Cigarette Lighter iPad Charger

[GeneralT001]

Can anyone recommend an iPad charger that will plug into the cigarette lighter on the aircraft?

[Hank]

I've used one I picked up at the Home Depot cash register at Christmas around 2012. Works great! Cost ~$5, has 1A and 2.4A plugs.

[Mark89114]

Not specifically.  I bought my first one and it did nothing but generate static on the radios, which is not an uncommon issue, so it went in the garbage.  I don't know if there is such a thing as a high quality one as they are all made in some Chinese factory.  I bought a second one that has 2 ports, one seems like it is 1.1 amps and the other shows 2.1 (numbers are approximate).  At the 2.1 port the charger will slowly charge the ipad if the screen is off and if you are using it the charge goes down, seems like it is going down quicker these days as my ipad is 5 years old.  Hate to consider buying a new ipad.  I suspect you are just as likely to find a "high quality" one that works as well as a cheap one. 

 

[GeneralT001]

I came across a thread on this and it was recommended to get a "brick". I'm going to look into that.

 

Thanks

[GeneralT001]

In the end I went with this one (bit pricier than I wanted). I'll keep a cigarette lighter type as a back up:

 

[LANCECASPER]

Anker is a good brand for cigarette lighter charger also - no problems with noise on your radios with their chargers

[Andy95W]

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/mgfmicrocharger13-15538.php

Works great, no noise, old and new outlets, volt meter.

[GeneralT001]

1 minute ago, Andy95W said:

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/mgfmicrocharger13-15538.php

Works great, no noise, old and new outlets, volt meter.

Its now on my Christmas list

[EricJ]

Long thread with a couple different analyses.   Both are getting a little old, but I think the conclusion still holds that if you get a noisy charger, just switch it to a different one.   Even the cheapies can be very quiet.

 

[MikeOH]

Yeah, I have a cheapie left in the plane by the PO; never a noise issue, but it doesn't quite keep up with what my iPad Pro 10.5" needs.  But, for bladder range flights (i.e. around 4 hours) the charge has never gone down by more than 10%.  IOW, fully charged and with a large mouth Gatorade bottle I'm good to go for max endurance without iPad worries

[81X]

There are several flush usb chargers for the lighter plug, do a search for those as they have a good almost factory look. I have a Aukey brand in my Mooney and it works great!  

 

 

[Browncbr1]

I use the maxboost 4.8A charger.  It does not cause RF noise in my radios.  

[GeneralT001]

8 minutes ago, 81X said:

There are several flush usb chargers for the lighter plug, do a search for those as they have a good almost factory look. I have a Aukey brand in my Mooney and it works great!  

 

 

Ordered one of these. That with the brick I ordered and I should be good for awhile

 

Thanks All.

[larryb]

It's more complicated now. USB-A (old style) or USB-C (new style) ?

I just got an iPad mini6. It is USB-C. So all new adapters and chargers. But "USB-C Power Delivery" can provide a LOT more power. My mini5 would barely keep up with a 2.1A USB-A adapter. But the mini6 with it's USB-C can now rapidly charge while also displaying GP full time. It is a big improvement.

Note that you won't get this improvement if you use an old USB-A charger with an A to C cord. The new USB-C Power Delivery chargers have a chip that negotiate how much voltage and current both ends can supply/take and pick the highest common setting. Without the chip the system will default to the lowest power setting.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08W1SVT1L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[toto]

OT: This is the iPad charger I keep thinking about

https://www.ps-engineering.com/PMA450B.html

[haymak3r]

This is what I just put in mine. No radio static from it when charging my phone or ipad. Haven't had it long enough to know if it keeps up with my ipad when in use though..

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F67EFYI?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

 

It is sold at aircraft spruce too. 

[201er]

19 hours ago, GeneralT001 said:

Can anyone recommend an iPad charger that will plug into the cigarette lighter on the aircraft?

I got a new ipad a month ago and decided to get a new charger. I splurged and got the very most expensive one you can get from Apple directly:

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HN822ZM/A/mophie-dual-usb-c-usb-a-car-charger?fnode=c17fe2711aa52a8d856259e765e69356fd5578d6980172a562a30e9f41dde69b1edf4ea5ba96c8f5cc18669fd7e263784d1a41013a5da33f102d186cd501573fda44e7cbd274c7a4c2a10ab907b318e0d2d7aa55504195df5e95908276a376aa

Apple stuff is usually 10% better while double the price. But you know what, compared to anything else in the airplane, this is pennies. I'm tired of having noise, poor charging, unsupported accessory warnings, etc. It's cheaper to buy the best one once than to go through 2-3 cheapies to learn your lesson the hard way. Been there, done that. For $30, it's worth having it just work and forget about it. Got their charge cord too.

[steingar]

I spent some coin on Amazon and got one that works and doesn't muck up my radios.  The cheap one from the store didn't work at all.

[lotsofgadgets]

I've had good luck with the sportys Flight Gear charger.  I like that it also includes an LCD readout of the bus voltage

 

https://www.sportys.com/flight-gear-dual-usb-quick-charger.html