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USB power plug location

Hornet2008

Well Known Member
Where have people located these outlets? I thought between the seats on my 9 but then the usb lead would be straight up and liable to be bumped. On the panel but then you have a lead or leads around the cockpit. Would like to know if anyone has located one on the panel and if it is a problem in flight.
 
I have the traditional round ports on the far left and right side of the panel. I use the one on the left side for my Ipad with a USB adapter at the port. A very short (12 inch) cord goes to the Ipad so there is no dangling cords. I would not put them in the center of the panel nor between the seats.

The side of the port is barely visible in the attached photo behind the Ipad above the air vent. The power cord is not plugged into the bottom of the Ipad in this picture.

BTW my headset ports are located behind the seats and work good there and accessible inflight if needed.

Bevan

2jeog2f.jpg
 
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Don't put them facing up, wherever you put them. Debris will fall into them and is a pain to clean out. :mad:
 
Put it/them on the panel somewhere, and not between the seats. Besides the aileron trim, the area between the seats ends up holding all kinds of misc. stuff. You'll find a million uses for that space w/o having a power or USB port there.
 
I have mine on the panel, passenger side. If I could redo, I'd probably put them farther to the side of the panel so they aren't directly in front of the passenger, but I still haven't had any issues.

Also, you can buy 90 degree USB adapters that can help keep cables from getting bumped. I have a USB connection from my efis on the panel, and use the adapter to keep a thumb drive plugged into it for logging, but easily accessible, and it sits flush against the panel.

Chris
 
On the subject of powered USB ports, does any one know of a brand that works reliably? I have got at least a couple of USB car charger to connect my IPAD and they fail after a short time use.
 
On the subject of powered USB ports, does any one know of a brand that works reliably? I have got at least a couple of USB car charger to connect my IPAD and they fail after a short time use.

I installed this one from ACS that others have installed and been happy with.

Not flying yet so can't opine on it yet.
 
On the subject of powered USB ports, does any one know of a brand that works reliably? I have got at least a couple of USB car charger to connect my IPAD and they fail after a short time use.

I have several of the ones from Sporty's Pilot Shop and have been using them for over 5-years. No radio noise with it.

SteinAir also have several to offer.

I will be putting several of the SteinAir USB chargers in my RV-8.
 
Stein placed a covered dual USB receptacle in the panel off the the right. Looks like a good location. I have not yet put everything back together to give an op report but have no misgivings about it.
 
USB socket voltage step down

Before I install a USB socket in my RV-8, a question about voltage. As I understand it, USB power receptacles like to see 5vDC, but our airplanes are 12vDC. Do the receptacles available on the market step the voltage down internally? Or do we run the risk of damaging something we plug into them with 12v instead of 5?
 
Before I install a USB socket in my RV-8, a question about voltage. As I understand it, USB power receptacles like to see 5vDC, but our airplanes are 12vDC. Do the receptacles available on the market step the voltage down internally? Or do we run the risk of damaging something we plug into them with 12v instead of 5?

According to the Q+A tab on this one, 12v is fine.
 
USB socket voltage step down

Good tip, yes the Q&A section confirms that the USB socket unit does not step the voltage down internally. You will be applying 12v to your devices. 14v when alternator is running.

I'm thinking they may be a problem from some devices. Probably not cell phones though. They are probably getting 14v from your car USB socket.
 
Are you sure?

Good tip, yes the Q&A section confirms that the USB socket unit does not step the voltage down internally. You will be applying 12v to your devices. 14v when alternator is running.

I'm thinking they may be a problem from some devices. Probably not cell phones though. They are probably getting 14v from your car USB socket.

Given that USB standard output voltage is 5.0 VDC (and has been since the implementation of at least USB 1.0), it seems wrong that some would output 12 or 14 VDC.

I read the Q&A on the ACS website, but I think the answer may be incorrect.
 
