iPad charging in flight

LDJones

LDJones

Touchdown! Greaser!
Gone West
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Jonesy
In the past when I had my iPad plugged into my 2.1A charger my iPad would charge while in use. I usually turned off wifi and sometimes cellular while flying. Since getting my Stratus 2 the wifi is left enabled to communicate with it, but now my battery runs down even while showing it's plugged in and charging. Today while flying back from Dallas it ran it down to 32% even though plugged in and supposedly charging the entire time. Any ideas?
 
I don't know about the amps but the bigger Apple wall change blocks supply 12w while the cubes are 5w. The difference is night and day. I don't use the little cubes at all. In the plane I have a cigar lighter outlet hidden under the panel (hard wired and served by a dedicated aux power breaker) and plug USB adaptors into that. I believe my adaptors are rated at 12w because wife and I found out in the cars that lower output adaptors wouldn't keep up with GPS nav apps. Sounds like you have the same problem.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1027612-REG/scosche_usbc242m_revolt_12w_12w.html/prm/alsVwDtl
 
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Stewartb said:
I don't know about the amps but the bigger Apple wall change blocks supply 12w while the cubes are 5w. The difference is night and day. I don't use the little cubes at all. In the plane I have a cigar lighter outlet hidden under the panel (hard wired and served by a dedicated aux power breaker) and plug USB adaptors into that. I believe my adaptors are rated at 12w because wife and I found out in the cars that lower output adaptors wouldn't keep up with GPS nav apps. Sounds like you have the same problem.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1027612-REG/scosche_usbc242m_revolt_12w_12w.html/prm/alsVwDtl
Click to expand...

Yeah,mom familiar with all that. My adapters support 4.2A at 5V so that would be 21w capacity. These are the same adapters I've used successfully before.
 
Make sure that your USB charger is 2.1A output on the USB port. If you are using a dual USB charger typically one port is 2.1A and the other is 1.2A. If it is only a 1.2A, it will trickle charge but not keep up with the drain even without foreflight.

Also, when configuring your ipad settings, put it in airplane mode THEN turn back on only wifi. That will shut down everything else. If you just turn off cellular, your Bluetooth may be searching. Also be sure to close ALL apps before takeoff. Apps using location services can rapidly drain the battery if they sniff a wifi network...even though there is no internet connection. If you drop the screen brightness down to like 80%, that has a dramatic impact on battery usage as well.

I run a cig lighter to Dual 2.1 USB charger in my 182 and power my Ipad mini and Stratus 2...the USB power will keep the power level on my mini even throughout flight even though it is charging. If I take off with 20%, I will land with 20% after three hours. Provides just enough power to the mini to run Foreflight while connected to the Stratus. Based on that I would expect a bit of a drain for a full size Ipad.

If you are still draining go find a good quality USB charger, You may not be getting 2.1A true output.
 
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The unit I have has dual ports, both 2.1A. I tried the airplane mode, then wifi on but made no difference. The Stratus, on the other hand, charges right up to full capacity when it is plugged into the same unit.
 
Make sure your charging cable is good as well. I have had problems with off brand cables that were only rated for Iphones.
 
Steve Job said:
We found the 2.1 amp models weren't sufficient to keep the iPad charged. But this 2.4 amp model worked...



http://www.mygoflight.com/dualmicro12-28volt/
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Exactly what I found. If you have a current generation Air or Mini, they both come with 2.4 amp chargers. When I upgraded my iPad, I also upgraded my portable chargers to the 2.4 amps. If I used the older 2.1 amp chargers, they will slowly drain.
 
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I don't know if it's a common problem or not, but the first charger we bought from mygoflight would occasionally cause the intercom to break squelch. Their most recent model promised minimal RFI. So far, so good.
 
Steve Job said:
I don't know if it's a common problem or not, but the first charger we bought from mygoflight would occasionally cause the intercom to break squelch. Their most recent model promised minimal RFI. So far, so good.
Click to expand...


That reminds me speaking of quality. In addition to the issue you speak of, I do know some of these units are not producing the declared rated amperage. I wouldn't be surprised if Loren's issue isn't related to degrading components in the charger.
 
I use Androids, but have had similar charging issues for ages, until I started using better diagnostic tools. The best (for $7 plus 1$ shipping from China) is this one:

vigjkk1376546177915.jpg


I use that in the plane to monitor charging of my POV video, plus any time I suspect the Android is not being properly charged.

