USB Charger

[Big Ed]

Thinking of installing a dual USB jack in my panel to power my GDL-50 and tablet. My AP says it will be a more involved project than I expect, due to location of power source.

Not sure why that would be a problem, but it got me thinking: has anyone considered mounting one in the electrical panel?

 

[BB57]

He's over thinking it. Yes, you'll need to run the power from the electrical panel, but it's not as hard as it sounds. The hardest part will be soldering something to the bus bar - it'll have decades of corrosion that needs to be removed from the spot where you want to solder. One the fuse (and switch if you want it separate from the master) is installed, it's easy to remove the lower wing fairing to run the power wire forward and then down the tubing and under the panel to the USB port. There are plenty of places to secure the ground wire.

 

[Bob Turner]

I don't know about USB, but I use type M power plugs on the older Garmins, and finding 12 volts has never been a problem. The Mooney took some inverted work, with feet in the back seat, but still, easy. The Dec has a removable glare shield, so I can get to everything standing up.

Any reason why one should run the 12 volts from the bus bar? Just pick it off the transponder lead or something. In-line fuse is a good idea.

 

[aftCG]

I'm going to suggest that the instructions for the USB port will call for a dedicated breaker (5 amp I think). My USB port was installed by elves in the night, and does pick up an extra power and ground (the old Narco mk 12 had two of each) that now go to the Stratus USB. The Val COM uses 0.5A and is on a 7A breaker, so those elves were not concerned with electrical load. We'll see how the IA feels about it in a few weeks, and if he insists on installing a dedicated breaker.

 

[Bob Turner]

For portable GPS you are going to want smaller. We use 2 amp in a radio shack inline holder. Do not point it out to your IA. If he is a good guy, he may ask - tell him it has been there as long as you can remember. He probably won't ask.

How often do you see a wiring diagram for a given aircraft? I have never seen one that I personally didn't draw. Of course the original wiring is in the maintenance handbook, but that is about a third of the installation.

 

[BB57]

I'm going to suggest that the instructions for the USB port will call for a dedicated breaker (5 amp I think). My USB port was installed by elves in the night, and does pick up an extra power and ground (the old Narco mk 12 had two of each) that now go to the Stratus USB. The Val COM uses 0.5A and is on a 7A breaker, so those elves were not concerned with electrical load. We'll see how the IA feels about it in a few weeks, and if he insists on installing a dedicated breaker.

When I installed my EDM 700 I had to install it on it's own circuit as it was a requirement in the STC. Absent that requirement the AP/IA would not have cared.

The good news is that there were unused fuses mounted in the electrical panel. I suspect the electrical panels were all made on a bench to a standard pattern with fuses for optional equipment that was not installed in all aircraft. In any event, all I really needed to do was install the proper fuse in the holder, install a switch in the panel, wire it to the fuse and the master switch, run the power wire to the unit, and then run the ground to a suitable ground under the panel. The only difficult part was soldering two wires to the fuse, and that wasn't hard, it just required a mat to catch and solder that dripped.

It only took about an hour to do the actual wiring to power the unit. In comparison it took about 7 hours to install all the probes and connect them to the unit.

 

[Big Ed]

Done! See gauge hole to right of radio.

I forgot to look at switch panel to see if they installed a separate fuse for it. Probably used an inline holder under the dash.