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Panel USB Power

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I know there have been some threads before about adding USB jack (Power only) to you panel. I have been searching around for a solution that was not a cigarette lighter with a USB adapter plugged in. It seems to me that there should be someone producing these as USB power ports are coming on cars.

Finally I found these:
usb-charger-socket-waterproof-panel-mount.jpg

For a single plug or:
316SrA2CCeL.jpg

Which takes in 12 volts and has 4 ports. I would then probably wire front panel jacks to this.

Anyone else found anything better to panelmount USB Power jacks?
 
I was at Walmart the other day looking around in the automotive section and there were at least 4 or 5 different products on the shelf similar to this. Some had USB power ports, 12v sockets, etc.

Inexpensive as well.
 
Finally I found these:
usb-charger-socket-waterproof-panel-mount.jpg

Hi Bill,

Could you share where you found the above (single port USB adapter)? I've been looking for that very thing and have only been finding board mount type connectors. Was about to resign myself to installing a standard cigarette lighter plug and using a USB adapter.

Thx!
 
Source

Single plug
http://www.burnsmoto.com/waterproof-usb-charger-socket-panel-mount.php
4 port DC powered mountable hub
http://www.amazon.com/Industrial-4-...1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339528969&sr=8-2-fkmr0
This could be combined with
http://www.l-com.com/productfamily.aspx?id=7751
PWD_ECF504-30-_AAS.JPG

to give a profesional look.
$50 for the 4 port hub, and $10 for each panel mount and you can mount 4 USB ports for under $100. I think this is what I am going to do. 2 on the dash and 2 on the center armrest console for the back seats.
 
Question

Do the hard-wired mounts lower the output voltage to 5 volts when hooked up to 12 volts?
 
Do the hard-wired mounts lower the output voltage to 5 volts when hooked up to 12 volts?
The single round one does, but the ones that are just panel mounted cables do not, they are just cables.

That is why I am thinking/planning on the 4 port usb hub. The one listed previously takes a 12 volt input, and puts out 5 volts at up to 1 amp on the usb ports. Then the hardwire mounts on the panel and connects to the USB hub.

Bill
 
Cycle Nutz

Got this unit from Cycle Nutz. It has a 12v to 5v regulator and it supplies up to 1 amp. I am going through a full panel rebuild right now and this seems to fit the bill. The unit is pretty easy to mount. I cut a hole with a key slot in the bottom to keep it clocked the right direction and the silver back shell just screws on and clamps the panel between the backshell and the plastic face. http://www.cyclenutz.com/All-Weather-USB-Panel-Mount-Kit_p_636.html
 
(as Charlie said) for those planning to use the USB to power / charge an iPad, it requires 2.1A. I would not be surprised to find some of the Android tablets with a similar requirement.

I opted for a dual cigarette lighter receptacle under the panel and a low profile high power USB adapter in one of them.

I like the fit and finish of a USB port on the panel but I also like the flexibility of being able to use the cigarette port for other things.

YMMV
 
There is a lot more to this than meets the eye.

USB powering depends on the device being powered.

When telephones started charging on USB ports, they used no more than 1/2 amp which was about what the USB 1.0 spec provided.

Then along came tablets that now can draw a little over 2 amps which exceeds even what the USB 2.0 spec provides for power. So the tablet wall wort charges have some circuitry in them to figure out that a tablet is plugged in and it will supply the full current for "rapid" charging, but when you plug the tablet into a normal USB port on your computer, the tablet only trickle charges. Unfortunately the tablet makers don't have a standard for the full power sensing circuitry so a charger for one tablet may not work to charge another brand of tablet, even though the charger socket is a USB connector. You must use a proprietary cheater cable for the tablet of choice to get high powered charging, but at least they are inexpensive and you can get them at Amazon, CSquid cables.

