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Noisy USB Charger

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Dennis Johnson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 89
Location: N. Calif.

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:56 pm Post subject: Noisy USB Charger

I have seven years and 750 mostly trouble free flying hours on my Z 13-8  electrical system.  I recently bought a Stratus 2 from Sporty's to give me  inflight weather and TFRs on my iPad.  To keep both the Stratus and the  iPad charged on long cross country flights, I installed a cigar lighter and  bought a dual USB charger to go into the cigar lighter socket.

  

 I bought a dual power (2 USB ports, each 2.1 amps) USB charger from a  nationally known pilot supply company.  I tried it with just the Stratus 2  plugged in.  After ten minutes, I started getting static on my  communication radio (Garmin SL-30).  At first, it was rapidly intermittent,  sounding like some kind of code.  After another ten minutes, it was  constant static, sounding like it was breaking squelch.  This happened on  more than one communication frequency.  

  

 I've never had any radio frequency interference problems before.   

  

 Would something like these ferrite toroids help?  A friend  thought I should wind both the positive and negative supply wires around  separate toroids.  

  

 https://www.amidoncorp.com/ft-50a-43c/

  

 Thanks,

 Dennis

   [quote][b]

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
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Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 3:45 am Post subject: Noisy USB Charger

At 07:55 PM 7/7/2014, you wrote:

I have seven years and 750 mostly trouble free flying hours on my Z 

13-8 electrical system.  I recently bought a Stratus 2 from Sporty's 

to give me inflight weather and TFRs on my iPad.  To keep both the 

Stratus and the iPad charged on long cross country flights, I 

installed a cigar lighter and bought a dual USB charger to go into 

the cigar lighter socket.



I bought a dual power (2 USB ports, each 2.1 amps) USB charger from a 

nationally known pilot supply company.  I tried it with just the 

Stratus 2 plugged in.  After ten minutes, I started getting static on 

my communication radio (Garmin SL-30).  At first, it was rapidly 

intermittent, sounding like some kind of code.  After another ten 

minutes, it was constant static, sounding like it was breaking 

squelch.  This happened on more than one communication frequency.



I've never had any radio frequency interference problems before.



Would something like these ferrite toroids help?  A friend thought I 

should wind both the positive and negative supply wires around 

separate toroids.



https://www.amidoncorp.com/ft-50a-43c/



    Commercial off the shelf USB chargers for either

    line-powered or 12v are at most qualified for FCC

    Part 15 rules for radiated and conducted noise.

    I've encountered some pretty noisy devices in

    both venues.



    If you want to 'tame' the device you have, any

    experiments you want to conduct are not without

    merit . . . but you may find it much more economical

    to buy a couple of brands (they're cheap) and see

    which one is friendly to your aircraft environment.



    You can spend a lot of $time$ trying to civilize

    a $10 gizmo.





   Bob . . .

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Dennis Johnson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 89
Location: N. Calif.

Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:45 am Post subject: Noisy USB Charger

Thanks, Bob, for your thoughts on my experience with USB chargers that  produced noise on my comm radio.  I bought the noisy charger from a major  supplier of airplane stuff and they are sending me a free  replacement.  I'll give it a try.

  

 In the meantime, I took your advice and tried a different brand of  charger.  I bought it at Wal-Mart and I'm happy to report that it is  working fine.  It is black, comes in a bubble pack, and can plug into both  a 120 VAC wall outlet and a 12 VDC cigar lighter outlet.  It cost less than  $20.  It has two, 2.1 amp USB receptacles.

  

 Regarding the comments about iPads overheating, that is a common  problem.  A good friend estimated that an iPad generates about 5 watts in  use and that the glass display, when exposed to direct sunlight,  absorbs the equivalent of 50 watts.  I know from experience that  at 17,000', where there isn't a lot of air to help cool it, my iPad shuts down  from overheating if I leave it exposed to direct sunlight for half an  hour.  

  

 There is also some belief that charging in flight adds to the heat  load, but I have not tested that.  

  

 So long as I don't put my iPad in the direct sun for half an hour, I have  no overheating problems.  It also helps to remove the iPad from its case to  allow the aluminum back panel to dissipate heat.

  

 Regarding panel mounting a USB charging port vs. a cigar lighter  receptacle, I went the cigar lighter route.  Mainly it was because I knew  that some USB chargers were too noisy to use in an airplane and the  cigar lighter method makes it simple to swap one charger for another  until I find one that works.  If I were going to hard wire a USB charger in  the panel, I would be sure to thoroughly test it before cutting holes in the  panel and soldering a bunch of wires.

  

 Dennis 

   [quote][b]

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uuccio(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 7:16 am Post subject: Noisy USB Charger

Hi Dennis,

 

In the meantime, I took your advice and tried a different brand of charger.  I bought it at Wal-Mart and I'm happy to report that it is working fine.  It is black, comes in a bubble pack, and can plug into both a 120 VAC wall outlet and a 12 VDC cigar lighter outlet.  It cost less than $20.  It has two, 2.1 amp USB receptacles.

 [quote]Just for reference, can post a link to the item on Walmart.com?  There are dozens of UBS chargers there.   sacha[b]

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Dennis Johnson

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 89
Location: N. Calif.

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 12:55 pm Post subject: Noisy USB Charger

Hi Sacha,

  

 You asked for a Wal-Mart.com link to the USB charger that I'm using that  doesn't create "noise" on my comm radio.  Sorry, but I can't find it on  Wal-Mart's web site.  I bought it in the store.  Here is the info  printed on the charger; you might be able to find it on eBay or locally from a  different store.

  

 I think it's manufactured by ONN

 Model #:  ONA12WI268

 Input:  100-240 VAC 

 Input:  12-24 VDC

 Output:  5.0VDC 2.1A 

 There is an additional number that might be some kind of  certification:  E347649

  

 It has two input specs because it can be plugged into a cigar lighter or  into a house wall socket.  It also has two USB sockets that can charge both  at 2.1 A simultaneously.

  

 Dennis  

  

  

   [quote][b]

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uuccio(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:56 pm Post subject: Noisy USB Charger

Thanks Dennis for that. I guess the different Walmart stores carry different products cos I couldn't find it in the one I went to. 

 [quote][b]

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