i am being given a laptop by my dad 
what do i need to power it in the unit. can i get a 12/24v adapter or do i need an inverter 
also i understand you can get aTV card to turn it in to a TV.i have been quoted Ā£50 at dixons is this about right
you should be able to get a 12/24 volt lead for it, i suggest you go on the pcworld website, where you should also find a wintv adapter for your laptop, mine was Ā£30 ish
regards
paul
Any decent computer shop should sell you a cigarette-lighter type power lead. Check itās OK with 24v though!! Better buying single items at a shop to save postage, but if youāre going for a tv card too, it may be as well to buy online.
Do your homework first! Itās a nightmare if you have to send stuff back if you get the wrong thing. Try:
Dabs dabs.com/uk
Overclockers overclockers.co.uk/
Email them for advice if needs be. PC World is a bit pricey for me. And like Currys/DIxons (theyāre all 1 in the same) they havenāt a clue if you ask them technical questions: ā24v? But cigarette lighters are 12v arenāt they?ā 
[/i]
I would check with the laptop manufacturer, most of the well known ones do car kits, so should be Ok on 24v as well but as Lostpup says, worth checking.
Scan - www.scan.co.uk are worth a look as weel. Dealt with them quite a bit and are very reliable. Best bit is they have a todayonly page where you can sometimes pick up a bargin 
PC World - always good for a laugh if you ask them even the slightest techy question they flap 
Maybe its just me though 
Colingl:
I would check with the laptop manufacturer, most of the well known ones do car kits, so should be Ok on 24v as well but as Lostpup says, worth checking.
Iād be very surprised if a standard car adaptor will run from 24 V. Itās more likely to either blow a fuse in the adapter (or the truck), or maybe even overheat and catch fire.
Of course, check the specifications, and you might be lucky and get one that supports 24 V.
If youāre always going to use it in the same truck, then find out what your truck has got - if thereās 12V sockets thatāll provide enough current, then Iād suggest using one of them with a standard car adapter. If you have to use 24V, then look to see if the car adapter supports 24 V; if it doesnāt, youāll need a 24 V - 240 V inverter, plus the standard mains power supply.
Scan - www.scan.co.uk are worth a look as weel. Dealt with them quite a bit and are very reliable. Best bit is they have a todayonly page where you can sometimes pick up a bargin
In my experience, Scan are great, until something goes wrong (after theyāve got your money). After that point, getting hold of customer services is next to impossible.
I once bought some RAM from them which turned out to be faulty - fair enough, it happens sometimes. However, I then spent the next month and a half trying to get hold of Customer Services. They ignored all emails and submissions to the web form. The telephone line was permanently engaged, and I tried all times of the day and week, calling pretty much every day. Itās not that they kept me in a queueing system; I couldnāt even get into a queue, as the line was just engaged.
I finally got a response when I emailed one of the company directors in response to his article on the website saying āweāre focussing on customer serviceā. My response? āYeah, right.ā It was sorted out, but I shouldnāt really have to resort to sending snotty mails to company directors just to get a faulty product replacedā¦
Their products and prices are good, but their service stinks. Of course, things could have changed since then.
PC World - always good for a laugh if you ask them even the slightest techy question they flap
PC World used to be seriously overpriced, but theyāre not so bad now. However, the staff havenāt improved. They know about as much about computers as many TMs know about drivingā¦ 
PC-World-staff-baiting has been proposed as an Olympic sportā¦
Iāll never forget the time I went in and asked if they had a ānull modem cableā, and the salesdroid said āParallel or serial?ā
Iāve never used Overclockers. Iāve used dabs a few times, and never had any problems, but Iāve never had to contact Customer Services for anything eitherā¦
Youāll probably have to use a USB-based TV card, as your laptop wonāt take a PCI one. If you want some advice, feel free to PM me.
cheers lads for the advice.when i receive my laptop i will have a better idea of what gear to get i was surprised to learn you could run a laptop through a 12/24v adaptor
i agree with mr flibble about PC WORLD staff baiting
my brother in law went to buy the same desktop as i had purchased 2 weeks previous. only to be told my unit would be no good in 6 months.(my lads have it in their room 6 years later )with me stood next to him 
ding,ding round one
i will pm you if i have any problems mr f 
cheers
jon
My AC adaptor blew so to get me out of the mire went to Maplins. Got me a
DC power regulated adaptor 12 volt input most trucks have a 12v socket.
Output can be from DC 15/16/18/19/20/v at 3.5A max
Or 22/24V 2.9A 70W max with a 10 amp fused protection Ā£29.99. works great.
Come with all the input plugs for most laptops My Toshiba needs 15V 5A in the book but 15V 3.5A is keeping it charged up and running dvds/ the TV software no problem . As for tv software go fo Wintv the basic one not the digital its crap. Maps Micosoft autoroute is about the best. but no bridge hights
or weights limits But carry the AA trucker map it stays in good nick if you only use it for bridges Good luck Rob
As for tv software go fo Wintv the basic one not the digital its crap. Maps Micosoft autoroute is about the best.
brill,i will look at the power demand for it when i get it.
i have autoroute so i will install that too.have you ever pluged in a gps to work with autoroute hopefully i will have tv up and running for euro 04
cheers
jon