DIY: HomeBrew MagSafe Car Kit
August 28th, 2007 Posted in Computer : Hardware
Mobile power for the road warrior.
Ever wished you could keep your MacBook or MacBook Pro alive on those long road trips? We have the solution! All you need are a few readily available parts, some basic soldering skills and a few hours of time.
Collect The Parts
To complete this project, you will need:
1. Kensington AC/DC Power Adapter
2. MagSafe Power Adapter.
3. Power Jack & Power Plug 5.1mm OD, 2.0mm ID (Radioshack, etc…)
4. Soldering iron, electrical tape, shrink tape, Swiss Army Knife, and common tools.
The Details…
The basic methodology is to splice a connector into the cable of the MagSafe power adapter. The Kensington unit can then be used to provide the proper 16.5V to the MagSafe connector and power the MacBook while on the road.
Once the cable of the MagSafe adapter is cut, the loose end (with the MagSafe connector) will be terminated with the power jack. This will enable the MagSafe connector to be connected to either the original power brick or the new travel power adapter.
The power brick end is connected to the power plug so the two can be paired together yielding a functional (albeit warranty-less) power adapter.
Hold your breath and cut the wires…
Prepare for soldering
Perfect!
Check for polarity…
Don’t forget the heat shrink!
Clean up your solder jobs real nice and test it out.
Finished Product:
Plugs and Tips:
2 Responses to “DIY: HomeBrew MagSafe Car Kit”
By John on Jan 19, 2008
thanks alot! More people need to be like you and stop being so lazy with the help! CHEERS!
By John on Jan 19, 2008
Also, the have cheap (10-20$) converters for your car lighters that is affordable and will keep you from destroying the magsafe adapter… BUT i used this post because i accidentally cut my adapter cord making it unusable. I now have a working adapter thanks to you! cheers again…