Powering a large device (like a Macbook) from USB-A port

Hi,

Recently we've been asked again if you can run a Macbook Pro from a USB-A battery.  The kind that powers Phones.

Here's what we said:

You can only use batteries that have high power output, like 16-20vdc and about 4amps.

It is impossible to Power the Magsafe Macbooks from USB.  

It's like asking a motorcycle engine to pull a Semi-truck.

In technical terms, USB is only 5v, and max at 3a.  That's only about 15w.  Your Macbook starts at 60w (Macbook Pro 85w).  There is no way to up-convert 15w to 60w.  It's like asking for magic.

Stay Powered,

Mike

Surface Power adapters and cables.

Hi!

Some of you may be noticing that we are mostly out of stock on the Surface Car, Surface Battery cables...

We buy only Genuine Surface Power adapters.  Some of you may be surprised that we buy them retail, cut off the magnetic end of the cable and convert them into our Car adapters and Batteries because the Microsoft Surface Power cables are better quality.  We try to stay away cheap, clones, or copycat cables from some other Chinese source. See our prior blog about this.  However, that blog post was a while ago, and they have gotten much better these days.

With that said, it seems our supplier is not stocking or has limited stocks of the Genuine Surface Power adapters. Other suppliers will not sell to us because we are not an end user.  Rather then always trying to figure out our suppliers stock situation, we are going to change the way we provide our solutions to you. For those the volume order customers, we are going to ask that you place an order for any of the Surface adapters (we prefer genuine since it is better quality) from any of your favorite retailer/supplier and have them ship to us called drop shipping.  We will then take your adapter and convert it to be used with any of our mobile power solutions.

That's it!


Thank you and Stay Powered!

Mikegyver.com

Next Generation USB-C adapter and gofundme.

Hi Everyone,

WE need your help!

Last summer, we decided to develop the World's first High Powered USB-C Car and Battery adapter because there were none on the market that was powerful enough to power larger devices like the new MacBook Pro with USB-C ports.  Everything on the market (and still today) have been lower powered USB-C adapters that are typically less than 36W.  They could not fully charge the largest MacBook Pro which requires 87W when going full speed.

So why do we need the help?

We've invested a LOT of money developing the High Power USB-C adapter that will actually charge the MacBook Pro (and other larger devices), but we were still a bit underpowered for the most hungry power users.  Ours output true 60w.  Others' claim to be 105w, but when we put that to the test, theirs was not 105w, but in fact, less than 60w.

Why was ours not 87W to begin with?

We tried.  To put it simply, chip manufacturers were not ready for the Type 5 (which is over 60w).  So we had to settle for Type 4 (60w range).  We made an agreement with our factory to place a trial order of Type 4, with the intention of next order to be Type 5.

But there is a problem.

The market is flooded with "USB-C" adapters and connectors, hubs, and everything USB-C that we are having a VERY hard time breaking into the market.

We did not break even with our initial investment.  We're not sure if it's a combination of people not finding us, or that you don't need a high powered car adapter/Battery solution for your MacBook Pro on the go.

How can you help?

Please help us spread the word.  Also, we have decided (which is very unusual) to start a gofundme.com page.  The proceeds will help us continue development of our next generation USB-C adapter.

Will you help us push the envelope?
https://www.gofundme.com/high-power-usbc-adapter-ver2


Thanks, and stay powered!
Mike
Mikegyver.com

Teardown and Hacking, no "Mikegyvering" the Apple Homepod.

Hello,

We just got our Apple Homepod!

One the first things I noticed when we got it, is that it's so heavy.  There must be some serious speakers in it!  There is no rush in setting it up, but rather how do I take this thing apart!  The first thing we did is to google for any HomePod teardown (We prefer minimal damage to things as much as possible)...  But no luck.  No one has gotten there's yet... or at least in process of tearing it down now.

The first thing we noticed is that it has an attached power cord... Hummm...  "How can we cut that off" we wondered?  What else could we do to it?  Gears are spinning now...

What would you like to see "improved" on the Homepod?  comments below.

Stay tuned for more...

