I went down this route for the same reason as Wingco - I wanted to run my lappy off a car system.
I considered an inverter because, as flyingwysiwyg suggests, I thought it would be a more flexible solution, able to be used by other 240v appliances but rejected it for two reasons:
[list=1][*] The better inverters produce a full sine-wave output. For a given capacity they are considerably more expensive than the alternative.
The cheaper type produces a high square wave component which many AC appliances, including laptop power adapters, do not like. While the appliances may work initially, their life may be greatly reduced, particularly if there's a motor in them.
[*] To be generally useful the inverter needs to have a reasonable capacity, say 500 watts or more. They get very expensive very quickly above about 150 watts or so, though that would be sufficient for a laptop PS.[/list=1]
If money's no object a full sine wave inverter of reasonable capacity is a good way to go. From memory I was quoted $400 odd for 500 watts.
Money was an object for me - I went for a $50 DC to DC adapter that accepts 12-16 volts DC input (allows for sloppy 12v car electrical systems) and has 9 switch-selectable output voltages at 120 watt capacity (suits most lappy DC requirements).
AA
Last edited by Ausatco; 29th November 2004 at 11:49.