Annual coming up.... Upgrades?

Unit74

Unit74

Final Approach
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Mar 8, 2014
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Unit74
Annual coming in a few weeks. Plane is mechanically sound, very nice panel. I have Whelen Orion 650s in hand and an AV20 as well. But I want to spend money. What types of kicky-knack upgrades do you guys recommend? I always try and upgrade the plane each annual, but I am like, Hmmm... What the hell can I do at this point.

Already have the Audio Authority Battery Minder Certified interface kit on order...... I'm on the fence about USB outlets because of Moores Law, e.g., USB -C already is becoming a standard. In a few years am I already obsolete?

Budget for upgrades is $2k-ish..... Gawwdamn help me spend money, please?
 
The source side of usb for charging a phone or tablet hasn’t changed since the first iPhone.
 
Salty said:
The source side of usb for charging a phone or tablet hasn’t changed since the first iPhone.
Click to expand...

They are up to USB3.0 now. The current options are already "old" so to speak. Hence the trepidation of installing a USB like TruBlue
 
Van Johnston said:
In panel CO monitor?

With baseball season coming, ADF?
Click to expand...

I run the Sensorcon unit right now. Given it has to be receritified every few years, I wonder how well those in-panel units actually work...... ???? :idea:
 
Unit74 said:
They are up to USB3.0 now. The current options are already "old" so to speak. Hence the trepidation of installing a USB like TruBlue
Click to expand...
Which is irrelevant for simply charging. You aren’t transferring data.
 
Salty said:
Which is irrelevant for simply charging. You aren’t transferring data.
Click to expand...
Charge rates increase on the ipads with 3.0. My current 2.0 cigar plug cannot keep up with the drain. Start with 100%, 2 hours later land with 86%.
 
Unit74 said:
Charge rates increase on the ipads with 3.0. My current 2.0 cigar plug cannot keep up with the drain. Start with 100%, 2 hours later land with 86%.
Click to expand...
You don’t need usb3 to get 2.4 amp charging.
 
Salty said:
You don’t need usb3 to get 2.4 amp charging.
Click to expand...
USB is a highly fragmented standard.

For speed you have USB1 (12Mbps), USB2(480Mbps) and USB3 (5Gbps).

For connectors, you have USB-A, USB-B, USB-C, microUSB and miniUSB.

For power, you have a few versions each of USB-BC and USB-PD.

And because each standard is separate, you can have almost any combination. For example, you can have a downstream device that supports microUSB, USB1 and 12W USB-BC. You can have a host port that supports USB-A, USB3 and 27W USB-PD. You can have a charger that supports USB-C and 5W USB-BC.

Just because a port is USB-C doesn't mean it's USB3 and it also doesn't mean it's USB-PD or even 12W USB-BC.
 
Salty said:
The source side of usb for charging a phone or tablet hasn’t changed since the first iPhone.
Click to expand...

Maybe not, but we're just about to where USB-C gets the market penetration that it takes over from USB-A as the default standard. And nobody is going to miss the old "try to plug it in, flip it over, plug it in" act.

My wife's laptop and my previous work laptop both were USB-C to USB-C for charging. Some iPads have already switched to USB-C, and all the rest of the iDevices will likely follow suit within the next year.

Change, it's a-comin'... But for now, adapters and A to C cables are going to be plentiful.
 
all this change is why I'm not cutting any holes in my panel. Geez folks, just get an adapter and use it in the cigar power port. Keep trying different ones till it doesn't interfere with your radios. My $10 unit works great. ;)
 
Mine goes in nest week. First annual for me and the Cherokee. Already in 1.5 AMU's on a new rudder from Williams. :(
 
Electronic ignition.
AOA......................<duck n roll>
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
all this change is why I'm not cutting any holes in my panel. Geez folks, just get an adapter and use it in the cigar power port. Keep trying different ones till it doesn't interfere with your radios. My $10 unit works great. ;)
Click to expand...

They work great, until they don't. I had one fail in a very confusing way - It was still providing power, the lights on it were normal, etc but all of a sudden I got bad noise from both radios. Powered off one at a time, still noisy. Powered off BOTH and it was still there. Reset everything audio-related, still noise in the headsets. Pulled the plug on the USB adapter and everything immediately went back to normal. I've had two fail like this (luckily the other one was in the car), plus a thermal runaway...

There are simply too many cheap Chinese crappy adapters out there, so I don't fault anyone for getting a more robust one installed in the panel.
 
asicer said:
USB is a highly fragmented standard.

For speed you have USB1 (12Mbps), USB2(480Mbps) and USB3 (5Gbps).

For connectors, you have USB-A, USB-B, USB-C, microUSB and miniUSB.

For power, you have a few versions each of USB-BC and USB-PD.

And because each standard is separate, you can have almost any combination. For example, you can have a downstream device that supports microUSB, USB1 and 12W USB-BC. You can have a host port that supports USB-A, USB3 and 27W USB-PD. You can have a charger that supports USB-C and 5W USB-BC.

Just because a port is USB-C doesn't mean it's USB3 and it also doesn't mean it's USB-PD or even 12W USB-BC.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info. I have been confused in the past as people seem to use many of the terms interchangeably, or just incorrectly and I may have misinterpreted the benefits.
 
JOhnH said:
After my 3rd adapter started causing radio interference and static, I had a panel mount dual USB plug installed. I have been happy ever since.
Click to expand...
Me to...but I’m still on my first.;)
 

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