I have a 15" MacBook Pro that uses a power adaptor that draws 85w (and onboard AA, the power is supposedly limited to 75w). Until recently, I carried a large, clunky Belkin DC-AC Inverter that didn't seem to mind, and never had difficult running AND recharging my laptop while I was using it on board.

Unfortunately, the Belkin finally broke after 6 years of service, and since I replaced it with a Black & Decker from Home Depot (rated at 150w), I've been noticing that I cannot get the laptop to draw power on board. What happens is that I plug in the laptop, and the little LED charge indicator starts flashing very rapidly. The computer says it is "charging," but in reality the battery continues to drain.

If I close the laptop (putting it to sleep) and then plug it in, the laptop WILL charge. So, clearly it's not a broken inverter. I'm guessing that the laptop draws more power when both charging AND operating at the same time, and that doing both somehow overloads the system, so it shuts down.

Does anybody know of a better DC-AC Inverter that will let me power the 85w supply for my MacBook Pro on AA aircraft?

Thanks!