MS Battery and Car adapter for Surface on Sale Now!

Black Friday sale. 
MS Battery and Car adapter for Surface on Sale Now!

Airport Extreme on DC power

Airport Extreme on DC power

Coming Soon!

Use your Airport Express straight from a DC source without using inverters while you are in the Car, RV, Van, Boat, or simply off the grid!

Simply plug in the modified Airport Express into your cigarette outlet and enjoy!

Pre-Order now!

Mikegyver.com

Surface pro adapter that takes 12-32vdc input!

See our Specialized Surface pro adapter that takes 12-32vdc input!

Available Now!

Apple TV for your RV, Boat, and even Airplanes!

Apple TV in your Car? or even Airplane!? Why not! We believe many of you are looking for this solution!

No Inverters! Save your battery and Energy!

Check it out!

Lenova Yoga External battery

We are happy to announce external battery for your Lenova Yoga ultra portable!

Check it out!

External Battery for IBM IdeaPad Yoga

Hello,

We're getting ready to introduce External battery for the IdeaPad Yoga.  We need testers.  Please drop us and email at mikegyver.com to sign up!

Mikegyver.com

Surface pro cables for external batteries.

Hi,

We are getting emails asking if we support X brand batteries.  

If you know for sure your battery outputs 12v, then please send us the exact tip size and we'll try to put that tip on for you!

Mikegyver.com

Apple's Magsafe patent vs. Microsoft magnetic connector.

Hello,

Recently we've entered a new market for car adapters and batteries for the Microsoft surface tablets.

They also have a magnetic cable that magnetically holds itself to the the computer just like Apple's magsafe connector. But as you know Apple has a patent on it and it would be very interesting to see if Microsoft will also be granted a patent on their magnetic connector. However...

We've read though the patent claims and here's our opinion at this point.
Apple has sued other companies NOT because of magnetic connector itself. There are a lot of articles online that incorrectly states claims to the magsafe connector as being apples but fails to mention about one crucial item. That magnetic connector has been around for years (see deep fryers), what Apple's claim is that there is a little chip inside the magsafe head that 'talks' to the MacBooks, when it does the proper handshaking, it'll then 'turn on' to charge the MacBooks.
Microsofts patent claims (has not been issued yet) are based around data communication in addition to power. The claim appears to be centered around the center pin which would be optical data communications. There is NO chip inside the magnetic connector like Apple's that tell the device to charge. Furthermore, in the recent incarnation of the Surface tablet, the center pin is NOT optical! So, the bottom line is that it's just a magnetic cable that holds the pins to the tablet, just like the deep fryers currently on the market.

So based on this, we don't think Apple will sue Microsoft because Microsoft is not using a chip that tells the laptop to charge. They are using existing technology and in our opinion has no grounds for infringement unlike Apple where they had sued other companies who used their unlicensed chip inside the magsafe tip.

That comes to us, based on this we are using both Genuine Microsoft cables, and third party magnetic connectors for our car adapters and external batteries. We are offering both 3rd party car adapter and Genuine Microsoft car adapter kits as indicated in our store page. The batteries are currently shipping with the 3rd party magnetic cables only. We will in coming days offer genuine Microsoft magnetic cables as well. If you wish to have it, please email us!

Why? Because although we think there is no patent issues like there were with Apple's Magsafe (reason for why we are offering Genuine Apple magsafe only) is that there really no way to know for sure either 1) Microsoft is granted their Patent, 2) Apple sues Microsoft for some other claims, or 3) until Microsoft contacts us.

As mentioned in a prior blog post, we do not believe in copying other people IP, we ourselves have applied for patents, and it would be very unfair for someone to copy us. Also, patent claims can be very subjective in the ways they are written, and a lot if times it takes a team of lawyers to hash it out before anyone knows.

Until then, we're going to try to keep as open possible and to an extent let you choose.


Thanks,
Mikegyver.com

Surface pro adapter

Hello,

Surface pro car adapters are here.

For those who ordered early your order will ship in coming days.  Thanks for your patients. 