I put one on my wingtip. It powers my GoPro in flight, and I get all kinds of comments when people see it without the camera installed 😎
 
Powering electronics with 12 volts instead of the 5 volts that they were designed for will ruin them. USB adapters that plug into cigarette lighter outlets put out 5 volts, not 12 or 14. The statement made by Aircraft Spruce, "Voltage is the same as aircraft voltage", is incorrect.
 
I put mine under the panel. You cant see them, but they are easy to find and plug into by feel. There are three reasons I put them here:
1: It was easy and out of sight. A good looking USB port is very expensive.
2: I expect USB to be replaced with something else in the near future, so don't want a permanent panel location for a outdated plug type.
3: A cord coming out of the panel is in the way and subject to potential shear loading from several sources.
 
I had one under the panel and found it hard to get the cable plugged in and out. I end up buying a better brand and mounting it on the panel. Although I wanted to reserve any space on the panel for feature use, so far seems to be a good decision.
 
Before I install a USB socket in my RV-8, a question about voltage. As I understand it, USB power receptacles like to see 5vDC, but our airplanes are 12vDC. Do the receptacles available on the market step the voltage down internally? Or do we run the risk of damaging something we plug into them with 12v instead of 5?

The units take 12-28v input and provide 5v output. You can read the details at: Dual USB Panel Jack or at Dual USB Power Charger.

:cool:
 
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I have a USB and 12 socket on the right side of the panel. Meanwhile I have RAM mounts on both sides and needed a USB plug on the left side also. I installed one below the RAM mount, no extra holes drilled and saving panel space.

 
CoolGear? USB 3.0 4-Port Industrial Hub Metal Case Din Rail Mount, 12 Volt 5amp Power supply Included. $80 on Amazon.

CoolGear? USB 3.0 4-Port Industrial Hub Metal Case Din Rail Mount, 12 Volt 5amp Power supply Included https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077RM2Z0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zUEpybGQPS19G


Fits above vent outlets and tubing above passenger right knee mounted vertically in RV-6. Used to power/charge and hub my DualAV Adsb In to a GRT EFIS' usb. Also hosts the memory stick, 3 other ports for goodies like phones, USB powered lighting, etc.

Selectable internally for how the usb ports act unpowered by the 12v feed.
 
Powering electronics with 12 volts instead of the 5 volts that they were designed for will ruin them. USB adapters that plug into cigarette lighter outlets put out 5 volts, not 12 or 14. The statement made by Aircraft Spruce, "Voltage is the same as aircraft voltage", is incorrect.

I did order one of those USB port sockets from Aircraft Spruce and I don't see any internal components to it that would drop the voltage from aircraft voltage (12/14v) down to 5v, which is why I was concerned. It looks like a straight connection. I would hook it up on the bench and test with a multimeter, but I'm not sure where to probe.
 
I think these are the gold standard (My opinion...)
http://www.commitlift.com/usbchargers.html

AGREE!

I recommend spending a few bucks and buying the book on the lower left hand side of the webpage. There is enough info in the book to see that they did their research on what would be needed to make a good USB charging port. It is NOT as simple as just putting 5V DC with enough amps on the two outside pins. The two center pins need to have the correct voltage on them to tell the device how much current is available plus the 5V needs to be raised to a slightly higher voltage to made sure that the Watts makes it to the battery. Yes the contacts are not rated at the higher current.

Some info on USB port power can be found here.
 
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Thanks Brian! Very good to get the scoop straight from the manufacturer. I have one of your units and it looks great. Now that I know it will step the voltage down, I will be installing it for sure in my RV-8.
 
Presumably people who install USB power ports in their cars and boats want them to charge their accessories appropriately too. Is there a reason to spend more than the $10 or so one might cost at the local autoparts store, or Amazon?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MNGCDV...UTF8&colid=I814QJ41QCNG&coliid=I2A00Z8VHH48QV

I bought that USB port to power a Nexus 7 and Stratux but it created noise in the com radio. Two cigar lighter adapters I purchased locally also had problems with generating RFI.

However....I found a $5 adapter at Walmart that is noise free but it only has one 2.1a outlet. I didn't expect this many issues with simply wiring in a USB port.
 
