Or, maybe they were both too eager to rack up "points" for responding that they just threw a trash answer on the board, regardless of the quality (or lack thereof). Perhaps it was too much trouble to read the request. Both were incredibly condescending and totally inaccurate. In the following 3 months, I received two responses. I am going to try out a self-resetting poly fuse and see if the response times are adequate to prevent damage to the electronics.About 3 months ago (Dec 26, 2021), I posted a request for input regarding possible options for safely charging my MacBook Pro 16 M1, while sailing in the Bahamas and/or while traveling in my RV during the off-season (hurricane season). With the MagSafe pins exposed, using a traditional quick-blow fuse may become an issue because the likelihood of shorting is high. No permanent damage occurred to the power supply, voltage step-up adapter, or the MagSafe connector, but I have since decided to add a fuse to the output to prevent this from being an issue. One time while checking the voltage at the MagSafe connector I shorted it against the magnetic collar.
I used the adapter for several days in my home office with no issues to report. I believe I will be switching back to the AC adapter for day-to-day operations, and will use this adapter for portable operations. I rarely feel the housing get more than just warm to the touch, but plan to drill more for a margin of safety. I drilled a few vent holes around where the heatsinks of the voltage step-up converter are to allow for heat dissipation. I mounted everything up in a project box with some hot glue, a PowerPole lead, and a switch. This no doubt saves power on an adapter that is always plugged in, but I turn my 12v power supplies on and off as I use them. The only apparent difference I have found is that the Apple adapters only put out 6v until a load is present. Recharge times were roughly the same as using the AC Adapter. I then drained the battery down to about 50% and successfully charged it up. I drained the battery a few percent, and it charged up.
While holding my breath, I connected it to my laptop and… the green light indicating charger was connected lit, and the charger was recognized in OSX. I tested it on my bench and verified the output voltage on the built in display with a multimeter and found that it was off by about a tenth of a volt, not a show stopper.
I found one on Amazon that would support a 6A continuous load. With none of my available power sources supplying 16.5v, I had to purchase a voltage step-up converter that would support the 3.65A load of my 13″ Retina MacBook Pro is rated for. In looking at my power adapters and Apple laptops I determined that a power source of 16.5v into a MagSafe cord would work. There seemed to be few willing to experiment with powering their expensive laptops from alternate sources. I started researching alternatives to the Apple MagSafe power adapters and did not come up with much. As I get more 12v devices setup in my home office/ham shack I have started venturing into more and more electronics projects.