Mikegyver.com

Customize connections

Do you have some device that you can't get working together because of some proprietary connector? Contact us! Like the MagSafe adapters we can customize your setup. All connections are professionally soldered together and not simply twisted and/or clamped together.

Mikegyver.com

Standard Ryobi Battery pack as External Battery pack for Macbook or Laptops.

Hello,

We need your opinion! To anyone who owns Ryobi Tools from Home Depot, have you ever thought about using those batteries for the Macbook Pro?

Why pay for extra batteries when we have them in our garage? What's nice about this is that you can have unlimited battery life as a long as you have the ability to swap out the battery!

It's very simple, Two or One battery packs slide into the adapter, the magsafe cable plugs into your Macbook Pro.

Please let us know what you think. Who much would you be willing to pay for this?

Pat. Pend.
Thanks!
Mikegyver.com

Mikegyver exclusive: 2Tb Seagate wireless hard drive

We love the Seagate Wireless hard drive because we have the Retina Macbook Pro.  Problem the Retina Macbook Pro is that you can't carry all you data with you.  With this Wireless Hard drive, we can now get the best of both worlds.  Portability, speed and storage.

Because of this, we've decided on improving it with the Worlds only wireless 2TB hard drive.

It is currently listed on Ebay.  Check it out!

Mikegyverized Product Description
This 2 TB hard drive is powerful, easy-to-use, and perfect for providing copious amounts of surplus data storage capacity when you need it. This external hard drive is an outstanding device for adding more storage capacity to your system. Technophiles and do-it-yourselfers are amazed by the speed and performance of this 2 TB hard drive. Featuring sturdy construction, the Seagate Wireless Plus is highly durable, which means you are able to enjoy long-lasting trouble-free performance without worry of data errors or mechanical breakdowns. This 2 TB hard drive is a snap to install, which means you are able to quickly plug it into systems compatible with USB 3.0 and Wireless interfaces. With the vast storage capacity included on this external hard drive, you can preserve all your cherished digital camera pics, documents, and software programs without difficulty. In addition, the Seagate Wireless Plus helps you to backup tons of documents, data files, and videos in as little time as possible thanks to its impressive disk speed.

Mikegyver.com

REPOST: Magsafe 2 review (and the differences between them)

Magsafe 2 review

Apple has come out with the new Magsafe called "Magsafe 2" In reality, it has actually gone through 4 revisions.  But we guess the reason why it's considered the "Magsafe 2" is because the actual magsafe tip is narrower from top to bottom and a bit wider to accommodate the slim Macbook Airs and the New Macbook Pro retina laptops. The “L” shaped Magsafe is a direct replacement for the original Magsafe and will fit ALL MacBooks, EXCEPT the Magsafe 2 can ONLY be used for the new Macbook Pro Retina and mid 2012 Macbook Air.

Other then the new size of the "Magsafe 2" there is also another minor change in the voltage output of both the 85w model and the 45w models.  
The new 85w model is actually 20v at 4.25A.  The old was 16.5 - 18.5 at 4.1A.  The New model is set at 20v constant, while the old 85W is actually 60w, but powers up to 85w if the Macbook needs it.
The Macbook Air is 14.85v at 3.05A.   The old was 14.5 at 3.1A.  Not a whole lot different there.

For those who are planning on upgrading to the new "Magsafe 2", you can probably continue using the our old car adapters, but you might come up short of you are a high CPU user. All you'd need to do is purchase the just the  "Magsafe 2" cable and plug in the car adapter that you already have from us.  Since you just got a brand new Macbook, why no purchase a new car adapter since we will be shipping our adapters with the higher voltages with the "Magsafe 2" cables?
For our existing users, please contact us before you do however, most of you have adjustable voltage adapters and it could simply mean a different voltage selection.

Until next time, Happy charging and powering your Macbook Air and Macbook Retina display on the road (Retina display is gorgeous isn't it?)!

Mikegyver.com

Sharing adapters between different Macbook families.

Hello,

Recently we were asked about sharing a single adapter across MacBooks, ie. using the same adapter for both the Macbook Pro and Macbook Air.

