24V fag lighter to 5V supply

[Ian Melville]

24V fag lighter to 5V supply
I thought Anker did one, but it looks like they have stopped all 5V cigarette lighter adaptors, though there are still plenty for sale elsewhere. Many sales are confusing 24W with 24V. They have even pulled all historic manuals. Or are there two Anker companies?
It is quite possible that they are all dual voltage but I would like to see that in print.

Any reccomendations for one that does not generate too much noise?

Cheers
Ian

[JCurtis]

Anker still seem to have some...

https://www.anker.com/uk/products/a2727?variant=37339902836900

From the Anker in Japan has the manual available, says 12v/24v

https://lp.ankerjapan.com/hubfs/aoos/manual/A2727Manual.pdf

I had a PowerDrive 2 in the lab for a while, it got a bit warm at 24v when under load.

The one above is available on Amazon -> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-Charger-PowerDrive-Adapter-iPhone-Black/dp/B07PGT7LSR?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1
Plus the PowerDrive2 is still there too -> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-Charger-PowerIQ-Technology-Motorola-black/dp/B00VH84L5E?ref_=ast_sto_dp


For some people these work well, others have noise issues, a lot depends on the aircraft wiring and other fitted equipment.  This is based on customer feedback over the years.

[Ian Melville]

Thanks J,
I agree with your assesment of these devices. I have been hinting they should get a Charge2 installed. As it is a licenced aircraft the cost of fitting seems to be the issue. No idea what was quoted, or if they even asked, but it was too much!

[JCurtis]

I know of some licensed aircraft who plug my chargers into the cig lighter socket, to save the fitting fee. I don’t know how they have mounted them though…

[Ian Melville]

There is an aircraft that does just that in our hangar. However it is not fitted and is behind the panel. He only powers his PAW from it and is constantly complaining that it keeps disconnecting from his tablet. I have tested the complete PAW away from his aircraft several times and found no issues when powered off the battery that I use. Unfortunatly it has not been possible to engage with his group to do proper testing and the PAW licence has now expired.
Most cigarette sockets are in a poor condition (both car and aircraft) and in my opinion have no place in the power supply chain for devices providing EC.

[exfirepro]

That's very interesting Ian / Jeremy,

I can't see any reference to cigarette lighter adapter chargers on either Anker.com or their UK site, so it certainly looks like Anker may be phasing them out of their range.

As it happens, I spent some time yesterday investigating one of my local aircraft, where one of the owners had reported repeating 'disconnection' issues to PilotAware Support, supported by screenshots from tests he had done at home - with the Rosetta powered by a high power Apple Charger (though he and I both suspect using an inferior power cable), which were showing several Voltage Errors and Throttling Reports, resulting in 'brown-outs' with repeating dropouts of the GPS fix.

After thoroughly checking the unit setup, we reinstalled it back in the aircraft, where it is powered using aircraft battery power from one of the 'newer' alloy Anker 2-port cigarette lighter adapter chargers - like the one you refer to Jeremy - with no obvious issues and definitely no sign of Voltage Errors or the Power LED dropping out during a fairly vigorous 'wiggle test' of the cable and connections, though were unable to test in the air or even ground run the engine due to gusting gale force northerly winds (we were the only people crazy enough to even be at the airfield).

What I did find was that the disconnection issues reported may have been at least in part due to the infamous iPhone WiFi / Personal Hotspot conflict reported elsewhere.

Flight testing in due course is awaited with interest.

Best Regards

Peter

[JCurtis]

It is quite rare these days to sell a charger with a cigarette lighter lead.  I haven't bought any new plugs for a couple of years now.  It isn't recommended to use the cigarette socket, they are poor for long term power delivery.  By design they are meant for short term delivery at high current, to heat the lighter.  They also don't take to vibration well over time.  People only do it to save the installation fee.

On the Anker website, if you search for 'car' it does find their chargers, and lets you put them in the basket for purchase. 

If you buy a new aircraft from some manufacturers you will find my chargers are a standard fit these days.  None of them have fitted cigarette lighter sockets for years.

[exfirepro]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for the info - I didn't think to try 'car' as a search option.

It would be interesting to see how the 'newest' USB-A with 'IQ' plus USB-C with 'Power Delivery' adaptors perform 'noise wise' in an aircraft, though I'm loath to spend £29.99 just to find out  - and I haven't had a cigarette lighter socket in the plane since I moved to Charge4.

I see the Anker.com site shows what I presume is an 'equivalent' version with one USB-A 'IQ' socket plus a permanently wired in Apple Lightning lead at $25.99.

Probably fine for use in cars of course, but the problem from the PilotAware point of view is that this encourages users to also power their tablet from the same supply - which is usually ok if the tablet is fully charged before flight, but can (as we know) cause major issues if a ‘flat’ or near flat tablet is plugged into the same adapter and then pulls the voltage down as it tries to draw all the current 

Best Regards
Peter

[JCurtis]

Funny you should mention USB-C...

Once I finish getting everything ready for a production run, my chargers will be available with USB-C too.  Limited to 15W to comply with the CS-STAN 20W per port limit.  The base unit stays as 2 x Type A but to make a 4 port the choice will be 4 x Type A or 2 x Type A and 2 x Type C.

All existing v2 units will be upgradeable to take the additional 2 USB-C ports too.  An existing 4 port unit needs a firmware update and an internal board swap, a 2 port just firmware plus the additional Type C 2 port board.  Plus a new front panel.  The aim is to have upgrade kits and an upgrade service for those who don't want to do it themselves.

Shouldn't be more than a couple of months away now.

[JCurtis]

It would be interesting to see how the 'newest' USB-A with 'IQ' plus USB-C with 'Power Delivery' adaptors perform 'noise wise' in an aircraft, though I'm loath to spend £29.99 just to find out

I wonder what IQ is, the QC USB add-on was from Qualcomm.  USB-C all have 'power delivery' to an extent, as they won't supply power at all without some kind of communication with the device plugged in.  Or they shouldn't, if they comply with the specification. 
Be aware that multi-port USB-C chargers will often switch power off to all the ports when you plug another device in, or remove one.  They will often limit power to the lowest level of all the attached devices.  The attach causes the power delivery to renegotiate on all the ports.  Mine don't do that, the two USB-C ports are independent of one another, just like the A's.  So no nasty surprises there.

[exfirepro]

Looking forward to giving one a try 

Peter

[Ian Melville]

Me too. A Charge 4 is planned fit in my restoration, however that is a long way off yet.