A Geek Goes Flying

Renogy power bank connected to MacBook Air It looks like the Renology R50EF E.FLEX 50 portable solar panel, and maybe also the RPB-72000PD 72,000 mAh / 266 Wh portable power bank, might be discontinued, so I grabbed ‘em while I could. The power bank comes with a Lyangel LY005SPS-200200U 40W (20V 2A) wall wort (5.5x2.1mm DC, positive pin negative shield). I used that to charge the bank to full (it arrived with a ~50% charge). So far I’ve tested wireless charging with an iPhone 12 Pro (works) and now through the Klein meter I have USB-C PD (1) connected to a MacBook Air and it’s supplying 19.73V 1.89A (36.7W). (The Mac sees it as a 60W charger.) The power bank is a beast, about the size and heft of a dense hardback book. It comes with that AC adapter, a ~19" DC to DC cord (5.5x2.1mm (“DC5521”) male connectors on both ends, about 10mm long), a set of (8) adapter tips (5.5x2.1mm female, and 8 various male ends), a soft case with a pouch for accessories, and a manual . It charges via t...

Zendure SuperTank Pro Zendure SuperTank Pro I’m still enamored with the Zendure X5, but I went looking for a solution with at least 2 USB-C PD outputs, that could power both a MacBook Air and a 15.6" UPERFECT portable monitor (that I expect will become part of a flexible sit-stand setup ). The Zendure SuperTank Pro 100W PD 26800mAh power bank seems to have glowing reviews and the specs are there (and I like the OLED screen that shows what each port is delivering, how many watt hours of charge are remaining, etc), and Amazon had it as a lightning sale item marked down from $229 to $169, so I decided to take the plunge. Update: The SuperTank arrived today. To my surprise, it came with a carrying case, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-A adapter. I hooked it up to the UGREEN 100W charger through the Klein and observed it charging (it came with about a 36% charge, and Zendure recommends fully charging it before use). Using the red 60W-rated cable showed 56.0W on the SuperT...