Officially:  Two separate adapter such as our compact adapters or a universal adapter that can output two different voltages.
If you are using our universal adapter that can output multiple voltages, then all you need is two magsafe cables.  One for the MBA and one for the Macbook Pro.

Unofficially:  Just one adapter will work.  Choose the one for the Macbook.
Why?  The MBA max input voltage is 14.5v, the MBP is 18.5v.  The MBA can take 16.5v, and the MBP operates at 16.5v most of the time.  So 16.5v is a happy median between the two.  The only time you'll have issues is if your MBP is running full speed, then you'll need the 18.5v (85w) adapter.

The 85w apple adapter runs at 16.5 volts most of the time, it is only when you are running full speed, then it'll automatically step up to 18.5v.  If you have the MBA plug into the 85w, it'll only go up to 16.5v.

Now having said that, you still need to have separate cables if you are using the new MBA that has the new slim "T" style.  The new Magsafe2 are not compatible with the old style Magsafe cables.

Please see our Blog here about the different magsafe cables.

Mikegyver.com

REPOST: 12v Car, Boat, RV Mac Mini 2010 and newer how to...

Update 4-26-2016:  We have since suffered sort of a crash and cannot recover the photos below.  Instead, we're going to just post a picture that we just took from our Mac Mini stored on our shelf.
Hope this helps, as we recently received a email asking for wiring details.

Warning: The following steps are to be performed by those competent in soldering and electronics. The following step WILL very likely VOID your warranty. We will also take NO responsibility for any damages that you might incur.

Ok, so here’s how we did it, however we don’t like re-inventing the wheel (rather then to improve on it) we going to refer you to ifixit.com on disassembly first.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Mac-Mini-Model-A1347-Teardown/3094/1

Please do steps 1-14, and 22. Then come back here.

After you have disassembled your Mac mini, remove the power supply and re-assemble everything like so. Reconnect the power supply on the outside of the Mac Mini.

1) Cut the positive wires, and the Negative wires. Note the Middle wire:


2) Solder Pos wires together, and solder Neg wires together.


3) Find a wire and solder to it to make leads longer:


4) Solder the other end of the wire to a Panel mount DC jack:


5) Run it to the back of the Mac Mini where the AC cable used to plug in:


6) Find a Car cig plug (we sell them) and solder it to a 2.1mm plug:

7) Here’s how it looks fully assembled.


8) Plug in to the Mac Mini and you’re done!

NOTE: We tested with operating voltages of 10v all the way up to 15vdc, however we STRONGLY recommend you use a voltage regulator.  Please contact us.


For those who don’t want to do this yourselves, please go here

Mikegyver.com

Apple Mac Mini 2.5GHz ...$599.00 Abt Electronics & Appliances

Google Affiliate Ads

Now available: Microsoft Surface External Battery & Car Adapter Charger

Looking for an External battery adapter for your Surface Tablet computer? Look no further!






They are here now!

Mikegyver.com

Phorce bag

We'd like to welcome Phorce bag users!

Thank you for your order. Your order is all set, however we can only ship when we get the final specs from Phorce.

We're sure you are getting updates from Phorce and we are excited to begin shipping soon!

Power to the Phorce!

World's First portable Battery operated WiFi Camera

Check out the The World's Smallest Portable battery operated WiFi Camera.

I hung this on my dog's collar and had a great time seeing what he saw!

Transporter is an online but off-cloud storage device...

Coming Soon!Transporter is an online but off-cloud storage device for sharing, accessing and protecting unlimited amounts of files without using the cloud.

Free Macbook Car adapter for next 3 months

Hi!
For the next three months, we will be having a drawing for any of our Magsafe car adapters! Simply Like us on Facebook! If you are already liking us, you're automatically entered!

We will be announcing our winners via Facebook and the winners will be able to choose any Magsafe car adapters of their choice!

Tell your Mac friends!

* Drawings will be on March 15, April 15, May 15.

Synk vs GoodSync vs Syncovery vs Chronosync. Comparison between syncing programs.

