Recap Original Power Adapter or Buy Third Party?

[JustG]

Hey everyone,

I just picked up a couple 68k PowerBooks yesterday and neither came with an AC adapter.  Are the modern third party adapters good to go or am I better off buying an original Apple adapter and going through a recap?  Thanks!

For reference, quick Amazon search came up with this:

 

[ian1035nr]

By "68K PowerBooks" I'm assuming they're from the original 1xx series and not Duos or 5xx laptops? If so, 3rd party adapters are fine. The voltage and amperage of the 1xx series PowerBooks is so pedestrian by modern standards that a cheap A/C adapter will do the job just fine.

 

[JustG]

I should have been more specific!  Yup, both are 100 series, a 165 and a 180.  Cool.  I plan to grab an original adapter and do a recap eventually but I want to be sure I've got the laptops squared away before introducing another unknown while doing the repairs on these two.

I've stayed away from the older PowerBooks until now.  The opportunity came up and I figured I might as well go a little outside my comfort zone.

 

[ian1035nr]

Excellent, you'll have no trouble using 3rd party adapters with those. The original adapter was rated at 7.5v and 2amps. If you think you might collect more, you might want to consider getting yourself a 7.5v/3amp power supply. The 165C and 180C need that extra amp for their colour screens, and you can use the higher amperage adapter with your 165 & 180 without any problems.

 

[ian1035nr]

You'll have fun with the 1xx series machines, they're easy to work on; and Apple's insistence on using the same basic design for years means spare parts are abundant should anything break. The batteries are easy to rebuild, too if you ever want to make them truly portable again.

 

[JustG]

Thanks for the help!  I'll look for a higher amperage supply as my collection seems to continue to multiply.  Unfortunately only one of two came with a battery but I do intend to attempt a rebuild.

 

[ian1035nr]

When you're ready to tackle rebuilding the battery, just pick yourself up 10 of these: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/4-5-A-NiCD-Rechargeable-1200-mAh-Battery-with-Tabs/112096615893?hash=item1a197a9dd5:g:t~sAAMXQrNtR1xWk

NiCD cells are what's in the original battery; but you can substitute NiCD for NiMH and it'll work. It depends on what you want out of the pack. NiCD batteries have a lower energy density, thus giving your PowerBook(s) a shorter runtime on batteries. If you look up NiMH cells of the same size (4/5 A) you'll see they hold nearly double the energy (2200mAh vs. 1200 mAh). NiMH however uses a different charging method compared to NiCD; and while you can charge them using a NiCD charger, doing so means you'll only get a couple years out of the NiMH cells before they can't hold a charge and need to be replaced again.