How I converted my laptop to charge from a USB C PD cable

With the downtime that the Covid lockdown gave me, my thoughts turned to how I could lighten my bikepacking gear. I carry a notebook computer with me as I blog and vlog along the way. It’s heavy! Along with the laptop I need to carry the charging gear; a mains plug that has a thick mains lead, a power supply box and another lead with the jack plug that connects to the notebook.

I spent many weeks researching my options, I could get a mains plug with the power supply attached, that would save a few grams only, but that wasn’t enough. I knew that high-end laptops had charging via a USB C PD cable, I couldn’t afford a new computer, so I spent a further few weeks sourcing components to enable my Asus notebook to charge via USB C PD.

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Considerations

· Laptop input – 19V 45W 2.37A

· Emulator – 20V 3A max

· Joining lead – 60-100W input 18-29V output

· Laptop connector – 2.5mm Jack

Stage 1

I needed to find an emulator that would convert the USB C PD output into something my Asus would accept. At one end it needed to connect to my computer, at the other end it needed to be a USB C male plug or female socket that I could connect a USB C male connector. I couldn’t find an emulator lead that had the correct jack plug but I found one with a larger jack plug, luckily I had a set of jack plug adapters (details listed below), one of which I knew would connect to the jack plug on the emulator lead. The other end being a USB C female socket.