Looking for a connector plug for a Thinkpad T60

March 16, 2007 1:10 PM

Where can I buy that special connector plug (just the plug itself not the entire adapter) for an IBM/Lenovo t60 laptop?

So with the new T60 thinkpads, lenovo changed the power plug profile on their AC power adapters which is annoying because all previous thinkpad models were backward compatible with any previous thinkpad power adapter. Now, the connector on the back has a female profile and the connector on the adapter seems to be a proprietary male version. I hate when companies do that so you have to buy their expensive OEM or reseller ones.

Check out the picture here.

What I'd like is to find an electronic supplier or some place that sells just the plug ending so I can cut off the one on an adapter I already have and replace it (they are the same voltage and polarity). I tried Radio Shack and a couple of online places but they don't have it.

posted by postergeist to computers & internet (5 comments total)

They are not the same voltage. The adapter for a T60 is 20 volts and (most) other adapters are 16 volts.
posted by Diskeater at 1:40 PM on March 16, 2007

I know, I meant that I have a different adapter that is the same voltage. Either way though if the polarity is the same on the old adapters it should still work, it just wont charge the battery well or at all, along with the battery however it should allow you to work without draining the battery.
posted by postergeist at 1:45 PM on March 16, 2007

Lenovo blog entry on why they changed it.
posted by smackfu at 1:49 PM on March 16, 2007

FWIW, my T30's charging logic was poor and using an old third party adapter that didn't put out enough juice (worked fine on a 560X, not so much on the T30) caused my battery to no longer hold more than 45 minutes charge.

Adapters are much cheaper than batteries. ;)
posted by wierdo at 2:38 PM on March 16, 2007

smackfu thanks for the blog post. Yes of course I didnt even think about it... change the plug so that you don't accidentally fry an older system. Makes sense now. However, they still could have used a more easily obtainable standard plug that was slightly bigger than the old one so no one made the mistake yet was still able to use multi voltage adapters like one that I have at home that can output anywhere from 12-24v using any number of different plug heads.
posted by postergeist at 6:13 PM on March 16, 2007