As mentioned in a prior blog, backing up is very important to us.  Over the years we've been tracking a handful of  NON-cloud Mac Syncing programs and have listed their positives and negatives for each program.  We will not go through each individual features, but will focus primary on the syncing speed and the ability for it to sync across all computers (more then two) quickly.  Block level syncing has also become important to us and that was actually why we have decided to try other syncing programs outside of Synk, which was our preferred syncing program for the last few years.  Block level syncing only syncs the portion of the file that changed rather then re-copying the whole file back over after a change.


Synk
Good:

• N-way sync, it'll sync to more then two computers at the same time.
• Any changes are almost immediately synced across all computers,
• Takes just 3 seconds to copy an newly created untitled folder across all computers

Bad:

• No block level syncing.
• If you change a large file, the whole file get copied over again
• Also if you rename a file, the whole file or folder gets copied over then the only one gets deleted
• Occasionally, it appears that a file will get delete thus causing a conflict in which I have to tell it what to do.  It appears that it'll delete a large file (15mb) then copy the new file over.  It will seem that it should copy the new file over first, then remove the old file, but instead remove the old file then copy the new one over (what happens if the laptops looses network connection? which appears to have happened right after it deleted a file and then it lost connection) I have written the company about this bug.

GoodSync:
Good:

• block level synk
• when you modify a large file, just he parts that changed get copied over
• when you rename a file, it actually renames it on remote computers
• When file changes it starts scanning almost immediately.

Bad:

• If you have more then one job, it will run each job sequentially.  That means if you have a large scan on job 1, then it'll take forever to get to job 5.  that can make for file conflicts.
• once it is set to automatically analyze, there is not way to stop it except force quite it.
• takes up to a minute to simply copy an untitled folder (it must go thru a whole scan first, so the more files the longer)
• no N-way sync, only can sync to two computer at a time, if you want to sync more then two, then you'll need to set up individual jobs for each computer

Syncovery:
Good:

• block level sync
• A lot of features!, but can become very confusing to the average user
• When file changes it copies right away

Bad:

• Uses standard afp which requires you to mount the afp volume.  If it gets disconnected you'll be prompted with apple disconnected message (which can be annoying) especially if you have multiple volumes to sync.
• Along the same line, syncovery does not use a specialized communication protocol to prevent permissions problem like Synk, GoodSync, and Chronosync.  It has a listeners on the serving computers that listens for requests from Syncovery to do stuff for it, i.e. instead of Syncovery scanning the remote computer, it'll send a request to the remote computer (known as Syncovery Remote Service) to scan the directories in it's place, then pass the info back to Syncovery to perform the needed task.
• Doesn't copy all the files like it should.  I did various renaming of files and it missed one file and no matter how many times I 'scanned' it, it never picked it up.
• No n-way sync.

Chronosync

Good:

• A lot of features.
• Uses a communication protocal known as chronos Agent to help with permissions

Bad:

• does know not know when to start scanning/copying when  file changes, relies on setting a timer to start syncing again and again.
• no block level sync.
• initial sync seems to take a long time perhaps it's because it's only 32-bit?

Bottom Line:  Even though Goodsync has block level syncing, a 15mb file with just a minor change will take about 5 seconds to sync up, but it has to go thru a whole directly scan before it'll do the update. What this means is that the total time it takes to start up, scan, then start syncing can take awhile, depending on the size of your scan.  In my case, it seemed like over 5 mins to do a complete sync.  And since this is not N-way, it take another additional 5 mins to scan add'l directories(if you want to sync the same folder across more then 2 computers) or sync jobs, for total of 15mins?  Syncovery appears to allow parallel syncing of jobs, but we were quickly turned off by it seemly not copying all the files like it should.  This is a big no-no, because of this, our eval of it was almost not worth it, so we stopped looking further.

Synk on the other hand would recopy the whole 15mb file, but it does not need to do a complete scan of all your directories first.  It appears to know immediately that a file has changed and then immediately start copying the new files over to the other computers.  So copying a single 15mb file took about a minute to complete.  Lets not forget Synk has N-way syncing, so if you have 3 computers all 3 are updated at the nearly same time, so all three can be synced up on about 1 min.  No sequential jobs to worry about.