It is not a trivial task to design an inexpensive 2 amp USB charger. I have designed one, but it is expensive to make in small quantities. I don't advertise them anymore, but you can see them here: www.commitlift.com/usbchargers.html I made a couple of them for my son's RV-7 and can even supply them mounted in standard sized panel cutouts. The advantage of these is that they attach to your panel with two screws and use heavy duty USB port hardware, which is one reason they are expensive. The other reason is the circuit that converts 12 volts to 5 volts efficiently, is not a trivial and inexpensive device. If you are interested PM me.
 
Hi Bill,

Could you share where you found the above (single port USB adapter)? I've been looking for that very thing and have only been finding board mount type connectors. Was about to resign myself to installing a standard cigarette lighter plug and using a USB adapter.

Thx!

Amazon.com has a bunch of them. Make sure you know how much current you need and realize you may also have to get a cheater cable if you are trying to charge a tablet that need more than 1/2 amp.
 
It is not a trivial task to design an inexpensive 2 amp USB charger. I have designed one, but it is expensive to make in small quantities. I don't advertise them anymore, but you can see them here: www.commitlift.com/usbchargers.html I made a couple of them for my son's RV-7 and can even supply them mounted in standard sized panel cutouts. The advantage of these is that they attach to your panel with two screws and use heavy duty USB port hardware, which is one reason they are expensive. The other reason is the circuit that converts 12 volts to 5 volts efficiently, is not a trivial and inexpensive device. If you are interested PM me.

That is exactly what I have been searching everywhere for. At $50 that is more than mass produced electronics, but not bad for aviation equipment. It will make a much cleaner install then anything else I had found.
hipwrusbfront.jpg


I think if you did a little search engine optimization you might sell a lot of these. (Ordered 1 for now, might order a couple more).
 
7805 and a Darlington, plus a couple miscellaneous pieces and half an hour for assembly.
 
Greg, I don't think it's quite that easy. Your control voltage needs to be more like 6.2 volts (for the 0.6 volt drops across the base-emitter junctions) but the real issue is the 16 Watts (2 amps * (13-5) volts) of power you'll be dissipating. I think you'll need a good heat sink and maybe forced cooling air.
 
After talking to a number of people interested in USB chargers and providing some of the bare chargers, I have redesigned the unit into a series of modes that can do Apple 2A charging, Apple 1 Amp charging and Samsung Galaxy tablet "rapid" charging or supply up to 3 A on two ports for bare charging. The Samsung configuration will probably work for other tablets like the Kindle and Nook and similar devices but I don't own them to test, although I am going to get one of the new Google Nexus tablets to try. http://www.commitlift.com/usbchargers.html

I will be at booth 339 at Oshkosh, Tue - Fri off and on with some of the chargers and will answer any questions about charging from a USB port.
 
12v USB panel mount hub with high power charging

I'm looking for a panel mount hub with 2 to 4 ports, with the 2.1A capability, and not just a charger, but a hub, so I can plug it into my EFIS USB port in the back. Anyone able to find one?

The http://www.commitlift.com/ would be perfect if it was also a hub.

If I can't find one, I'll use one or two USB extenders from a hub behind the panel, but thought I'd check to see if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks for any tips.
 
Many options out there...

But I haven?t seen anyone on this (old) thread mention the potential of introducing EMI into radios with the use of cheaper units. Not a concern? If not why does Appareo sell a panel mounted USB charger for several hundred dollars? Genuinely curious - this type of stuff is a black art to me.

Lars
 
Some of the inexpensive USB ports can definitely introduce EMI which will interfere with radio ops. It is difficult to determine in advance with devices work well other than relying on good pireps from other users.
 
EMI

This is definitely a problem. I did my RV6A panel and added both cig lighter and usb ports. The first usb I bought was so noisy on the radio It seemed to be a more powerful xmitter than my handheld. Not quite, but very bad. I bought another and it was broadcasting also but it would not break the squelch on the handheld with it next to it.

Before you cut any holes, hook the port to a 12v battery and listen to what it is telling you.
 
