Charger tip question for TZ

I've been a very happy owner of a VGN-TZ195N/XC which I use both at home and at work. When I first bought the notebook, none of the manufacturers of 3rd-party chargers such as iGo and Kensington had a tip that was approved for the TZ. On top of which, posts such as the following apparently nixed the idea of using TX chargers on the TZ, for reasons having to do with tip depth:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2364050&highlight=igo#post2364050

Now I see that iGo recommends the same tip for both the TX and TZ series, and closer inspection of the SonyStyle site reveals that the travel charger that they offer for the TZ is actually the same as the one for the TX:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...angId=-1&productId=11034531&tab=Compatibility

I'm about to buy a second adapter for my TZ. Can anyone verify that a TX charger works for the TZ?

 

I would imagine it should work. My charger/AC adaptor from my Vaio TR3A works with my TZ150N/B. It's a PCGA-AC16V6. Charges fine and works just like the standard adapter that came with it, the VGP-AC16V13.

As long as it's output is 16V and 4amp, and the female/male connector is compatible (and it is in my case - female -, male +)

C

 

Thanks for that info, I put in my order for the travel charger (VGP-AC19v10).

Regarding specs, the amperage can be almost anything, although the higher it is the faster the battery charges. The TZ's battery charges very slowly, which surprises me given that it's a hefty 4A charger. Don't know what's up with that.

 

Good info!

I am thinking of using my UX charger since it is smaller and lighter, especially whenever I travel.

VGP-AC16V7, the output is 16V 2.2A.

 

Normally using different adapter on different model's will work aslong as they have the same tip and the same voltage which is 19.5V.

 

I hate to burst everyone's bubble, but I've already posted about the non-existence of travel chargers for the TZ series. The plug is not deep enough, so it doesn't charge. I have both the Kensington and iGo chargers and neither of their recommended tips work.

This is a huge drag while traveling, unless you buy multiple batteries.

 

That is very good to know, although I wonder how much of it is due to insufficient amperage of those Kensington and iGo adapters: which models do you have, btw?

In any event, I can now confirm conclusively that I have successfully used the VGP-AC19V10 charger with my TZ. It's a nice compact design that comes in a convenient case, but I suspect strongly that this "travel" design may be heavier than the AC adapter that comes standard with the TZ, which kinda defeats the purpose. I needed two adapters anyway so I thought I might as well have two different designs, no regrets there.

 

I have the original iGo Juice adapter and the Kensington 120 Watt Notebook DC Power Adapter:

http://us.kensington.com/html/6330.html

And it wasn't due to amperage, since they are identical between the TX and TZ. The charging light simply did not not go on, suggesting a poor tip fit.

BTW, I was in contact with the product manager at Kensington and they couldn't up with a solution.

 

Your VGP-AC19V10 19V adapter is huge: 2.5 inch x 1.2 inch x 5.5 inch.

Sony's U.S. TZ198 16V adapter is: 1-3/4 x 1-1/8 x 4-1/8.

Sony's Japanese TZ90 16V adapter is: 1-3/8 x 1 x 3-1/4.

The latter is truly a nice tiny travel adapter, but the U.S. version puts out 4.0 amps, while the Japanese TZ adapter only puts out 2.8A.

 

Must get ahold of the Japanese TZ adapter then! I should point out that the VGP-AC19V10's dimensions is misleading, as it has a quite a bit of extra plastic for the cord and TZ plug in. Of course, it still has a loose AC cord, and once you add in the otherwise convenient carrying case ....

Thanks for the info again. By the way, I've dropped out a little: how did it go with your poor TZ that suffered the keyboard spill?

 

My friends.

I am using the Kensington tip N15 to power my TZ28 right now as I write to the forums.

And I've been using it for a few weeks.
There hasn't been any issues at all...

Have you guys tried the tip N15 yet?

The Kensington is way above the competition because it's so darned light. (It's lighter than the TZ transformer which comes with Sony. My machine is Asian so I'm not sure whether it's Japanese or American.)

I hope that those of you guys who have already invested in the Kensington would be able to use the N15 tip happily with your TZs just like me.

 

Thanks for the info! I'm not as familiar with Kensington's product line as I am with iGo. Which Kensington adapter are you using?

 

I'm using the 33197 version (120 watt, AC/DC)

I use the same transformer for my SZ48 except you need to switch to the N27 tip instead.

I believe that this low voltage TZ would allow you to use the even (unbelievably) smaller AC/DC which is 70 watt but I prefer to be safer with the high powered version. (Besides, it's so easy for me to just carry one transformer around knowing that I can use it for both my SZ and TZ)

 

It's on its way to Japan via Dynamism. Meanwhile, I have never heard back from Iberia. I'm going to send them the claim Overnight Mail, enough fooling around with registered letters that are never received.

I now have a very nice CooSkin covering the keyboard of my TZ198, to prevent any future mishaps!

 

Funny, I thought I had tried this tip earlier and it didn't work!

Oh well, thanks for the tip! Now I can bring my Kensington with me on my flights and not have to worry about power, although with 12 hours of battery power between two TZ batts, that's rarely an issue now!

 

I note that some of the contributors are using a 19v adapter but I sold my 19v travel adapter (for my SZ) and purchased the 16v because I was concerned it might overpower the TZ. What's the tolerance of these batteries/machines for a higher voltage than nameplate?

 

I have had the VAIO TR3, TX750 and TZ150. All of the chargers that came with them are interchangeable, and both the iGo Juice and Kensington (120W AC/DC) work with all three. For the Kensington, tip N15 works. It's slightly loose in the TZ, but totally functional.

 

for the iGo, i'm using tip S11 on my TZ150, and it works perfectly.

my iGo is the iGo Everywhere 130watt, i believe.

 

I just had a chance to test the Kensington with my TZ90 and I can confirm that it only works with U.S. marketed TZs, the Kensington will *not* charge my TZ90 at all. In fact, it does not "show" power plugged in at all.

 

Kensington doesn't make a proper tip for the TZ. All the tips in their "sony" kit contain a center pin that is too narrow, and doesn't make good contact.

 

Yes, but it worked on my TZ198 and all the other U.S. models mentioned in this thread.

 

with the kensington tips, just don't try moving your laptop around, or you will get disconnects of power to the laptop. that's what happened with both my TZ150 and TZ180.

 

I have a TR1, T340P and TZ130 and use the chargers interchangeably with no bad effect that I can tell.

-John