I also use an app (on my Android) that displays the charging current.
Using these tools I discovered that USB connectors can be very flaky (on either side) and USB charging cables can make a huge difference (generally proportional to their gauge). I ended up choosing USB cables and chargers (24-28v to 5v in my case) that finally started keeping my on-board charging balance sheet in the green, but it was quite a struggle to get there.
 
Steve Job said:
I don't know if it's a common problem or not, but the first charger we bought from mygoflight would occasionally cause the intercom to break squelch. Their most recent model promised minimal RFI. So far, so good.
Click to expand...
I sometimes listen to music from the iPhone through a patch cord into the headset. For some reason the audio from the phone is trashed whenever a charger is plugged into it.

:dunno:
 
Shawn said:
Make sure your charging cable is good as well. I have had problems with off brand cables that were only rated for Iphones.
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Good point. I was using a recently acquired cheapie.
 
Marauder said:
Exactly what I found. If you have a current generation Air or Mini, they both come with 2.4 amp chargers. When I upgraded my iPad, I also upgraded my portable chargers to the 2.4 amps. If I used the older 2.1 amp chargers, they will slowly drain.
Click to expand...

Another good point. I plan on doing some testing today.
 
One responder referenced an App which showed actual charging current for Android devices. Is anyone aware of an App like this for Apple devices ?

Dale
 
Have no problem with the lighter charger,charge both the iPad and a 496 with no problem. Check the cord ,also keep an eye on the iPad if it's not green it's not charging. I also carry a portable charging device,works great.
 
I use a 2.1A charger, but run my iPad at full brightness. It very slowly drains in flight, I think all that screen power (plus doing Garmin pilot, WiFi, etc) is too much for a 2.1A charger.
 
RotorDude said:
I use Androids, but have had similar charging issues for ages, until I started using better diagnostic tools.
Click to expand...


I didn't know those existed at that price. Thanks for sharing. You made me go buy something. Ha.

I had to nerd out and get the one with the USB hub in it, though. Only USB 2.0 but that doesn't bother me.

DROK® Dual-usb 2.0 HUB with 2 Ports for Fast Charging & Data Sync Charger Doctor Voltage Current Detector Digital Ammeter Voltmeter Multimeter Solar Panel Alignment Tester Mobile Power Panel Monitor Gauge Dc 3.2-10v 0-3a Red Blue LED https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J3JSEG6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_kGdTub1K4QB2Y

You're a nerd enabler, you know this, right? ;)
 
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Did you recently upgrade IOS? A lot of the new features drain the battery, even if you aren't using it. I found my ipad would drain overnight with the cover closed.
I turned off push notifications and that has restored some (not all) of my previous battery life. I know there are other things like that to check, and I will when I get a round tuit.
 
Something seems wrong if your are seeing that type of battery drain.. New OS here and it will last days with the cover closed.. Are you sure your screen is going off?
 
denverpilot said:
I didn't know those existed at that price. Thanks for sharing. You made me go buy something. Ha.

I had to nerd out and get the one with the USB hub in it, though. Only USB 2.0 but that doesn't bother me.

DROK® Dual-usb 2.0 HUB with 2 Ports for Fast Charging & Data Sync Charger Doctor Voltage Current Detector Digital Ammeter Voltmeter Multimeter Solar Panel Alignment Tester Mobile Power Panel Monitor Gauge Dc 3.2-10v 0-3a Red Blue LED https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J3JSEG6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_kGdTub1K4QB2Y

You're a nerd enabler, you know this, right? ;)
Click to expand...

Well, ditto. I just placed an order for the one in your link. Thanks! :)
 
JOhnH said:
Did you recently upgrade IOS? A lot of the new features drain the battery, even if you aren't using it. I found my ipad would drain overnight with the cover closed.
I turned off push notifications and that has restored some (not all) of my previous battery life. I know there are other things like that to check, and I will when I get a round tuit.
Click to expand...


A better plan would be a complete restore from a fresh OS load. It seems most of the discussion around outrageous power drain leads to leftover settings that aren't cleaned up properly in an upgrade.

Wiping it and reinstalling all Apps from iTunes usually straightens it out. The only "new" feature is auto-updating Apps when on wifi or even cellular if you allow it.