I've had mine for about a year and have noticed no noise in the Garmin GTR-200 radio. All common grounded as well. I think there is a ferrite bead on the wires feeding the old cig lighter anyway and I left it in place. Have I tried EVERY frequency, nope. :D
 
I know there have been some threads before about adding USB jack (Power only) to you panel. I have been searching around for a solution that was not a cigarette lighter with a USB adapter plugged in. It seems to me that there should be someone producing these as USB power ports are coming on cars.

Finally I found these:
usb-charger-socket-waterproof-panel-mount.jpg

For a single plug or:
316SrA2CCeL.jpg

Which takes in 12 volts and has 4 ports. I would then probably wire front panel jacks to this.

Anyone else found anything better to panelmount USB Power jacks?

RF noise is the issue. Would be interested in knowing if any of these are RF noise free. The cheap ones seem to be pretty noisy. I've had the best experience with the unit from Stein Air. https://www.steinair.com/product/dual-usb-panel-jack/
 
I have 2 of the SteinAir units in the upgraded system (one in the center console and one on the aft side of it) and have no issues with noise, they work great...
 
(as Charlie said) for those planning to use the USB to power / charge an iPad, it requires 2.1A. I would not be surprised to find some of the Android tablets with a similar requirement

In addition, I believe there is some circuitry that sends some output in order for the ipad to take the full 2.1A. Therefore, a simple regulated 5V supply won't get the ipad to take more than 1A, regardless of what is available.

EDIT: Oops, I see this is an old thread.

Larry
 
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This is the dual outlet I used.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/eadualusbpanel.php
part # 11-13502 $24.95
I have had no noise problems and it is 2.1a each side.

If you read the reviews, you will see that this unit will not charge an Ipad at the rapid rate. I searched a lot and the only one that I could find that would do it was the Anker 2.4 unit but it plugs into cig lighter (ended up gluing into the lighter adapter, as it kept popping out due to vibrations). Even the modified Stein unit wouldn't rapid charge my ipad air 2, though they were noise free.

Larry
 
Last edited:
priorities

In looking for a charger, keep in mind that the charging function is probably not the most important consideration. In my mind, There were four considerations in adding a usb port. In this order.

1. EMI - The first one I bought would wipe out the radios.
2. Size - I already had a round hole waiting to be filled.
3. Cost - $200+ seemed excessive. $24.95 much better.
4. Charge power -

I put power last because this is not a "charge station" but is a "power station". The idea being to provide power to the unit being used in flt so as to have it available for the entire flt. Arriving with the unit more charged than you started is a slight plus, but a much smaller consideration than the other 3 items.

Your mileage may vary.
 
If you read the reviews, you will see that this unit will not charge an Ipad at the rapid rate. I searched a lot and the only one that I could find that would do it was the Anker 2.4 unit but it plugs into cig lighter (ended up gluing into the lighter adapter, as it kept popping out due to vibrations). Even the modified Stein unit wouldn't rapid charge my ipad air 2, though they were noise free.

Larry

There is one I have not installed yet. It is set up for the apple protocol. The information is not handy right now, but will send via email to you. It is a little bulky on the backside due to a heat sink, but has good documentation for it's performance. Small US manufacturer.

EDIT: http://www.commitlift.com Outstanding new presentation on this site, a 30 minute read.
 
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I tested a bunch of these ... I really wanted the simple look of this one:

(a) $5-$15ea - https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/eadualusbpanel.php

But the one that ultimately worked best and provided true 5A (2.4 per jack) consistently was this one:

(b) Blue Sea Systems - $45ea - https://www.steinair.com/product/dual-usb-panel-jack/

I tested by draining an iPad and iPad mini to dead and then plugged them both into the charger. "B" charged them both simultaneously as fast as the large Apple wall charger. "A" took hours and one of the iPads constantly dinged because it was loosing a connection. I did this 3 times for each charger, just started a test nightly before I went to bed.

I didn't stop there and really wanted the simple clean look of the "A" type chargers so I ordered a half dozen different brands, different sites. Some actually were different, however, most were just the same (Chinese?) unit repackaged and rebranded. All of them did the same thing in tests, the ones that worked anyway.

