PeteMc Posted September 24 Report Posted September 24 3 hours ago, Pinecone said: Most of the support people have no idea. Yes, they charge to 100% of that they consider the capacity. The engineers set what is the max charge level for the device. Yea, sort of think you're putting too much faith in the masses of "consumer" grade stuff that's out there vs the pro gear.
Jason 1996 MSE Posted September 24 Report Posted September 24 Having just gone thru this scenario I strongly recommend going with the plug-in to the cigarette lighter. I opted for the Garmin power port and my avionics shop, who apparently did not have much Mooney experience, messed up the install and caused me a lot of time and money chasing the intermittent problem, which turned out to be a dropped spacer from a dash installation screw that was rattling around behind my circuit breaker panel and randomly shorting circuits. Dugosh finally found it - high praise for them. In short, don't get into the panel unless you must. Also, who knows what the next USB-X plug adaptor will be. I shudder to think I might have to get behind the panel again to replace my USB-C port in the future. 1 1
hammdo Posted October 1 Report Posted October 1 With my AeroCruze install, I opted for a PMA cig lighter socket vs usb install, just in case I use something that needs that type of socket… -Don 1
toto Posted Tuesday at 04:26 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 04:26 AM On 10/1/2025 at 12:19 PM, LANCECASPER said: Some wisdom from Beechtalk: This thread has got me thinking again about the cigar lighter vs battery. For a Starlink Mini, at startup you need a max of 100w, but I understand that the normal draw is more like 25w. As others in this thread, my ac is 28v and I *think* the panel port is 28v without a step down (I haven’t tested, don’t know for sure). I have the “IGN TACH CIG” circuit with a 10A breaker, and 100w max at 28v is only 3.57A. It looks like under 2A for normal use after startup. People that use a portable battery with a Starlink seem to choose the beer cooler size batteries that wouldn’t meet the TSA requirement - yet another reason I’m reconsidering the cigar lighter approach. (100w is pretty borderline for a 99Wh battery.) If you have a good manufactured cable with the cigar adapter on one end and the Starlink plug on the other, it sounds like this might be the preferred approach? 2
PeteMc Posted Tuesday at 07:09 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 07:09 AM Not knowing the size or condition of the wiring behind the cigarette lighter plug, then tossing in the risks using a USB adapter, I'd really be hesitant to go that route. If I were going to use a Starlink in my plane, the cost to install a dedicated line with the appropriate circuit breaker would be well worth it for the safety considerations. (IMHO) 1
RoundTwo Posted Tuesday at 11:54 AM Report Posted Tuesday at 11:54 AM 4 hours ago, PeteMc said: Not knowing the size or condition of the wiring behind the cigarette lighter plug, then tossing in the risks using a USB adapter, I'd really be hesitant to go that route. If I were going to use a Starlink in my plane, the cost to install a dedicated line with the appropriate circuit breaker would be well worth it for the safety considerations. (IMHO) A quick visual inspection should address both of those concerns. However, a typical cigarette lighter is normally fused for 10 or 15 amps since their designed function is to heat a strip of metal to a cherry-red condition, a feature that takes significant wattage to accomplish. 1
LANCECASPER Posted Tuesday at 12:26 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 12:26 PM 8 hours ago, toto said: This thread has got me thinking again about the cigar lighter vs battery. For a Starlink Mini, at startup you need a max of 100w, but I understand that the normal draw is more like 25w. As others in this thread, my ac is 28v and I *think* the panel port is 28v without a step down (I haven’t tested, don’t know for sure). I have the “IGN TACH CIG” circuit with a 10A breaker, and 100w max at 28v is only 3.57A. It looks like under 2A for normal use after startup. People that use a portable battery with a Starlink seem to choose the beer cooler size batteries that wouldn’t meet the TSA requirement - yet another reason I’m reconsidering the cigar lighter approach. (100w is pretty borderline for a 99Wh battery.) If you have a good manufactured cable with the cigar adapter on one end and the Starlink plug on the other, it sounds like this might be the preferred approach? If it hasn't been modified, your lighter socket should still be 28v, which is a good thing. If it is on a 10 amp circuit breaker, even better. You should be fine. In my opinion Mooney made a mistake stepping it down from 28 to 14. Back in the day people might have been burning up a Walkman or something they plugged in a 28v socket, but nowadays pretty much anything you would plug into it, especially aviation-related, accepts anything from 10-32 volts. Mine has that stepdown "feature" and then the two 14v sockets (front and back seats) are on one lowly 5 amp circuit. Oh and by the way the circuit breaker is back in the avionics bay on the backside of the rear bulkhead behind the luggage compartment. That's the reason I recently had a Mid-Continent 100w USB-C receptacle installed. (I still might see about removing the stepdown "feature" on those sockets.) 1