So maybe we're a bit biased with using Synk to begin with, but we're still going to stay with Synk.  I really wish the guys as Decimus will update Synk with block level syncing and smarter renaming of file and folders, and we're concerned about the future of the app because the founder of the company left and appears to be working at Google now.


Mikegyver.com

Hyper juice batteries and MagSafe 1

We got and excellent question today.  Thought we'll blog our answer.

Q:  I have HyperJuice 220Wh battery with old style MagSafe cable (without any boxes). I tried to charge my MacBook Pro Retina with it using MagSafe->MagSafe 2 converter. MacBook does not recognize it at  all. Then I tried HyperJuice car charger (battery->magsafe cable->magsafe 2 adapter->macbook). It only slows down internal battery drain. Looks like this is a voltage issue. How can I convert my cable to be compatible with my notebook?

A:  As far as the battery side, you might get better results with the new Masafe 2 cable, however the voltage output on the HyperJuice battery is still a little to low for the new retina MBP.On the Car adapter side, similar story.   I'd suggest you consider a higher voltage adapter like the ones we sell here: http://mikegyver.com/IdeasnProducts/

Thanks!

iRemoteBluetooth

A quick video showing how easy it is to switch between devices.

Mentioned at 'travels with Miranda'.

We had a very nice review of our MacBook Magsafe DC car adapters here:
http://travelswithmiranda.uskeba.ca/?p=17899

While you're at it check out RVing. Something I hope love to do someday!

Magsafe adapters for Handicapped and wheelchairs

We have again recently converted a magsafe cable with Lind power adapters for wheelchairs!

They typically require 24vdc and that can safely be accomplished with the Lind power adapters.

Please contact us if you need such a conversion!

Mikegyver.com

Re-post: Illegal Magsafe 2 already?!

Recently, we were contacted by a Chinese company/person who said they sold Magsafe 2 cables at really cheap price and it was genuine Apple, therefore it's legal. We wrote back and said great! Can you send me your license terms with Apple and ship the adapters with the Apple logo exposed. We never heard back. This just proves that there are a lot of illegal activities going on out there. Just for those who don't know, when you buy Apple products from China, they are NOT sanctioned by Apple. In fact, they are illegal, What they do is painstakingly cover up the apple logo so that customs will not stop the shipment coming into the USA. The average buyer will not know that, and they just think it's part of the packaging.  There are companies here that are buying those cables and also modifying them and selling them as 'Recycled', or 'refurbished'.

Bottom line: if it's cheaper than 79.00 (cable or car adapter), then they are knock-offs(these cables have notable imperfections or cheap material), or somehow lifted out the back door of factories.

We pride ourselves in being an ethical company, and wish to be there for the long haul for our customers, unlike some have have been sued by Apple.

Mikegyver.com

mikegyver.com/Store

Magsafe cables for Hyperjuice batteries

We are getting increasing emails about using magsafe cables with HyperJuice batteries. (as you may know they have been sued by Apple for illegally making/selling magsafe cables-Yes Making, selling grey/black market MagSafes, and as a result their alternative are huge boxes).

We are happy say that our magsafes will work just fine with their battery, or any other batteries on the market as long as the power specs are good.

There is one area we need to cover. The Apple brick adapter. As you might have read elsewhere in our website, the Apple brick adapter does not charge anything else EXCEPT the Macbook. The adapter 'talks' to the Macbook before it'll turn on. (While another chip in the Magsafe tip tells the Macbook to start charging) there is a way to 'trick' the adapter, and we are now offering charging from Apple Brick adapters.

 Please comment or write us and lets know your support!

mikegyver.com

Powering your device from small batteries or solar power

Hello,

From time to time, we get emails about using a small battery pack, perhaps about the size of an deck of cards to power their Macbooks.  We also get similar emails about using solar panels about size of greeting card to power their Macbooks as well.

I'd like to address this and the power industry as a whole.  Let me make it plain and simple.
It takes a lot to make power.  There is absolutely no way to expect as small solar cell or a small battery to make your device essentially run indefinitely.

