DonMuncy Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 My hangar elf is about to run wires to connect my Stratus in the back seats (to avoid overheating on the glare shield). Does anyone know whether the cigarette lighter plug cord that comes with the Stratus feeds 12v through to the unit, or whether (like Garmin automotive GPS units), it steps the voltage down to some other number. Quote
takair Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 Don i learned that you need the Stratus cord. As I recall there are two 3v signals in addition to power to tell it that it is using its own cord. I don't recall the pin out, because I ended up changing the connector on mine when it pulled off the board. This is all probably part of the charge circuit to protect the battery. I discovered this the hard way. Quote
carusoam Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 Some elves documented the installation of a cigarette lighter on the back wall of the luggage compartment on MS a few years ago... This allowed them to plug in the ADSB unit while it sits on the hat shelf. I think they had an older SkyRadar at the time. Since the ADSB antennae are ground based, the hat shelf is as good as the top of the instrument panel. It wouldn't take very much to have a mechanic install and document the lighter hardware with a fuse if your battery is already back there. It would also be good to include a line in the shut down check list to improve the memory of unplugging the device. There are a few steps with all the modern electronics that need to be added. I have two apps on the iPad to start, ADSB to plug in, and fuel used reset. My SkyRadar resides in a side pocket next to the co pilot. Remote antennae (GPS and ADSB) are up on the IP. The plug is in the nearby cigarette lighter socket. Best regards, -a- Quote
DonMuncy Posted October 15, 2015 Author Report Posted October 15, 2015 Takair, Thanks, I was afraid of that. Quote
takair Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 But Carusoam has a simple way of doing it... 1 Quote
cnoe Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 Don, I'm quite sure it's 5 volts as commonly supplied by USB chargers but many good quality cords work. Contrary to what was said earlier I frequently use a non-Stratus cord. I've had good luck with Mediabridge cords off Amazon. 2.1 amps from your lighter adapter is necessary. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote
DonMuncy Posted October 15, 2015 Author Report Posted October 15, 2015 Cnoe, Please pardon my ignorance. I'm reading 3 things. 1. 5 volts. I can understand the box needs 5 volts input. 2. Good quality cord. I'm not sure I understand what the quality of the cord means or how it affects its operation. 3. 2.1 amps. I assume this is only important in how well (quickly) it charges the battery. All that being said, if a source can reliably supply 5 volts, it should work, and if it can supply 2.1 amps or better, it should work quite well. Am I missing something, or just not understanding. Quote
larryb Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 Cnoe, Please pardon my ignorance. I'm reading 3 things. 1. 5 volts. I can understand the box needs 5 volts input. 2. Good quality cord. I'm not sure I understand what the quality of the cord means or how it affects its operation. 3. 2.1 amps. I assume this is only important in how well (quickly) it charges the battery. All that being said, if a source can reliably supply 5 volts, it should work, and if it can supply 2.1 amps or better, it should work quite well. Am I missing something, or just not understanding. I don't know specifically about stratus, but I do know electronics. 2: If the cord is low quality, it can have thinner conductors and therefore a larger voltage drop. 2.1 amps is a fair bit of current, and if the voltage drop is excessive the device may decide not to charge at all. 3: The result is similar to #2. If the current source is not adequate, the voltage will drop. The source could drop to 0, or some intermediate voltage. Depends on the design. And the device may be smart enough to reduce it's charging demand, or it may decide to not charge at all. If the device want's a 2.1A source, best to give it what it wants. If it were me, I would bring 12v to the location you want the device so that you can use a normal charging adapter and cord for the Stratus. I would not try to extend 5V from the dash to the rear seat. Larry Quote
