Power inverters
 

Have any of you had any luck with the inexpensive power inverters that plug into the lighter 12V socket? I'm currently looking for an inverter for my netbook and don't really know what I'm looking for.

Use one all the time from radio shack. Managed to get their $60 unit on sale for $25, including a velvet case.

i've got a $15 inverter. For my netbook, it's plenty. For my 17" Gateway FX, it's not.

I got a cheapie from Wal-Marx. Around $20, worked on my Dell and my friend's newer laptop. Haven't tried it with my brand-new laptop, but I imagine it'd work.

just make sure you check the wattage. look on the charger for the wattage it consumes, then make sure you get an inverter with a higher wattage. my computer charges fine on the cheapo inverter i bought, but my friends macbook pro makes the inverter shut down

I use a 100 watt black&decker from wally world for datalogging since my laptop lasts about a minute on battery power.

imo hardwire in a real inverter and enjoy being able to plug in what ever you want man. i run a 500 watt continous unit.

$15 Belkin and its glorious.

I have this Belkin and it's really good, it supports my power-hungry HP 8510W laptop just fine.

x2

The ones I have from the junk china store in the Miata and Jeep were 30 each and can supply a power hungry grinder.

Got one for $2 at Fry's. Works fine for cell phone charging.

I so sad. My Sager np8690 won't work with any inverter unless I hardwire it to the battery. Beware, those of you with power-hungry laptops. You might be better off getting a DC-DC car adapter for your laptop.

Also, be aware of the differences between pure sine wave and modified sine wave inverters. Some devices and laptops can be damaged by MSW inverters. I went with a $180 650 watt pure sine wave inverter from fry's. I am happy and confident in knowing that I will be able to power practically anything using just a car battery.

Well, I only really need to power my netbook for tuning, since battery life is non-existent after installing Windows 7.