With a two place airplane and both people having smart phones and iPads, I extended the test by connecting two chargers to one 12V regulated source, 4 USB ports total.

The "A" units performed the same, horribly. After a few hours of constant disconnect "dinging" I just stopped the test.

The "B" units took whatever I threw at them like a champ, at one point having 2 dead iPhones, and 2 dead iPads sucking on them like a newborn, didn't skip a beat! The 100% charge times were within a few minutes of the solo test and they never even kicked the fan on from the power supply, highest draw was just over 10 amps as expected, average was around 4 amps.

The final test was all 4 devices playing video for an hour, surprised to say the chargers kept them at 95-100% power the entire time. I just stopped at an hour concluding that I was at that point just being excessive in my testing.

The "B" units (I purchased from SteinAir) just didn't have any issues at all. The bevel is larger and there is undesirable branding that I don't like, I doubt anyone but me would notice.

While very slow charging, most the other units did fine with just one device connected, but just one port at a time, the secondary port would simply drop to half an amp or lower.

Not scientific or exhaustive, but close enough, hope it helps!
 
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I tested a bunch of these ... I really wanted the simple look of this one:

(a) $5-$15ea - https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/eadualusbpanel.php

But the one that ultimately worked best and provided true 5A (2.4 per jack) consistently was this one:

(b) Blue Sea Systems - $45ea - https://www.steinair.com/product/dual-usb-panel-jack/

I tested by draining an iPad and iPad mini to dead and then plugged them both into the charger. "B" charged them both simultaneously as fast as the large Apple wall charger. "A" took hours and one of the iPads constantly dinged because it was loosing a connection. I did this 3 times for each charger, just started a test nightly before I went to bed.

I didn't stop there and really wanted the simple clean look of the "A" type chargers so I ordered a half dozen different brands, different sites. Some actually were different, however, most were just the same (Chinese?) unit repackaged and rebranded. All of them did the same thing in tests, the ones that worked anyway.

With a two place airplane and both people having smart phones and iPads, I extended the test by connecting two chargers to one 12V regulated source, 4 USB ports total.

The "A" units performed the same, horribly. After a few hours of constant disconnect "dinging" I just stopped the test.

The "B" units took whatever I threw at them like a champ, at one point having 2 dead iPhones, and 2 dead iPads sucking on them like a newborn, didn't skip a beat! The 100% charge times were within a few minutes of the solo test and they never even kicked the fan on from the power supply, highest draw was just over 10 amps as expected, average was around 4 amps.

The final test was all 4 devices playing video for an hour, surprised to say the chargers kept them at 95-100% power the entire time. I just stopped at an hour concluding that I was at that point just being excessive in my testing.

The "B" units (I purchased from SteinAir) just didn't have any issues at all. The bevel is larger and there is undesirable branding that I don't like, I doubt anyone but me would notice.

While very slow charging, most the other units did fine with just one device connected, but just one port at a time, the secondary port would simply drop to half an amp or lower.

Not scientific or exhaustive, but close enough, hope it helps!
With all that work, you should be very entertained by this presentation.
 
With all that work, you should be very entertained by this presentation.

Wow, that's a great read, thanks!

My testing just kind of happened, wasn't really planned :eek:
 
There is one I have not installed yet. It is set up for the apple protocol. The information is not handy right now, but will send via email to you. It is a little bulky on the backside due to a heat sink, but has good documentation for it's performance. Small US manufacturer.

EDIT: http://www.commitlift.com Outstanding new presentation on this site, a 30 minute read.

Thanks Bill! I have been thinking about what to put in the 10 and would like a behind the panel setup, if I can find one that works.

Larry
 
Blue Water ports.

