iPad charging

[Joe Larussa]

Anyone have any luck getting your iPad to charge, or stay charged while using it?

I’ve tried various cigarette lighter USB adapters and no luck. Doesn’t charge well in my

car either. 

[hammdo]

2 A or 3 A charger?  The iXXX are charge hungry. 2 A don’t seem able to keep up...

-Don

[Raptor05121]

I just bought an iPad Air 4 and use an Anker car charger and it slowly charges it in flight with max brightness and all the bells and whistles going

[1001001]

I use an iPad mini 4 and have no problems keeping it charged in flight using this 3A (18W) charger:  https://smile.amazon.com/Charger-Adapter-Cluvox-Compatible-Cigarette/dp/B07Z992YQQ/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=cluvox+ipad+charger&qid=1609548479&sr=8-4

 

(Just as a note, I bought one of these for my Android phone with the USB-C cable, and it works great charging my ipad and android simultaneously.)

Edited January 2, 2021 by 1001001

[PT20J]

I installed a 3 amp MCI True Blue Power cube behind the panel and ran a USB-lightening cable along the control column shaft to my iPad mini mount. It will charge the mini while it’s running with full brightness and bluetooth enabled.

Skip

[MikeOH]

My iPad Pro 10.5" will hold its own (stays about whatever charge it has) with full brightness and WiFi (to the Scout/ADSB In).  Using a lighter adaptor that was with the plane when I got it so, not sure how many amps.

[glbtrottr]

In my paranoid life, I use a mophie brick charged at home, and connect power to the brick which in turn charges the iPad. Battery dies? Alternator croaks? Easy peasy-iPad stays on. Brick is bigger than the iPad.




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[gsxrpilot]

2.5A charging is the minimum for an iPad. But make sure your electrical system is pushing at least 2.5A to the port. You also need 15 to 18 watts on that charging port. Secondarily, turn down the brightness 50% on the iPad and it will charge a lot better. I often turn the brightness down when I'm in cruise on a multi-hour flight. It's nice but not required during the middle cruise portion of the flight. Then when I'm starting my descent, I'll turn up the brightness on the now charged up iPad.

[Joe Larussa]

1 hour ago, hammdo said:

2 A or 3 A charger?  The iXXX are charge hungry. 2 A don’t seem able to keep up...

-Don

4.8 

[1001001]

Just now, Joe Larussa said:

4.8 

Does it have two ports?  I have seen some chargers that claim high current but in the fine print, it's total current across both ports, not per port.

[Joe Larussa]

Just now, 1001001 said:

Does it have two ports?  I have seen some chargers that claim high current but in the fine print, it's total current across both ports, not per port.

It has three ports, but I’m only using one. I do however have my Garmin 39 GDL 3D and a Garmin Aera 660 plugged into the cigarette port as well. 

[Joe Larussa]

1 hour ago, Raptor05121 said:

I just bought an iPad Air 4 and use an Anker car charger and it slowly charges it in flight with max brightness and all the bells and whistles going

Which one did you buy?

[whiskytango]

I bought this one from Amazon:

Car Charger RAVPower 24W 4.8A Mini Dual USB Car Adapter, Compatible with iPhone XS Max XR X 8 7 Plus, iPad Pro Air Mini and Galaxy S9 S8 Plus

It will charge both an iPad Mini 4 (slowly) and a Stratus 2S simultaneously.  I have not detected any RF noise when it is plugged in and charging.  It was $7.99 when I bought it in 2019, so it was fully CB-compliant.

 

[Vance Harral]

I second glbtrottr's recommendation to just use a mobile power brick.  Problems with cigarette-lighter chargers are ubiquitous on Mooneyspace and other aviation forums: some chargers don't push enough current, others generate noise in the audio system, sometimes the lighter or the wire connection to it gets really hot because it's carrying more constant current than it was designed for, etc.

