The problems with cheap 5v adapters

[N2756C]

Try these. FCC approved (no interference):

https://www.pilotlights.net/dual-usb...st-charger-48a

[rjtjrt]

Re MyGoFlight DualMicro USB adaptor.
Is ther a problem with these?
This is a customer review from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/DualMicro-28V-.../dp/B00O3KF1XE

"1.0 out of 5 starsFortunately the flight was in VFR conditions and nothing in ...
By Gary L Miller on October 12, 2015
On September 20, 2015 on a flight from w95 to KAGC we loss the ipad,
iphone, and the stratus. All three will have to be replaced.
During the flight my wife observed the ipad smoking at the charger
connection. She disconnected the ipad and we started using the iphone.
Not thinking that the problem might be the cigarette lighter charger
we plugged the iphone into the charger. It very shortly it stopped working.
Still not realizing the problem was the charger we did not unplug the Stratus
from the charger. Fortunately the flight was in VFR conditions and
nothing in the panel was effected and we were able to complete the flight.

I took the apple produces to the apple store and they could not get either of
them to respond and suggested I replace them. Kal at Appareo said
about the Stratus "the USB protect chip was blown which resulted in
damage to the circuit board". The failure seems to be the charger,
a mygoflight, it is outputting 24.4 volts when it should be only
outputting 5 volts. Ignoring the financial cost this a very
dangerous. We often fly long distances and find it convenient to just leave
the ipad and Status plugged into the charger."

[jjconstant]

If I recall a conversation I had correctly, a friend who flies charter jets mentioned that one of the conditions that FAA imposed on its approval to use ipads for charts in flight was that they NOT be plugged in to a charger.

[ArVeeNiner]

I just changed my intercom to a Dynon. I have an adapter for my iPad that isn't a USB. It has a Lightening Cable hard wired directly to it and it was relatively quiet with the old intercom. Not so with the Dynon. It was really noisy.

I swapped it out with a Volmate USB adapter and Lightning Cable and it quieted right down.

[GalinHdz]

Originally Posted by brian257

Or install one of these and have two USB charging ports with a total of 4.2A and no interference at all. Full disclosure, these come from my company, but they work and don't have interference problems.

http://aircraftproducts.wicksaircraf...bchg?forward=1

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...lickkey=264635

FWIW I installed one of these exact chargers in my panel and have no interference whatsoever.

[Raymo]

Originally Posted by brian257

Or install one of these and have two USB charging ports with a total of 4.2A and no interference at all. Full disclosure, these come from my company, but they work and don't have interference problems.

http://aircraftproducts.wicksaircraf...bchg?forward=1

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...lickkey=264635

Thanks for posting. I installed one of these in my -7A but not yet flying. I wondered if I would have interference issues in the future.

[cmmguy]

It is more than just the adapter, it is the cable too. Get a shielded one.

[Robski]

Not just shielded; you need a decent quality and quantity of copper in the cable too.

We have a cheapy conspicuity gadget in the UK that receives ADS-B, detects Mode C, and RX/TXs a low powered signal too, all based on an educational credit-card computer called a Raspberry Pi. I think there is something similar state-side.

Aaaaanyway...
The R Pi is powered from a USB connection and it has been found that a cheap and lightweight USB cable causes a sufficient voltage drop to cause the computer to malfunction (brown-out).
A 20awg USB cable is specified / supplied by the group making and circulating these devices. The cable is sold by an outfit called Juicy Bits.

The other thing to be careful of is the current draw of some USB devices (including the R Pi) can reach around 2 amps. A lot of the ciggie lighter USB adaptors are only rated around 1.1 / 1.2 amp.

[cmmguy]

I have found the StarTech cables to be really good quality. My phone and Tablet as sensitive to "insufficient power" to charge properly errors when using most cables but not the StarTech cables. The cable is .220" in diameter. This supports your comment about the wire quality.

[Pilot135pd]

I just tested one of these

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-2A-Dual-U...72.m2749.l2649

and with a 12 volt battery (at 11 volts because it's just sitting there in the lawn mower for the last 2 weeks) in charged both the iPad and the iPhone while both were downloading the latest aviation database and both had full screen illumination.

I'll test them for noise in flight next week when my back is better and I'm able to fly.