In fact I just saw a blog post come by saying he can make a car run on 100% electricity indefinitely!  Unless he is talking a huge solar panel almost the size of an full size truck with just a cabin large enough for just one person scrunched in.  He'll never be able to achieve the performance of todays cars!  There is NO such thing is perpetual energy that you can actually use!
Let's not forget batteries.  When was the last time you had a battery in any of your electronic device last forever?  It will eventually wear out!  And the cost of replacing that battery negate the whole point of saving money to begin with!

Case in point.  Long time ago we used to own a golf cart.  We kept replacing a battery cell almost every month! The golf cart ended up just sitting there, and  we ended up using our lawn mower in place of our goft cart.   Sure battery technology has gotten better today, but as battery technology gets better, it'll never compare to fuel (you think combustion technology stays still?).

Think about this, there'll never be a battery powered Boeing 777 in our lifetime.

Bottom line, please understand that the alternative energy is not what it is all made out to be.  It is not a 1 to 1 replacement for todays energy.


Mikegyver.com

Gone overboard backing up Data.

Hello,

Over the Christmas and New Year's, I struck up a conversation with a few people (on separate occasions) regarding backing up their data and syncing data across computers.

I'm actually surprised that a not whole lot of people back up their data (or a weak way of backing up), especially since we have pretty much gone totally digital in way of documents, music, ibooks, and especially pictures & videos

To some, this may seem overkill, but here's what we have setup.

I have a MacPro server that is in charge of backing and syncing everything across our network.

First we have time machine running backing up to a Drobo.  So far, I've experienced 2 hard drives that failed on me, but due to nature of Drobo, I just replaced the drive and did not experience any down time at all.  I highly recommend this drive!

Second, I have gone through numerous syncing utilities (Apple's home sync, goodsync, cronosync, synchronize Pro, and more I can't remember)  I have also tried the online type backup and currently use things like dropbox, and bitcasa, but they don't really allow the full syncing of your whole home folder and they are really meant for sharing with friends. I have finally settled with Synk by decimus.  This is the only program that I could find that allows you to sync the whole hard drive live.  The idea is that I have 3 laptops on my network.  I want the ability pick up any of my laptops and have everything with me.  I also have synk running to an offsite online NAS drive locked up in a fireproof safe so that my data is not in the same place as the office, but still on the same property.

Finally, for further insurance, we use an online unlimited backup called CrashPlan.  I've used others such as Carbonite, but it took 3 years to back up my whole hard drive whereas Crashplan did it in 3 months!  Crashplan also has a bunch of nice options such as throttling your bandwidth during use, etc.  All for cheaper then Carbonite (depending on the plan you purchase).  I've looked at other online backup plans such as SugarSync, dropbox, but it seems that it's difficult to find unlimited backup.  Bitcasa looks promising, but I still question how it'll work in the real life.

How about you?  Are you as crazy as me?  Any other backup plans that you use that are better then what we are using?  Let me know!

Mikegyver.com

iRemote mentioned at Mac Geek Gab!

We have been mentioned at The Mac Geek Gab again!

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/podcast/macgeekgab-427

Changes for the New Year!

Hello all,

Hope everyone had a Happy New Year.

For us, there will be some changes to our site. Instead of concentrating on Magsafe and such, I'll be looking at more coverage in technology as a whole. Of course, it'll still be Mac related, but does not have to be. The things that I'll be covering, I think will be unique to us and that it'll be very useful to you as well. Some the the things we do here (if you haven't already noticed) is a little unconventional, so I plan on taking that to the next level including some opinions (How's that for unusual?)

Hope everyone one who come here will enjoy!

Mike
Mikegyver.com

Repost: Magsafe Macbook Boat adapter

This Blog post has been reposted since we've been getting questions about this again lately.

We worked with you to make customer magsafe Boat adapters for those who wish to have their adapter behind a patch panel along with a long magsafe extension coming from the patch panel.
The often asked question is which adapter is best for boats, we recommend the Lind adapters. The are durable, and is intended for heavy use.

Note: there are some DC adapter that do not work well with deep cycles batteries.