UPDATE:  Our favorite teardown website:
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/HomePod++Teardown/103133

Posted teardown of the HomePod.  Whew, this saved us a lot of wasted work that might not have been beneficial!  Because we will destroy the HomePod, we cannot resell our mod. (like we do with the AppleTV).  So, Mission aborted.  What do you think?  Comments below!

Stay Powered up,
Mikegyver

Pure DC power and the New Year.

Hi Everyone,

As we close out the year, I wanted to close out with a few thoughts...

Ideas come and go only to be replaced with new, bigger, better tech, cheaper tech. Ideas get copied and ideas get replaced.  This ultimately means change. Change sometimes can be a struggle. It means coming up with new ideas that are wanted by enough of us.  For those of you who know us, we seldom redo what other's have done (like selling batteries for cell phones).  Doing what's in our DNA is a prerequisite for us.  If our heart is not in it, we won't do it.  We are not into doing things half measure and so disappointing people. We do things with our whole heart or not at all.

In the new year, we hope to introduce new product categories. One of them we are looking at is the Apple HomePod, and the other... well... we'll just leave it as a surprise.
Our goal will continue to be efficiently squeezing out every ounce of power so you can keep your devices running longer on pure DC power.  We will continue to pursue looking for ways to prevent inversion of power (the use of inverters) which in itself is a huge waste of energy, especially for those who are mobile and need every ounce of energy to keep their devices going. So look forward to some fresh new concepts and Tech from us in 2018.

Finally, I wanted to thank you for your support and all your kind emails.  It is the "power" that keeps us going!  It is great to know that we have helped even just one more individual get more work done!

I wish each and all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Stay powered up!  

Mike

MCT-corp.com

Black Friday Sale Going on Right Now!

Black Friday Sale for Limited time!  Starting 8amET Nov 24!*
Get $10.00 off our NEW USB-C car and Battery Adapter, coupon code "MCT10USBC"
Get 60% off our Solar Panels, coupon code "MCTBFSALE60"Get 45% off on “The Boss 24AH”! Code "MCTBFSALE45"
Get 40% off on our “Little Giant 12AH”, “Slim Power 16AH”, “Super Slim 20AH” batteries! Code "MCTBFSALE40"
Get 30% off any of our batteries by entering code "30MCTDISC" upon checkout!
Get 10% everything else by entering code "10disc".
*Restrictions apply. One per customer per order. Limited time, until supplies last. $10, 60%, 45%, 40% discounts Start 8amET end at Mid-night ET. Other restrictions, Email us.

Mikegyver Engineering Services

Hi,


In our last blog, we mentioned that we are going to make a business move toward engineering services.  So what does this actually mean?  Mikegyver's first product was actually modified Apple MacBook Car adapters.  Anyone who follows us knows that we simply bought Apple supplied Adapters, cut off the Magsafe cable and converted it to be used on PURE DC power (for use in cars and with batteries).  This meant less energy wastage through the use of inverters to those who appreciate saving energy.

We quickly moved on to Microsoft Surface tablets and did the same thing there.  With these nifty adaptations, we have helped thousands and thousands of people who appreciate being more efficient with their power. 

Throughout our journey, we constantly come across people who wanted to know if they can alter some of their other devices to become more efficient with DC power for various reasons but most especially if they are interested in off the grid living.  We have had to convert Mac Mini's, Apple Airport routers, and of course our Apple TV which we are selling in our store.  We also tackled harder to power devices like the Lenovo Yoga tablets which had no car adapters at the time.  More recently we created our very own USB-C car/battery adapter that is powerful enough to charge the power-hungry MacBook Pro 15" touchbar and more.

Obviously, all these conversions have led us to think that there could be far more of you out there struggling with some kind of power issue that we could help with or that have a power challenge that no accessory or device on the market is catering to at the moment. Therefore our new engineering service...

So! Do you have something that you'd like to have convert for you or a power source problem that you think we might be able to help with? Or do you have a device that only has AC input and you'd like for it to run on DC power?  Perhaps you need us to put on some special connector for your camera battery (for you photographers out there)? How about just some power needs for that gadget of yours? Or perhaps you know of someone in need of these services?

Contact us for your low power needs!

Until next time, 

Stay powered up!  

Mike

MCT-corp.com