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  #61  
Old 02-02-2019, 11:33 AM
rocketman1988 rocketman1988 is offline
 
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Default Or you could use...

Or, you could incorporate a Peltier Module to move the heat from the iPad into the surrounding air...
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  #62  
Old 02-02-2019, 01:51 PM
ssokol ssokol is offline
 
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Location: Cupertino, California
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Default Peltier fridge to the rescue...

Yep. I guess that's the true last resort. They're apparently cheap. You can get a complete thermoelectric refrigerator for $33 from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Gourmia-GMF60.../dp/B00DQT2ZGE

I just watched a video of a guy repairing one. Apparently the cooling plate will run off of 12v - 14v drawing something like 3.4 amps. Chances are you wouldn't need to run it for very long or very often (i.e. low duty cycle) to keep the iPad at a comfortable operating temperature.

The fridge includes the Peltier plate, heat sink, cooling fan, the plastic housing, and a 120/240 transformer. Obviously the housing and the transformer won't do much good in an RV. If the whole thing is $33 (including the shipping), I wonder what the useful bits cost, and how to find the factory.
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  #63  
Old 02-03-2019, 10:21 AM
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Snowflake Snowflake is offline
 
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ssokol View Post
If the whole thing is $33 (including the shipping), I wonder what the useful bits cost, and how to find the factory.
For $33, who cares? Just buy it, rip it apart, and use what's inside. You'll waste more money in terms of your time than you would save by finding the factory and trying to negotiate the purchase of a unit.
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  #64  
Old 02-03-2019, 02:54 PM
ssokol ssokol is offline
 
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Location: Cupertino, California
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Default For a one-off...

that's fine. If I decide to offer a cooler as an option for the EFIS, I don't want to end up with a huge pile of dead coolers. I'm in California - that would probably be some sort of capital crime.

I did order one to see if it can be made to work. I'll post pics when it arrives.
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  #65  
Old 02-03-2019, 04:10 PM
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Hartstoc Hartstoc is offline
 
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Location: Sebastopol,CA
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Default

I’m a BIG fan of the iPad pro’s, but I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with an aircraft that cannot be safely flown without them, or that relies completely upon air data being successfully sent to and properly interpreted by them. The thought of some glitch in an iOS upgrade causing a mis-rendering of that info on all three ipads at the same time is a bit disconcerting.

Suggestion by others that you restore a radio stack of some sort would also allow room for the one inexpensive and marvelously capable panel-mount instrument that would give you everything you need to cross check what the iPads are telling you or allow you to fly your airplane just fine if the iPads were stolen or lost when away from home. Most have probably guessed by now that I am talking about the Garmin G5. I hope you will consider it- very lightweight even with the optional 4-hour backup battery, and it puts the capabilities of an entire six-pack of steam guages into a single 3-1/8” cutout.- Otis
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Last edited by Hartstoc : 02-03-2019 at 04:14 PM.
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  #66  
Old 02-04-2019, 07:45 AM
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Snowflake Snowflake is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hartstoc View Post
Most have probably guessed by now that I am talking about the Garmin G5. I hope you will consider it- very lightweight even with the optional 4-hour backup battery, and it puts the capabilities of an entire six-pack of steam guages into a single 3-1/8” cutout.- Otis
For only a little more panel real-estate, you could put a Garmin 660 in instead. Sure, you'd have to fly off GPS derived data if everything else went TU but that's do-able... And you'd have a backup map. Add one of the GDL boxes and you'd have AHRS as well (or maybe Garmin will do something that lets a Stratux provide that data).
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  #67  
Old 02-05-2019, 11:00 AM
ssokol ssokol is offline
 
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Location: Cupertino, California
Posts: 109
Default Peltier Cooler

I received my $33 thermoelectric fridge today and quickly disassembled it. Turns out there's really almost nothing to it. A 120v power supply that outputs 12v. A 12v input. A switch that reverses the polarity (it can also be a warmer).

The important bits are:
  • a large aluminum heat sink;
  • a small (about 2" x 2" x 0.125") Peltier cooling block;
  • a nicely milled aluminum mounting block with a thermal switch;
  • a 12v fan

There's a small PCB with a power and mode switch (Cool - Off - Warm), status LEDs (one for cool / one for warm), the 12v input, and connections to the Peltier and the thermal shut-off. If I'm reading the circuit layout correctly, the thermal switch only works on the hot side. If that's the case, all I really need to do is power the fan and the Peltier from 12v.

Form-factor-wise, the mounting block is almost small enough to fit through a 2.25" mounting hole. A few seconds with a file and it would fit. It extends far enough that it would be easy to have the heat sink and fan behind the panel with a simple metal plate mounted to the block on the front side. I temporarily mounted a small aluminum plate and after about five minutes the temperature had dropped to the point it was uncomfortable to touch. Certainly cool enough to drop the temp of a hot iPad.

This is a good starting point. I think I can probably cook up a design that can mount in an airplane and keep things running in even the worst of hot days.
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