January 2004
Intermediate to advanced
348 pages
13h 33m
English
Content preview from Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks
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16
Part I: Basic Hacks, Tools, and Techniques
Figure 1-2: Laptop power jack
Project Overview
This project uses a set of ordinary alkaline D-size batteries to power a lap-
top computer.
You will assemble a battery holder and cable and test out the project. The
battery pack you assemble will be customized for your laptop model. Before
connecting it to another model, you will also need to check for voltage
compatibility. When you’ve completed this project, the battery pack should
power your laptop for two to six hours.
Hardware Assembly Instructions
The power extender you build will be customized for your laptop. You will
need to check the voltage requirement for your laptop and assemble a suit-
able pack.
1. Determine your laptop’s voltage input
Look on the bottom of your laptop computer and locate
the input voltage specification. Figure 1-1 shows the loca-
tion on an IBM model T20 laptop. The T20 specifies 15V
DC input at 3.39 amps. (This may seem like a large num-
ber, but on average your laptop will not draw this much
current.) If this information is not listed on the laptop
case, look in the owner’s manual or on the AC wall power
adapter that came with the laptop.
If the input specification is in AC volts, this hack will not
work. AC volts are specified with either the letters “AC”
or a wavy line after the voltage specification.
2. Locate a suitable power connector ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.