PeteMc Posted Tuesday at 05:32 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 05:32 PM 5 hours ago, RoundTwo said: A quick visual inspection should address both of those concerns. However, a typical cigarette lighter is normally fused for 10 or 15 amps since their designed function is to heat a strip of metal to a cherry-red condition, a feature that takes significant wattage to accomplish. Yea, sorry I wasn't clear that I meant you can't just plug it in or even just look at the back of the plug. You'd want to trace it back all the way to make sure there weren't any "repairs" made that would be an issue. And as you said, the fuse and gauge of the original installation is key. So personally, it's just not worth using the existing Cig Lighter plug. Just put in the correct plug with the correct wiring and fuse and be done with it. And besides, that leaves the Cig plug for an adapter for iPads, etc.
dkkim73 Posted Tuesday at 08:08 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 08:08 PM 7 hours ago, LANCECASPER said: Mine has that stepdown "feature" and then the two 14v sockets (front and back seats) are on one lowly 5 amp circuit. Oh and by the way the circuit breaker is back in the avionics bay on the backside of the rear bulkhead behind the luggage compartment. Yeah, that's why I put a lower power fuse in my "cigarette lighter plug" accessories. All except for the little flush-mount one up front, for which I just limit draw of plugged in devices (usually just an iPad mini). For Starlink, I would probably want to go with a dedicated USB port, appropriately-rated and on its own breaker, for comms and weather stuff. But I suppose if you're using it just for entertainment or playing around, the lots-of-consumer-parts-flying-in-loose-formation approach is good, too. Next time I am having any real work done behind the panel, I will be tempted to just bite the bullet and put in a good TSO'd USB source.
LANCECASPER Posted Tuesday at 09:08 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 09:08 PM 58 minutes ago, dkkim73 said: Yeah, that's why I put a lower power fuse in my "cigarette lighter plug" accessories. All except for the little flush-mount one up front, for which I just limit draw of plugged in devices (usually just an iPad mini). For Starlink, I would probably want to go with a dedicated USB port, appropriately-rated and on its own breaker, for comms and weather stuff. But I suppose if you're using it just for entertainment or playing around, the lots-of-consumer-parts-flying-in-loose-formation approach is good, too. Next time I am having any real work done behind the panel, I will be tempted to just bite the bullet and put in a good TSO'd USB source. This is the one I put in two weeks ago: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pnpages/10-07493.php
dkkim73 Posted Tuesday at 09:28 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 09:28 PM 18 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said: This is the one I put in two weeks ago: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pnpages/10-07493.php That looks nice, compact, and spec'ed well. But, inquiring minds want to know... where in the Acclaim panel did it go, exactly?
LANCECASPER Posted Tuesday at 09:31 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 09:31 PM 3 minutes ago, dkkim73 said: That looks nice, compact, and spec'ed well. But, inquiring minds want to know... where in the Acclaim panel did it go, exactly? I put it in the upper right corner of the panel above the circuit breakers. When you take the glareshield off there is only one possible spot it will fit in that area due to the structure behind the panel. This way I can use the shortest usb-c cable for the Starlink: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DFH5DSPL?ref=fed_asin_title&th=1 This Mid-Continent USB calls for a 7.5amp breaker
Jackk Posted Tuesday at 09:40 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 09:40 PM (edited) I’d just replace the ships chrono with one of these, they look good, give you time, timer, voltage, etc and also a charging port https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/mci_10-07292.php Edited Tuesday at 09:40 PM by Jackk
LANCECASPER Posted Tuesday at 09:50 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 09:50 PM 1 hour ago, Jackk said: I’d just replace the ships chrono with one of these, they look good, give you time, timer, voltage, etc and also a charging port https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/mci_10-07292.php I installed one of those in a previous airplane. It's not enough power for the Starlink. Plus the G1000 airplanes don't have a separate clock.