midlifeflyer Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 (edited) Cnoe, Please pardon my ignorance. I'm reading 3 things. 1. 5 volts. I can understand the box needs 5 volts input. 2. Good quality cord. I'm not sure I understand what the quality of the cord means or how it affects its operation. 3. 2.1 amps. I assume this is only important in how well (quickly) it charges the battery. All that being said, if a source can reliably supply 5 volts, it should work, and if it can supply 2.1 amps or better, it should work quite well. Am I missing something, or just not understanding. Good quality cord and 2.1A: drop by a typical dollar store, pick up a mini sync-charging cord for $1 and try to use it with a smartphone or tablet that wants 2.1A. You are likely to get a very slow charge or no charge at all. My Samsung phone actually pops up a message to say how much better life will bee with the right cord. that doesn't mean you have to use the supplied cord, just one with the right capacity. I regularly charge my Stratus using the same cord I use for my phone and other mini-USB electronic accessories. Edited October 15, 2015 by midlifeflyer Quote
cnoe Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 All good advice. Definitely the simplest solution is to install a rear 12V lighter adapter and a quality charger/cord combo such as the Belkin unit. I've tried a few different cords and wall warts (chargers) with the Stratus and it will not accept power at all from some. Luckily the Stratus battery really does last ~8 hours once you get it off the glareshield (thus minimizing the internal fan usage). I rarely plug mine in while flying except on a long multi-leg flight. One more thing... I talked to the Appareo (Stratus) guys at Tullahoma on Saturday and was told that we'd be receiving a firmware update shortly that would put Stratus 2 owners on par with the new Stratus 2S. It should slightly improve fan/battery and reception performance. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote
DonMuncy Posted October 15, 2015 Author Report Posted October 15, 2015 Thanks for all the replies and advice. I told you I was ignorant. Quote
ALP Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 Don, I'm not sure if this applies to your question, but mine is under the copilot seat with all the wires hidden. This required a USB extension and a remote GPS antenna. The stratus was configured to work when power is supplied and shut off when power is removed. I have tried 2 cords from Best Buy (Belkin I think) and 1 from Radio shack. i think the problem is if power was interrupted during flight (hence the cheap cord) the Stratus would shut off and not restart. I now have it configured so I manually turn it on before flying and shut it off when done and just let the ship power charge while flying. Another frustrating thing is different traffic displays on 2 different Ipads at the same time. Sporty's has suggested rebooting the Stratus, confirming that both foreflight releases match and are configured the same under "hide distant traffic". I haven't got that far yet. Quote
Seed3r Posted October 15, 2015 Report Posted October 15, 2015 ALP, Can you describe the differences in traffic you see ? It maybe just some subscription/message pooling issue, these are little networked computers and "just reboot" is not a fix. Quote
ALP Posted October 16, 2015 Report Posted October 16, 2015 Hey Seed3r, Sometimes I will see targets on one ipad and not the other. I don't know which one is true. Sporty's suggested turn off the stratus and then hold the button down for 30 seconds. to reset the stratus to factory specs. Then I need to check that both ipads and foreflight supscriptions match. Finally check the range ("hide distant traffic") to make sure they have distant traffic turned off. I think I am closing in on this. when everthing was screwing up at once it was hard to think through. I still am not totally sure that the USB extension was causing the shut down, but it stays on since going back to manually turning it on and off. I also had a problem with a damaged plug on the remote GPS antenna and have replaced the antenna. So it has been a string of problems, but I think I am close. Al Quote
Seed3r Posted October 16, 2015 Report Posted October 16, 2015 ALP, In regards to missing traffic, I would open a support case with manufacturer developer team, even if they will not fix it, would be nice for them to clarify to us, that its possible. To me it looks like technology which they use for message queue, expires messages before all subcribers ack receiving them. There could be many reasons, from queuing policy to h/w limitations of stratus, why this is happening. Sorry to drag it like that, it's my professional curiosity, I work with systems like that, in a different industry. Quote
carusoam Posted October 16, 2015 Report Posted October 16, 2015 Side bar... ALP are you at KTTN? Or a different Trenton? Best regards, -a- Quote
ALP Posted October 17, 2015 Report Posted October 17, 2015 Hey Carusoam, I'm at Robbinsville (N87). Thanks, Al 1 Quote
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