Presumably people who install USB power ports in their cars and boats want them to charge their accessories appropriately too. Is there a reason to spend more than the $10 or so one might cost at the local autoparts store, or Amazon?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MNGCDV...UTF8&colid=I814QJ41QCNG&coliid=I2A00Z8VHH48QV

The difference in the one you linked on Amazon and the one from Aircraft Spruce is the output power. The cheaper one on Amazon will only charge one of the plugs at the 2.1 amp output, and the other other port only gets the remaining 1 amp output. So, thats a total of about 3.1 amps.

The one from Aircraft Spruce has a 4.2 amp output capacity, meaning it can charge two high-draw devices at 2.1 amps each at the same time.

I would go for the slightly more expensive unit to be able to have full 2.1 amp charging on both ports at the same time. I'd imagine there is one on Amazon for a little cheaper that does 4.2 amps, would just have to do a little searching.
 
The difference in the one you linked on Amazon and the one from Aircraft Spruce is the output power. The cheaper one on Amazon will only charge one of the plugs at the 2.1 amp output, and the other other port only gets the remaining 1 amp output. So, thats a total of about 3.1 amps.

The one from Aircraft Spruce has a 4.2 amp output capacity, meaning it can charge two high-draw devices at 2.1 amps each at the same time.

I would go for the slightly more expensive unit to be able to have full 2.1 amp charging on both ports at the same time. I'd imagine there is one on Amazon for a little cheaper that does 4.2 amps, would just have to do a little searching.
Thanks, but actually it's just as easy to find a dual 2.1 amp/4.2 total as it is the one I just happened to link from Amazon as an example. I really meant to ask whether there was a quality of charge difference between the autoparts versions and the ACS or SteinAir versions.
 
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I bought that USB port to power a Nexus 7 and Stratux but it created noise in the com radio. Two cigar lighter adapters I purchased locally also had problems with generating RFI.

However....I found a $5 adapter at Walmart that is noise free but it only has one 2.1a outlet. I didn't expect this many issues with simply wiring in a USB port.
Interesting, Sam. Sounds like one just has to experiment to find one that works within a particular a/c's electrical system. Nexus + stratux is also my intended purpose. I have used a USB cigarette lighter converter plugged into my cigarette power port. No noise problems there, but was just hoping to eliminate the adapter to clean things up a bit.
 
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Interesting, Sam. Sounds like one just has to experiment to find one that works within a particular a/c's electrical system. Nexus + stratux is also my intended purpose. I have used a USB cigarette lighter converter plugged into my cigarette power port. No noise problems there, but was just hoping to eliminate the adapter to clean things up a bit.

Yep, I lucked out on the Walmart adapter. Like you, my intention was to clean up the installation with dedicated power ports and I still intend to do so after flying the Nexus/Stratux combo for awhile.

By the way, the Stratux works very nicely and the Nexus 7 has an excellent display. I mounted a cheap transponder antenna on the belly of the RV-6 and use it via a y-adapter to feed both receivers on the Stratus. I use Avare and am also playing around with FltPlan-Go. It is nice to have two free moving map applications!
 
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I really meant to ask whether there was a quality of charge difference between the autoparts versions and the ACS or SteinAir versions.

The primary difference I have seen between various USB 12V "socket" charger adapters is how much electrical noise they tend to create. I've had expensive ones that are very noisy and cheaper ones that were just fine. When it comes to aircraft use, low noise is a priority for me. And it can be hit and miss. I've ordered two of the "same" unit (at different times) from Amazon and they were not really the same inside. One was quiet and one generated line noise. Once torn apart (I like to break stuff) it became clear the guts were quite different, as well.
 
By the way, the Stratux works very nicely and the Nexus 7 has an excellent display. I mounted a cheap transponder antenna on the belly of the RV-6 and use it via a y-adapter to feed both receivers on the Stratus. I use Avare and am also playing around with FltPlan-Go. It is nice to have two free moving map applications!
Thanks Sam. I sent you a p.m. to follow up. To add to my p.m., currently learning to use FltPln go since Foreflight doesn't work with Android.
 
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