We found that the Blue Water ports are very good and compact units. They are very robust and there are two and three port 2.4 Amp units. You can find them on E-bay and don't have to go to Boat USA to get them. Just a thought. Yours, R.E.A. III # 80888
 
I tested a bunch of these ... I really wanted the simple look of this one:

(a) $5-$15ea - https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/eadualusbpanel.php

But the one that ultimately worked best and provided true 5A (2.4 per jack) consistently was this one:

(b) Blue Sea Systems - $45ea - https://www.steinair.com/product/dual-usb-panel-jack/

I tested by draining an iPad and iPad mini to dead and then plugged them both into the charger. "B" charged them both simultaneously as fast as the large Apple wall charger. "A" took hours and one of the iPads constantly dinged because it was loosing a connection. I did this 3 times for each charger, just started a test nightly before I went to bed.

I didn't stop there and really wanted the simple clean look of the "A" type chargers so I ordered a half dozen different brands, different sites. Some actually were different, however, most were just the same (Chinese?) unit repackaged and rebranded. All of them did the same thing in tests, the ones that worked anyway.

With a two place airplane and both people having smart phones and iPads, I extended the test by connecting two chargers to one 12V regulated source, 4 USB ports total.

The "A" units performed the same, horribly. After a few hours of constant disconnect "dinging" I just stopped the test.

The "B" units took whatever I threw at them like a champ, at one point having 2 dead iPhones, and 2 dead iPads sucking on them like a newborn, didn't skip a beat! The 100% charge times were within a few minutes of the solo test and they never even kicked the fan on from the power supply, highest draw was just over 10 amps as expected, average was around 4 amps.

The final test was all 4 devices playing video for an hour, surprised to say the chargers kept them at 95-100% power the entire time. I just stopped at an hour concluding that I was at that point just being excessive in my testing.

The "B" units (I purchased from SteinAir) just didn't have any issues at all. The bevel is larger and there is undesirable branding that I don't like, I doubt anyone but me would notice.

While very slow charging, most the other units did fine with just one device connected, but just one port at a time, the secondary port would simply drop to half an amp or lower.

Not scientific or exhaustive, but close enough, hope it helps!

Did you test this in the plane or just on the bench. Curious if it performs noise free. However, I figure if Stein sells them that they would have tested for this before offering it.
 
Did you test this in the plane or just on the bench. Curious if it performs noise free.

Just on the bench .. the units claim to have "reduced electronic interference".
 
Commit Lift USB

I've purchased several USB panel mounted chargers in the past, including both units from Stein, but found none that would keep my devices charged while in-use. The exception was Commit Lift's charger. It will quickly charge my Ipad and Stratus, simultaneously, while in use during flight.

Ron B.
 
Strangely, I have a USB adapter that plugs into the aux power port in my panel. It makes zero noise. I think it was $5 at a local auto parts store.

Personally, I like having the non-dedicated 12V receptacle plus the usb converter plug. I can use the 12V receptacle for a lot of things - running an air compressor, charging the battery in the airplane, etc., and when I want, I can pull power through the USB port. The aux plug has enough pass through capability to charge both the ipad and iphone at the same time...
 
Strangely, I have a USB adapter that plugs into the aux power port in my panel. It makes zero noise. I think it was $5 at a local auto parts store.

Personally, I like having the non-dedicated 12V receptacle plus the usb converter plug. I can use the 12V receptacle for a lot of things - running an air compressor, charging the battery in the airplane, etc., and when I want, I can pull power through the USB port. The aux plug has enough pass through capability to charge both the ipad and iphone at the same time...

I tried three USB ports from various sources to power the Stratux ADS-B receiver and they were all noisy. On a lark while at Walmart I picked up a $5 adapter at the checkout as Kyle described and it works perfectly. :confused:
 
Likes others have said, be very wary of the nasty EMI some of these converters produce. I had one that would inject random screen taps to my tablet. Put your radio in monitor mode and plug it in, then plug your device in. You shouldn't hear much of a change in static if it's a quality design.

Carling makes this:

v-charger_phone2_310x215.png

http://www.carlingtech.com/controls-v-charger

Would go nicely with a panel using these style switches.
 
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