PowerLine 200/400-Watt Slimline Inverter with USB Charging Port #0900-73 | 
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| Brand: PowerLine
Category: Home Improvement
List Price: $37.99
Buy New: $23.18
You Save: $14.81 (39%)
New (15) from $23.18
Rating:  6 reviews
Media: Tools & Hardware
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 6.4 x 1.8 x 9
MPN: 090073
Model: 0900-73
UPC: 027005900739
EAN: 0027005900739
Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days
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| Features:
| • | Dual AC outlets powers 2 devices at once with integrated USB charging port | | • | Converts DC power to AC for use in the vehicle to supply power for AC electronics | | • | Provides 200-watts continuous power and 400-watt peak | | • | Standard USB charging port for for MP3 players and other USB chargeable devices | | • | Cool touch thermo plastic case, overload protection and low power shut off |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
200w Inverter with USB charge port converts - 12v DC automobile power to standard 120v AC house power - upto 200w continuous power. 2 AC plugs and USB port - keep your iPod (and other USB devices) charged up while on the road. Plug in your laptop, printer, lamps, TV/DVS combo units and more while on the road.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Buy a differnt brand/model July 30, 2008
C. Leavitt (FL United States)
Like others have said, this model is not reliable. It worked great while it worked, but after using it a few times is sounded an alarm and blew a fuse in my truck. After I replaced the fuse and plugged it back in, smoke poored out of it. It died a misserable death as its guts shorted out. There are other brands in the same price range that are much better quality. Skip this one and buy something else.
Sporadic performance April 21, 2008
M. Carney
I have had this unit (the 0900-73 200W) for about 3 months. I bought it after my Radio Shack inverter died after about 5 years of use powering an XBox and TV in our van for many, many 5+hour trips (and it was only rated at 140W). So, I picked this one up (since it was cheap...) and it worked on our first trip just fine, and now just blows the fuse in any vehicle when I plug anything into it. The power output is intermittent. I have a light on my Dell laptop powercord that lights up when it has power. Thatlight does not come on reliably when using this inverter, indicating the the Powerline is not outputting power. When the light does eventually come on, the fuse in my car blows immediately. I am reluctant to plug it back in, and am going to go with a different brand (likely back to radio shack). Also, the internal beeper keeps going off with or without anything plugged into it, and regardless of whether it is actually outputting any power.
 Great Product April 7, 2008
William Rushforth (apple valley,ca)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great converter. It powers my macbook without any problems. It is a little louder than I imagined, but nothing that bothers me, and I can't really hear it when the car stereo is on. Overall great product, great price, and it also has the usb charging for a bonus.
Save your money March 16, 2008
Ben B
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My experience is similar to Jonathans. This unit is a piece of junk. I had a similarly rated inverter for several years (I have forgotten the make and model) and it worked perfectly until it was stolen from my car. The FIRST TIME I used this one, with a Dell laptop power supply (rated 90 watts continuous) connected, after about 4 hours use, it began screaming at me with its built in audible alarm. It screams whenever it is turned on, with or without anything plugged in, load or no load. Maybe I will tear it apart for the alarm. THAT seems to work just fine!
 Extremely sensitive & unreliable October 7, 2007
Jonathan Baumgardner (San Antonio, TX)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a decent power inverter, at best. I do not recommend this for continuous use for longer than 2 or 3 hours.
I purchased my first one at Wal-Mart, which subsequently died on me after about 10 hours of continuous use. It kept blowing a fuse, with OR without having anything drawing current, other than the unit itself. I disassembled it and found the internal fuse to be in working condition. I came to the conclusion that the voltage regulators were at fault, and drew over 30 amps of current, since I tried a 30amp fuse and it popped immediately.
I exchanged it for a second one at Wal-Mart, and used it on another road trip yesterday; this one no longer functions. I didn't bother disassembling this one because I've decided that this brand and/or country of assembly/manufacturing (made in china, of course) is not worth my while.
The cooling fan on both units was finicky. They would buzz after long use and often required multiple power cycles (unplugging and plugging back in) to get it to spin up again.
My usage was with a Dell Inspiron 6000 1.6ghz Pentium-M (SpeedStep enabled, running at 800mhz) with a 4200rpm drive, and cpu usage was between 0-10% at most. There was little the power inverter was required to do; the Dell AC power cord I use is rated at 65watt max current, and my computer, as you see noted above, was operating at 0-10 percent @ 800mhz. This is unacceptable performance from the PowerLine inverter.
My first inverter failure was at 10 hours, and my second at 7 hours. The second one, again, either has cheaply made voltage regulators or has blown a fuse internally; I won't waste my time taking this one apart to see if it's the internal fuse or regulators that have gone bad.
Each inverter failed in different cars, so it's not likely that a dirty or unstable DC power supply is to blame. I blame the over-sensitivity of the cheap components used in manufacturing. I've had cheaply-made power supplies in computers last longer than this, and I learned my lesson with those quickly--now I've learned my lesson with DC-to-AC power inverters, especially those of the PowerLine brand.
If your use is infrequent, and for less than 2 hours at a time, this might do the job you need. The internal capacitors are not a durable brand, either--there are no identifying markings on them at all. My draw of less than 65 AC watts causes the fan to operate improperly and then render the device useless--this is my second and last purchase of a PowerLine inverter product.
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