dkkim73 Posted Tuesday at 10:36 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 10:36 PM @Jackk Nice idea. I do like the idea of picking up a timer, though as Lance pointed out there isn't an obvious swap. I would add one, should I come up with a location further on the left. Main chronometer now is made my Casio and lives on the left wrist... 1
toto Posted Tuesday at 11:12 PM Report Posted Tuesday at 11:12 PM 5 hours ago, PeteMc said: Yea, sorry I wasn't clear that I meant you can't just plug it in or even just look at the back of the plug. You'd want to trace it back all the way to make sure there weren't any "repairs" made that would be an issue. And as you said, the fuse and gauge of the original installation is key. So personally, it's just not worth using the existing Cig Lighter plug. Just put in the correct plug with the correct wiring and fuse and be done with it. And besides, that leaves the Cig plug for an adapter for iPads, etc. I’m pretty far from convinced that a Starlink is something I’d use on any regular basis. If I could mount it in a sky-facing window, I’d put one in and leave it there - but I really can’t imagine fiddling with a Starlink on the glareshield very often. So the cigar lighter thing for me would be a way to play around with Starlink. I really don’t think I would pay to run a new circuit with a USB-C jack at this point. Right now it’s just the cigar lighter vs a battery for me. And if I were going to use a battery, the battery I’d most likely use is this one (purely out of a desire to avoid any more cables than absolutely necessary): https://a.co/d/7PjIMSR 1
toto Posted yesterday at 03:22 AM Report Posted yesterday at 03:22 AM In case it’s interesting for anyone … I keep reading online that the Mini requires a max of 100w, but the unit I got seems to confirm that 60w is all that’s ever required. Here’s a photo of the power adapter that came with my Mini, and a photo of the back of the Mini itself. Both specify 60w.
MikeOH Posted yesterday at 04:23 AM Report Posted yesterday at 04:23 AM Don’t confuse input and output power. While the load may be 60W max, it appears the input power to the converter could be 100W , or more (100-240V at 1.6A)
toto Posted yesterday at 04:46 AM Report Posted yesterday at 04:46 AM 19 minutes ago, MikeOH said: Don’t confuse input and output power. While the load may be 60W max, it appears the input power to the converter could be 100W , or more (100-24V at 1.6A) I’m about as far from an expert as I can be I was just reading the output from the power adapter as 30v at 60w and the max input on the unit as 60w. I took that to mean there’s no need to worry about having a power source that produces 100w continuous output.
McMooney Posted 19 hours ago Report Posted 19 hours ago what are you guys doing with starlinks in your mooney?
hazek Posted 16 hours ago Report Posted 16 hours ago 4 hours ago, McMooney said: what are you guys doing with starlinks in your mooney? Here in Europe we don’t get any wx or traffic data in flight by default. For traffic you must have expensive equipment and even then it’s not 100% coverage. For weather you pretty much have to have onboard radar. So for me the primary reason is to get some sort of traffic via the app SafeSky and to have internet weather. Comms via internet is an added bonus.
toto Posted 15 hours ago Report Posted 15 hours ago 4 hours ago, McMooney said: what are you guys doing with starlinks in your mooney? Mostly watching flight training videos 3
MikeOH Posted 10 hours ago Report Posted 10 hours ago 13 hours ago, toto said: I’m about as far from an expert as I can be I was just reading the output from the power adapter as 30v at 60w and the max input on the unit as 60w. I took that to mean there’s no need to worry about having a power source that produces 100w continuous output. Aha! I was reading the specs on the power converter in the second picture.
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