Charging your laptop or tablet off-grid

July 27, 2024 Julian OH8STN battery power, Education, Emergency Communications, Grid Down Communications, Ham Radio, ham radio on solar power, Microsoft Surface, Off Grid Grid Down, Off-grid Comms, Off-Grid Ham Radio, Portable Ham Radio, Portable Power, Power Queen LiFePO4, Solar Power for Ham Radio, Tutorials, YouTube 1

Need to charge your tablet or laptop computer off-grid? This video shows you how to do it.

Hello Operators.
In this latest video we go through charging our Microsoft Surface or similar laptops and tablets off-grid, using the same 12 volt batteries which power our ham radio gear.

The Microsoft Surface needs a 15 volt, 45-watt USB-C PD adapter. I always suggest taking an adapter which has a minimum of 60-watts, 5-20 volt 3-5 amps on the USB-C PD (Power Delivery) port. Be careful when purchasing multi-port devices, as the total of all ports may equal 100-watts, rather than a single port providing the power and overhead we need.

Don’t feel any pressure to use the adapters linked here. As I said in the video, now you have enough information to choose your own adapter. That said, this is one of the 100-watt USB-C PD adapters I’ve tested.

This one was sent over from KC5DJT via Patreon. He says this model is a great way to get rid of the cigarette lighter socket used in the video. The voltage display is also a nice feature. I’ve been struggling to setup and nice battery monitor for a few weeks now, but might abandon that effort for something as simple as this.

I have not tested it, but will order one for sure.

Special thanks to KC5DJT for sending this over. https://amzn.to/3LMlRrS

100-watt USB-C PD adapter similar to the one seen in video: https://amzn.to/3SqdTIT

Some of you have asked for a link to the USB multimeter used in the video. This device measures and diplays power, amps, and voltage of the USB-C and USB-C PD device attached to it. It is essential kit for finding out the true load your USB-C devices are putting on your ham radio battery pack.
Here you go: USB-C Multimeter used in the video: https://amzn.to/3YE5jdF

  • Disclosure: The links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Other Microsoft Surface related content on the blog: https://oh8stn.org/blog/category/microsoft-surface/

This is the Power Queen 50ah LiFePO4 battery used for creating this video. It’s small, lightweight, and packs a great punch. I keep this around as a grab-n-go battery. Use discount code JULIANOH8STN for a small discount on Power Queen regional websites.

Thanks for watching.

73
Julian oh8stn
Buy my book Grid Down Emergency Communications on Patreon or Ko-fi
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@oh8stn
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Blog: https://www.oh8stn.org

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Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

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