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Panel mounted USB chargers (merged)

The TA102 is interesting but the spec says 5V +/-0.25V.

If it happens to be 4.75V it probably won't work with a lot of devices, and definitely won't woth with the Lenovo tablet which (outrageously) needs 5.25V.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

... and definitely won't woth with the Lenovo tablet ...

Neither with the iPad which won't even charge off the standard USB port of a computer. But 275 Pounds plus VAT? Certified maybe, but a little bit on the expensive side. For that money I can buy a spare iPad (or mobile phone or whatever needs to be charged) on eBay as a backup...

EDDS - Stuttgart

I have one of these, and it works a treat - certainly enough to support many hours of flight time with an iPad running. And much cheaper too.

I've used a cheap cig lighter to USB adapter with a Garmin Etrex in the Jodel. I'm about to try it with my £119 Chinese Android ICS, with the NATS Airspace app. Any danger of damage? The battery is different, so I'll try it in the car first, in case it goes 787.

Maoraigh
EGPE, United Kingdom

Does the voltage really matter for the higher end devices? I thought that USB ports are normally current limited to 0.5A or somesuch, so if the device tries to draw more it shuts off / reduces the voltage.

Biggin Hill

A lot of cigar lighter chargers are 12V (14V when the engine is running) only, not 24/28V.

The voltage should not matter, but Lenovo (for one) have cheated and you don't get charging with the device ON unless there is at least 5.25V presented.

USB ports on computers are limited to 0.5A but (there is another long thread here on USB charging) the world has moved on from there and e.g. Apple use resistors across the data pins which tell the Apple device how much current it can draw, up to 2.1A. Lenovo and others use a different scheme to achieve the same thing. You can google for hours on this...

Most of these devices will not usefully (or at all) charge from a normal 0.5A computer port; some will just about charge if they are switched off.

The problem is that charging via USB, and the use of the micro-USB cable, has given us an apparently standard way of charging (something the EU was going to force via legislation) but the reality is different, and the actual devices still draw far too much power to charge from USB (2.5W max), so these bodges had to be devised to enable the marketing of chargers which have a USB socket on them.

Lenovo's requirement for 5.25V minimum is just the worst bodge of them all. Basically you have to buy a specific Lenovo charger, and this just about does the job if used with a thick cable.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I have one of these, and it works a treat - certainly enough to support many hours of flight time with an iPad running. And much cheaper too.

Hi PA.

If your ipad is fully drained, will this battery fully recharge it?

What model of iPad do you have?

If it will fully recharge my ipad3 I'd get one, but previous experience with batteries for that purpose hasn't been good unfortunately. So I'd be interested in your experience before ordering one.

Colm

EIWT Weston, Ireland

I don't understand the problem. I just plug into the 110v outlet... :)

EGTK Oxford

If your ipad is fully drained, will this battery fully recharge it?

Mine has never been "fully" drained so I don't know if iPad's require a mains source initially. But say it was at 5%, then yes it would charge it. I have an iPad 2. That said, it takes some time (hours) to charge, and if you are running a navigation piece of software at the same time, it tends to sustain the battery rather than charge it.

When I flew to LaRochelle, the iPad 2 battery went down to about 50% roughly, just on the internal battery. When I flew back, this time with the additional battery plugged it, I landed with something like 40% left. Without it, the iPad would be dead I reckon.

Thanks PA.

Just want I needed to know ;)

EIWT Weston, Ireland
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