For about $30 you can buy a power brick that will keep your iPad fully charged for an entire day.  Spend 0.1 AMU and buy two or three - keep one in your flight bag, one on charge at the hangar, one on charge at home, etc.  No worries about routing charging cables from the cigarette lighter past yoke shafts and across the panel, just put the brick on your lap or in a side pocket.  I haven't used a cigarette charger in an airplane in several years, and haven't missed it.

[ZuluZulu]

This one with dual 3.0A ability has worked well for me.  Charges an iPad Pro no problem, and I've even used it to partially charge a MacBook Pro during a flight.  The display and annunciations are nice added features.

[81X]

In addition to the power delivery mechanisms, here are a couple heat related things to consider- 

 

iPads will slow or stop charging if the device gets too warm.
 

Also, iPads generate heat while charging, for compute cycles and for the backlight.  
 

The sun and a warm cabin can obviously help get an iPad really hot.  
some cases/mounts retain heat while the ones with the fans shed it.  An overhead vent directed at the iPad, or a sun shade to keep the iPad shaded help significantly here  

 

So, starting with a fully charged iPad, using the overhead vent and having some sort of shade handy are my solutions to ensuring the iPad charges/ stays charged. 

[GeeBee]

I can tell you several airlines utilize the big Anker charging brick for their flight crews. Mine did and I could easily fly a trans oceanic crossing with it with an iPad burning the whole time. It is an easy and low cost solution.

If you are going to install a charging part, it seems everyone but the Appareo Pro is a little behind as Apple has now gone to USB-C cable end rather than USB-A. While they stayed with the Lightning connector on the equipment side so your old cables will work, the USB-C is nice because it can be inserted into the power port in either side up and it still works. It is also a smaller plug.

 

[larrynimmo]

A friend of mine retired recently from ups...he flew weekly European trips...he told me they were forbidden to use iPads...

[PeteMc]

If you fly a lot, consider NOT keeping your iPad plugged in until it gets down to the below 50%.  And then unplug it again when it gets charged. 

The new style batteries are great at being charged multiple times, however.... they still do have a life cycle.  So for those that fly a lot, running power through the iPad your entire flight after you've already charged them before you left home is not the best thing.

And before you panic about what if you have an electrical failure and you're down below 50%.  Well first, 50% on a good battery should give you plenty of time to get down.  But more importantly, if you're flying that much, don't you already have a fully charged backup in your bag??? 

[neilpilot]

On a long flight, especially if you have a panel mount moving map, consider simply turning your iPad off for a large % of the flight.  When I would fly a long xc, I had weather and traffic on my panel.  I found that nothing was lost as far as awareness if I turned off my iPad for a significant portion of the cruise.  I'd flip it on occasionally if I wanted to check ADSB weather or other info.  

My experience was that XM weather on my Garmin was way more accurate that the iPad ADSB feed anyway.

[gsxrpilot]

My PMA450b audio panel has a USB-C port pushing 15 watts of power. It does a respectable job of keeping my iPad going.

[skydvrboy]

I immediately thought of this from a different angle. Have you checked the iPad charging port? The only time I've had problems with mine not charging well was when it got some debris in the port. A wooden toothpick pulled out a surprising amount of junk from that tiny port. After that, no more problems. 

FWIW, I use an Anker brick charger in flight once my iPad gives me the low battery warning. It will easily recharge the iPad with the screen on full bright. 

[Tim Jodice]

Question for everyone.  How long does a mini last on it's battery alone?

[MikeOH]

Question about all of those high-capacity battery packs (e.g. mophie):  Are they lithium based and, if so, have these designs moved passed the 'explode' at random feature?

[jlunseth]

Mine always nearly kept up, the iPad discharge rate would be slower when in the air and on a cigarette lighter charger. I got tired of that and installed the Garmin panel charger, now there is plenty of current.

I have had charging cables go bad. The iPad shows charging when the cable is connected, but there is no electrical contact or not enough. Cable gets old and wears down. That might be the first place to look.

Those ancient cigarette lighter sockets were not really intended for the purposes we now put them to. Panel sockets are not cheap, but once in, well the problem is solved. Another way to solve it is to put in the PS Engineering OMA450B. Good panel and it has a USB-C socket, plenty of current.