The other thing that makes measuring it hard is that lithium batteries do lose capacity over time slowly, especially with a lot of deep discharge cycles. That iPad doesn't have the battery storage potential it did the day it was new. Some uber-geeks actually track it over time, but that's more work than necessary with the relatively short upgrade cycles of Apple mobile devices.
 
Firefighter_324 said:
I had the same problem but bought one of these from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LIEA2J6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It seems to charge the ipad Mini and Stratus at the same time easily. It is not fast with the screen on but maintains the charge at 100% or charges about 3-4% per hour..
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Why the 2.4 amp Apple and 2.4 amp android markings. Amps is amps.

I do not have a charging outlet in the rental. I thought of carrying a small 12V 10amphr battery with a cig lighter outlet for "car outlet" charging.

I've seen the 18V "power drill" batteries rigged with USB phone charger outlets but have not seen one that will put out the 2.1 amps the iPad wants.
 
Edgefly said:
One responder referenced an App which showed actual charging current for Android devices. Is anyone aware of an App like this for Apple devices ?

Dale
Click to expand...
The link shown was for a device that would show amps, not for an app.
 
This is what I use for backup, it's 50,000mAh and they sell for about $25 with free shipping.
 

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FYI, I did more testing today with the setup, but swapped out the truckstop-purchased Lightening cable with the Apple cable: It began charging even at full screen brightness. So as someone here surmised, it was the cheapo (although really not that cheap) cable that is apparently the culprit.

Note to self: Stick with quality, Apple-blessed cables!
 
Rigged4Flight said:
I have read that Apple has a unique wiring scheme on their cables. Instead of just using power leads for power, and data leads for data, there is a chip in the mix. So some 3rd party cables have been shown to give less than optimum charge.

Here's an example writeup about it: http://gizmodo.com/5954542/china-fi...ret-iphone-5-cable-here-come-the-cheap-clones
Click to expand...

Yes, I've encountered that before, but thought I had tested this cable and found it suitable. Guess I didn't test it enough! There's definitely a difference between a generic and an Apple-certified cable.....aobut $10 difference! :wink2: (Plus some other magic, obviously.)
 
Two ways of charging, in addition to a 12 Volt lighter outlet. Both provide a 5 Volt 2.1 Amp USB connector that is sufficient to power an iPad or Stratus:

1. Spruce sells a certified USB outlet for about $350. Mount it wherever you like. True Blue or Midcontinent brands.

2. The new PMA450 audio panel includes a USB accessory outlet on its front panel.

I have the audio panel, and I power the iPad from it while powering the Stratus from a 12V lighter adapter.
 
There's no damn way I'd ever pay $350 for a USB charging port. Ever. I'd rather carry a spare battery than buy a permanently mounted FAA certified USB charge port. YGBFKM.
 
denverpilot said:
There's no damn way I'd ever pay $350 for a USB charging port. Ever. I'd rather carry a spare battery than buy a permanently mounted FAA certified USB charge port. YGBFKM.
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Someone was asking me the other day why I would ever even consider buying an experimental. I mentioned the exorbitant costs involved with just about anything that touches certified planes, versus the consumer-level prices and closer-to-leading-edge technologies that are easily available and installable to the experimental market.

This right here is an excellent case-in-point. I'm sure that the flip side of this argument is that the certified equipment is tested to exhaustion. But it is just a USB port.
 
denverpilot said:
There's no damn way I'd ever pay $350 for a USB charging port. Ever. I'd rather carry a spare battery than buy a permanently mounted FAA certified USB charge port. YGBFKM.
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Suit yourself.

It is a matter of personal preference.

For me, it's like a headset jack. I like plugging in my iPad for ship's power when I get in the plane, immediately after plugging in my headset. My headset jack is permanently mounted and completely reliable, and so is my jack for the iPad power. There's no futzing around, no battery to charge or schlepp. It is worth it to me. My personal preference. You can have yours.
 
denverpilot said:
There's no damn way I'd ever pay $350 for a USB charging port. Ever. I'd rather carry a spare battery than buy a permanently mounted FAA certified USB charge port. YGBFKM.
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me neither....I have a 12V 2 amp usb converter that plugs in to the cig power outlet. Bout $30 at WalMart.

the iPad is usually below 60% when I plug in.....and nearly always 100% at the end of the flight.
 
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