Power supply for iPad charging.

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Pascal
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by Pascal »

Last winter I had two USB ports installed under the transponder. Works like a charm.

Prior to this I was using a USB battery to power my ipad.
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Keith M
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by Keith M »

At the last annual, I had this installed in place of the utterly pointless cigarette lighter socket. It has its own circuit breaker, at the bottom right of the panel. Since I took this photo, I've run a USB extension cable across the cockpit, clipped to the underside of the panel, to make it easy to plug in my iPad.
USB-charger.jpg
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BkFlyer
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by BkFlyer »

Strange! On my 2007 DA-40XL the cigarette adapter is placarded “12 V GROUND OPS ONLY 2A MAX”.

Do older DA-40s have 28v adapters? My A&P told me that theres a voltage regulator in there to convert from 28v battery to 12v. Did diamond also downgrade the wiring, or just forgot to update the amperage limit for lower voltage?
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Keith M
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by Keith M »

The DA40 TDI has a 12v electrical system, but with the same placard on the cigarette lighter socket, so I guess the 2A current limit is intentional. Nobody I've spoken to from Diamond has been able to explain what the intended ground ops are, which is why I described it as absolutely pointless. Even more bizarre is that it's protected by an inline fuse which has to be unsoldered to replace it.
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Rich
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by Rich »

BkFlyer wrote:Strange! On my 2007 DA-40XL the cigarette adapter is placarded “12 V GROUND OPS ONLY 2A MAX”.

Do older DA-40s have 28v adapters? My A&P told me that theres a voltage regulator in there to convert from 28v battery to 12v. Did diamond also downgrade the wiring, or just forgot to update the amperage limit for lower voltage?
Yes, they are 28 Volts in mine. I find it odd yours would actually be 12 V. In all the wiring diagrams they show it powered right off the hot bus. Yours may be mis-placarded. You might check it with a voltmeter.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Rich
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by Rich »

Keith M wrote:The DA40 TDI has a 12v electrical system, but with the same placard on the cigarette lighter socket, so I guess the 2A current limit is intentional. Nobody I've spoken to from Diamond has been able to explain what the intended ground ops are, which is why I described it as absolutely pointless. Even more bizarre is that it's protected by an inline fuse which has to be unsoldered to replace it.
This is true. I have no idea to what use they thought it would be put.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by Pehu »

Keith M wrote:At the last annual, I had this installed in place of the utterly pointless cigarette lighter socket. It has its own circuit breaker, at the bottom right of the panel. Since I took this photo, I've run a USB extension cable across the cockpit, clipped to the underside of the panel, to make it easy to plug in my iPad.

USB-charger.jpg
Keith,

Are there any "ready kits" out there that can be installed by a technician? Looking one for DA40NG. Or should I look for the parts myself... just sounds a bit ominous the cook up the connectivity myself...
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Keith M
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by Keith M »

Pekka, I bought mine from https://charge4.harkwood.co.uk/. They do 2 and 4 port versions which are EASA compliant, as detailed here. Mine's the 2-port model C20APM with the default EFTE Aircraft cable costing £109.98, including VAT. It was installed by my maintenance shop during the last annual.
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Rich
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by Rich »

Numerous options. Sporty's has a couple and mid-continent has one that offers USB-C options and a whopping 3.0 amps per port.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Re: Power supply for iPad charging.

Post by smoss »

Has anyone tried plugging in a dual USB port charger into the cigarette lighter 12V port? While the fuse is 3A, it is unclear whether that is at the 28V level or converted to 12V already. A prior post comments whether Diamond just didn't replacard, or they actually downgraded the wiring, which sounds unlikely, when the went from 28V port toe 12V port. Assuming the 3A fuse is at 28V, a dual 2.4 Amp charger plug should be fine. Anyone running such a plug in the outlet (not installed a new accessory port)?
Steve
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