P170HM power cord too short?

I'm loving my new P170HM. It rocks. SSDs rock. The 485M rocks.

Hell, I'm even liking Windows 7 now that I'm getting used to the differences to XP Pro.

However, I do have one niggling problem: The power supply.

1. The cable from the power supply to the notebook is too short. This means I can't put the power supply on the ground behind my desk but have to put it on the desk somewhere. Not so good.

2. The connection between the mains cord and the power supply isn't as firm as I'd like. When I move the power supply about the mains cord likes to slowly wiggle out of the socket. Not so good either.

Is there an equivalent power supply out there with a longer cord?

(PS: I do, however, love the monster 4 pin jack for the power plug on the notebook. It looks like serious power and stays plugged in)

 

I have not been able to find any alternative power supplies. There likely won't be any universal supplies with enough power, either. Probably our only hope is to request that Clevo make a new revision the next time they have more produced.

Thinking outside the box, I suppose you could look into having a custom cable made to extend the short length between brick and notebook. Not sure what that would entail.

As far as the connection between the mains cord and power supply, there may be ways to make it fit tighter. I don't know if the brick uses a standard PC power cord or not, but you might try wrapping electrical tape around the connector and see if that helps. If it uses the standard PC power cord, try some others and see if you can find a tighter fit. The plastic end isn't always the same, I've found.

 

I thought the power cord was too short as well so I just make use of the length of the cord that runs from the mains to the adapter.

 

Agree, too short.

 

How short is too short? Is it 1 foot? 2 foot? I have 8170 on order...

 

On an 8170:

From the end of the power brick to the end of the plug that goes into the rear of laptop = 46"

Too short for me!

 

Use these power cable extenders:
C13 to C14 AC Power Cords CablesAndKits.com C13 to C14

 

That's not the bit they want to extend, it is the bit between the brick and the laptop.

 

If you really want to place the brick on the floor, you could use these 4-pin cables and connectors:
Amazon.com: NRG Coiled Extension Cable - Power cable - 4 pin XLR (M) - 4 pin XLR (M) - 3 ft: Electronics

Amazon.com: Neutrik NC4MX XLR Male Nickel 4-Pin: Electronics

If they don't fit directly you could use them to start some modding.

 

..


You would need a cable extension with a female socket plug on one end and a male on the other. F--------------M

Existing cable has M .. then into the F..then into the rear of the laptop.




something in this m-f configuration????

 

Velcro your brick to the back edge or the bottom side of the table..

idk how many reliable options you'll have for extending that section of the power setup

 

If anyone does this extension thing, please share what you did and how it worked out. Arclight's pic looks promising. Would this fit? Is this a "standard" size and pinout or something proprietary that Clevo designed?

 

Agreed on the length of the cord. From brick to outlet is more than sufficient, but the length from the brick to laptop is way too short. The brick on these is massive and gets very hot, no one wants that thing anywhere near their body.

 

@ MifuneT

The brick on mine barely gets warm after hours of gaming and I can feel cool air rushing out of it (I think).

If anyone does come up with a good way of extending the length from brick to laptop, I would also be very interested.

 

Well:

1. If we knew the name and type of the male and female connectors that would help.

2. If we knew type and specs of the cable being used on the brick to computer cable section, that would help.

Then perhaps an extention cable of desired length could be found or made.


Fem---------desired length------male

Anyone know the names-types of connectors and cable?

Sorry my degree is not in computer electronics.

 

I've been googling and looking at the various pictures for ac adapters, etc.

- Although I've found pictures of the same type of plug, I still haven't found the name *frustration*

 

Is this what the connector looks like? They refer to it as a "4-Pin Type A Connector" although I've seen it referenced as a 4-Pin DIN connector also. If you could find the right connectors for sale, it should be trivial to solder them to the right cable type and have a working extension cable. Right?

 

Did anyone find any resolution to this? I went to watch a movie last night for the first time with my new lappy and was a little annoyed that with me on the edge of the bed with the laptop on stomach that the brick was mid-air. I need an extension!

 

i think this may be it its called a mini-din-4 or mini-din4b connector

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_connector

edit: this is it, mua hua hahahaha mua hua hahahaha

edit: here this should be sufficient http://cgi.ebay.com/4m-12-IP68-waterproof-mini-DIN-Video-Power-Cable-/220338527213?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D1365562183608613017#ht_823wt_1397

 

Did you try this? How sure are you that this will fit properly with the pins and in the port in the back of the notebook? Nice find btw!

 

no i haven't tried this i found this and thought it would be helpful, espescially since i found the type of plug, its either mini-din4 or din4, i have p150hm. i do have a question, are the pins aranged in a perfectly square pattern or are they angled slightly.

like this
o o
o o

or like this
_o__o
_o___o

ignore the underscores

 

Are you talking about on sager? http://site.shoplaptop.net/img.php?id=xa22.85&w=300

The picture of the extension you found looks like equally spaced.

 

its not actually the 2 top ones are slightly farther apart than the bottom ones, but thanks for the picture.

 

This may work for you since you only need 180w.
Logic Supply - Leaders in Mini-ITX & Small Form Factor Solutions

Here is one I found that is 220w.
Replacement AC Power Adapter For Micron / MPC ClientPro 414 All-In-One Laptop Notebook

 

DC current drops over longer distances, plus every connection is a new point of resistance...

 

That should be negligible...

I think I did this right:

Resistivity of copper is roughly: 1.68x10^-8 Ohms/meter
Resistance would be: (Resistivity * length) / Cross Sectional Area
I'm guessing it is something like 8 gauge wire (not really sure though. That's about 1/8"). So if we add 1 meter to the current cable we get:

0.000008367 m^2 = x-area
length = 1m
so resistance gained by that is: 0.002008 Ohms.

So I think if you were to cut/strip your cord and splice some 8 gauge wire into it there shouldn't be any problem.

Can anyone doublecheck that math/method?

 

Splicing adds resistance too.. That is the right calc, nicely done. Though it is still an overall reduction in the voltage going into the pc.

My only point, though, to avoid the entire problem is keep the powersupply nearby and increase the lengh of the AC input cord into the adapter, since AC travels over distance better.

If you want to have some fun: http://www.nooutage.com/vdrop.htm

 

lol or just buy a new din 4 plug solder on a wire that is long enough, and then put heat shrink tube over the whole thing. oh and if you are worried about resistance use gold wire.

 

That is a sweet site! I'm throwing that into my bookmarks for sure!

 

I totally agree, it is too short. If someone would find a cable to extend, the link in this thread, please!