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The easiest way to get power from a car to your Mac mini is to use the cigarette lighter socket. Many new cars no longer come standard with cigarette lighters, but almost all cars still have the socket because so many accessories that need power are designed to plug into them. Some minivans have several of these outlets scattered around the interior. And many devices come with plugs that fit in auto power outlets.
If you travel with an iPod, you know that you can buy a device to charge the iPod from these auto power outlets. It should be no surprise that you can buy a device to power your Mac mini from an auto power outlet. The device you use for the mini is called an inverter. Inverters take DC power from your car and convert it into AC power. When you plug the Mac mini's power adapter into the inverter, the Mac mini's power adapter converts the DC back to AC. The whole conversion chain is thus DC-to-AC-to-DC.
This may seem like a lot of converting, but the reason that using an inverter is easy is that it typically has a standard wall outlet or two built in. These provide the same voltage and frequency that you find in your home (known as "house current"). In North America, that's 120 volts, 60 hertz. An inverter purchased in Europe is likely to supply 240 volts, 50 hertz. Your mini will work with either. The bottom line here is that the Mac mini thinks the DC-to-AC inverter is just another wall socket in your house. Great, isn't it?
The catch: Power draw
 | Using an inverter box to power your Mac mini in your car sounds easy, but there's a catch. The units that come with a plug that's designed to fit into your car's cigarette lighter socket are lower-power units usually. Higher-power units will want to draw more power than the cigarette lighter outlet can provide. If the inverter needs more power than the cigarette lighter can supply, you must connect it directly to the car's electrical system. |
If you're going to be using the inverter to power only the Mac mini, you might be able to get away with a low-power, plug-it-into-the-cigarette-lighter inverter. Your Mac mini's power adapter is rated at 85 watts, so you need an inverter that supplies more than that. An inverter that's rated at least a minimum of 100 watts of power will do the trick.
If you want to plug other accessories into the inverter — a display, a printer, or a hair dryer — you may need an inverter with a higher power rating. If that's the case, you might have to hard-wire it into the electrical system. Just how much of a power draw is too much for your car's cigarette lighter power outlet depends on the make and model of your car.
Some minivans and campers come with built-in inverters. If this is you, plug your Mac mini right into it. But if you have other things also plugged into your minivan's or camper's "AC outlet," check your owner's manual for the inverter's power rating.
Inverters and space
The reason you bought a Mac mini for your car was that it wouldn't take up much room. But using an inverter that plugs into your car's power outlet begins to eat up space, as you need a space for the following items:
- The inverter. It needs to be located somewhere you can get to it to plug things in. The trunk isn't a likely option.
- The Mac mini power supply adapter.
- Power cables for the Mac mini and anything you want to plug into the inverter.
Using a DC-to-AC inverter has its negatives, but it makes sense if you can plug it into the cigarette lighter adapter. If you do have to hard-wire a DC-to-AC inverter, you might consider going with a DC-to-DC converter instead.
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