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kookookrayzy
10-09-2009, 08:23 PM
Hi all,
I've been using my Cintiq 12wx on-site for various storyboard jobs for a couple of years now. I'm tired of having to find an electrical outlet. I bought a portable AC outlet battery to give me at least 2 hours of juice while I'm sans-wall-outlet. But it seems ridiculous to carry the powerbrick plus the portable outlet battery.

It occurred to me that Wacom could replace the current electrical supply with a lithium-ion battery that could be charged while plugged in, similar to a laptop battery. Maybe even using lithium polymer batteries like those used in the Macbook Pro, so it's long lasting. Maybe even offer it as an optional product that works with all the Cintiqs out there now.

I know many people who would buy this for their Cintiq.

OR, have any of you already tried an alternate power source? I'm wondering if it's possible to bypass the powerbrick with an off-the-shelf external laptop battery.

Who's with me?

Any Wacom folks listening?

THANKS,
kookookrayzy
olson
10-09-2009, 10:00 PM
Looking at the specifications page it uses a 12 volt source at 3.3 amps (or 39.6 watts). A 12 volt battery system could easily be setup to run the tablet without the need for the power adapter. It would run longer on the same battery too since there wouldn't be any loss in conversion (like with the power adapter).

A set of 10 AA size NiMH rechargeable batteries in serial could run that for an hour. Or a 12V lithium ion pack could run that for 2-3 hours depending on exact capacity. Unfortunately you'd have to cut up the power adapter or modify the tablet to accept the power from a battery unless its a standard connector (not sure if its standard or not because I don't have one in front of me). Cheers!

EDIT: Here are some 12 volt lithium ion packs that are already assembled that are not make/model specific (general purpose packs).

http://www.batteryspace.com/12v-132vregulatedbatterypack.aspx
kookookrayzy
10-09-2009, 11:07 PM
Thanks Luke, these look promising. I'm currently also looking at offerings from Batterygeek.com, they have some packs that seem to be longer-lasting (7-8 hrs).
My current portable AC outlet/battery gives me about 3 hours on the cintiq, but it ends up being bulky (AC pack + ac adapter), so your suggestions are really helpful.

I'm also going to ask some folks at MIT's wearable computer group.
Thanks!
-kook
olson
10-10-2009, 12:23 AM
Thanks Luke, these look promising. I'm currently also looking at offerings from Batterygeek.com, they have some packs that seem to be longer-lasting (7-8 hrs).
My current portable AC outlet/battery gives me about 3 hours on the cintiq, but it ends up being bulky (AC pack + ac adapter), so your suggestions are really helpful.

I'm also going to ask some folks at MIT's wearable computer group.
Thanks!
-kook

Take the battery life specifications with a grain of salt as they might be based on a lower wattage load. An almost 40 watt load is going to be a significant drain on any reasonably sized battery (e.g. smaller than a car battery). To put it into perspective most laptop computers use less than 40 watts under full load. An 8 hour battery life with a 3.3 amp load (same as Cintiq) would have to be 12 volts and 26,400 mAh! Not unrealistic but it would have to be a pretty big battery to do that. Cheers!
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