GTIS Power and Communications Systems
With the advent of extremely bright white LEDs as a light source, it became practical to make small projectors efficient enough to run on battery power. Selecting a projector is like selecting a laptop computer in that the available models are constantly changing and “improving.” This article highlights what to look for and what to watch out for when shopping for a portable projection system.
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With the introduction of the latest USB-C, USB PD and USB 3.0/ 3.1/ 3.2 specifications there are a lot of optional features that can be implemented by USB devices, but these features only work if you’ve got the right cable. Here’s how to recognize the cable you need. Remember that transfer speeds and power delivery is determined by the equipment on both ends of the cable, but the wrong cable can be a limiting factor.
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I tested a smattering of USB-C cables and USB PD chargers with a Lenovo Thinkpad E480 which uses USB-C PD charging. I was specifically looking at equipment for off-grid use for solar charging of laptops in a village situation. Is USB-C charging going to be the next big thing? Do different products interoperate well? Is the technology ready for the real world?
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Laptop computers are now being produced which use a USB Type-C connector to charge the laptop. Laptops need more power than phones or tablets, and the new USB PD protocol (PD = Power Delivery) makes much higher power levels possible; up to 100W can be passed over some USB-C cables. The USB specs and terminology keep getting revised and now contain a smorgasbord of optional features, and the marketing terminology is totally confusing. Here’s my summary of what you need to know about USB-C laptop charging, cables and chargers.
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The Asus P3B is a bright Mini LED projector rated 800 ANSI lumens with an internal 45Wh battery. I had the chance to test an Asus P3B portable projector briefly before it was sent off to it’s new owner in Africa. I measured it’s power consumption and did a short subjective evaluation of it.
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The Online Test Drive is a useful tool for figuring out whether one of the GTIS Power Systems’ packaged systems will work for you. Plus, it will help you understand a little about using solar energy – the importance of panel and battery sizes, the importance of sky conditions, and the importance of load size and runtime.
Here’s a typical case. A linguist/translator writes, “I would like to set up a village worker with a solar system and notebook computer, buying it locally. It will be a Lenovo ThinkPad 11e Gen 2. The person I want to set up spends part of his time in Alotau town [Papua New Guinea], where 240 volt AC power is usually available, and part of his time in a village situation without power. ”