members checking in
It's all in good fun
My personal experiance with the adapters both stock Panasonic and the Lind dc type is that they all seem to work fine (no overheating)
at least to what I worry about fire,they must have a form of current limiting ,no doubt as they have UL,CSA,CE ratings
Generic models might not be made to the same standards to keep costs down
As I see it the harm from running a lower current Lind or Panasonic when the laptop could use more,is a reduction in battery charge time,and if you are running processor intensive tasks ,throttling of your cpu,much like the issue some gamers have
I have read posts in the gaming sections where the manufacturers cure is upgrading the adapter to a higher current model

Daddy says you get what you pay for

 

"not once in all the posts on this forum has anyone ever reported damage to a computer from use of a power supply of correct voltage, REGARDLESS OF AMPERAGE RATING!!!"
I was referring only to the original question, does the unit "need" a bigger power supply, I believe the answer is no.
Back when I discovered the cross compatibility of the IBM power supplies, I could find them for less that a finif while the OEM Panasonic ones were hard to find for less than $50. I sold most of my OEM bricks, 2 OEM AC Adapters = 1 Emissive keyboard. The IBM adapter powering Mrs. Dogfish's souped up CF-51 gets slightly warm to the touch when really chugging, the one with the CF-30 plugged into it typically does not even get that warm. The Panasonic bricks are just so bulky and that 3 wire cord is huge! I prefer the little IBM units and have no fear of my house burning down. Actually, your post is somewhat measured compared to some of the codswallop which has been dispensed around here on the subject.
As to the "we prefer/recommend" stuff, those statements are not subject to survey prior to being made, who's we?
All in good fun,
CAP
Mnem, can you believe the spell checker didn't question "codswallop"?

 

Fair nuff Cap. What is needed and what I would recommend may be different on a lot of subjects.


I was responding to this post.

The answer to this is yes.

We are both correct.

Hmmm I am somewhat "measured". Lets hope I am not being measured like in the Clint Eastwood westerns. For a pine box :

 

Personally, I am using (in no particluar order of preference) genuine Panasonic, genuine IBM, Lind Electroncs or Targus power adapters: no "No Name" ChiCom junk need apply here.

 

That's the real danger here. A well designed OEM unit will shut down before it burns up. But the Chinese junk might burn down your house, plugged in while you are sleeping.

I was in a nearby computer store and a guy brought in a standard 3-prong power plug, cheap Chinese that looks just like the OEM that came with his laptop, but the Chinese plug had melted at the power prong on one side and started smoking and flamed on -- late at night as he was finishing up before going to bed. Imagine that in your house after you have gone to bed ....

DON'T USE JUNK POWER SUPPLIES!

 

Panasonic appear safe, but even top name OEM brands are not exempt from shock and or fire hazards.
A quick Google of "recalled laptop power supplies" revealed this

507,000 Targus power bricks recalled
4.4 million Dell power bricks recalled
69,000 Sony power bricks recalled
570,000 Apple power bricks recalled
553,000 IBM power bricks recalled
41,000 Toshiba power bricks recalled
1.4 million Compaq power bricks recalled

 

I emailed Panasonic support, gave them my model #, etc, they said to use the 15.8V 5Amp adapter for all CF 51's, even though the sticker on the laptop base does say DC IN 15.8V 8A.

 

OMG!

Comarco Recalls (Targus) Power Adapters for Laptops Due to Burn Hazard

(Dell) Adapter Recall Program

Important Notification for the Sony VAIO® TZ Series

Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange Program

IBM ThinkPad 56 Watt AC Adapter Recall

Toshiba Recalls AC Adapters sold with Portable DVD Players Due to Burn Hazard

CPSC, Compaq Announce Recall of Notebook Computer AC Adapters

Just in case you were wondering ....

 

Seems about right, looks like the more units you sell the more are faulty. FWIW Panasonic's sales volume for laptops would probably not rate a news item if they did have a recall. That said, I buy Panasonic anything whenever I have a choice, based primarily on my experience with Toughbooks. They have not disappointed me yet.
CAP