Power in airplanes

[jrose1g]

What are my options for charging the iQue from the power outlets in airplanes?

[terrier]

I skip the plane power and use battery powered charger. I've got rechargable batteries in it so I'm not having to buy batteries all the time. It gets me coast to coast and back. I dim the screen light the Q which actually makes it quite frugal.

I picked up the charger on eBay. Look for the ones advertised as beeing for the palm m500s, they are the same as those advertised for the Q, but are usually cheaper.

Terrier

[jonasolof]

Back to the original question - Is there a plane charger that can be used for the iQue or is there an adapter. Targus makes plane/car charger combos. What's the voltage on commerical aircraft power outlets for the passengers?

[Peztone]

As they only have power outlets in First/busniness class I'll never know... :)

[jrose1g]

Targus makes plane/car charger combos.


I have a Targus plane/car charger. It states an input of 11-16V/8A and output of 3-24V. Does that mean it could work for the iQue if there was an appropriate adapter? I carry it for my laptop anyway, but would rather not have to connect the laptop and then use the USB port to power the iQue.

[RhinoDoc]

You can get a very small, cheap DC to AC power invertor at Radio Shack, plug into the cigarette lighter thing below the seats, and use your regular charger of choice that you travel with.

[jonasolof]

Targus almost got it. They have a charger adapter for the Palm V but not for the universal connector from the m500 and newer. Why?? I'll ask them at CeBit.

From the univsal charger it seems that four connectors go to yo the aircraft power connector. This connector snaps into the car connector which only uses two of the four available conenctions.

Option: Cut the cable from a targus charger and check which with the connector end next time you fly. This could then easily be wired to a car charger for the iQue.

The original Targus charger can be given another car power plug.

Looking at the available power tips (the adjustabel system that Targus uses) it seems that they have run out of steam about 5 years ago in providing tips for new ranges of Palmtype PDAs and eg Sony Ericsson phones.



BTW, it should also be possible to buy an airplane type connector(if you are in US/CAnada:-(
Here is one:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/laptopsforless/airpowadcor.html
USD 10

Aircraft armrest outlet voltage appears to be 12 V. The armrest connector's name seems to be "Empower" connector.

Here is another source for Empower plugs with a car jack that will also ship international:


Magellan's (http://www.magellans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?ruleID=4&iMainCat=0&itemID=618&iSubCat=0&iProductID=618&sSearch=EA270&itemType=PRODUCT)

So we need not bother with Targus.

[jonasolof]

Originally posted by Peztone
As they only have power outlets in First/busniness class I'll never know... :)

According to a Targus learflet abt 3 years old, Delta has it in all calsses on most planes. I think it'll come in more and more. Nowadays we even have 220 V out in new trains in Sweden, all classes. One outlet per 3 rows about.

[terrier]

Originally posted by jonasolof

Aircraft armrest outlet voltage appears to be 12 V. The armrest connector's name seems to be "Empower" connector.



Actually voltage at the seat varies with aircraft. It can be anywhere from 11 to 16 vdc, that's why the Targus accepts variable voltage inputs.

Check with the airline before plugging in.

[jrose1g]

BTW, it should also be possible to buy an airplane type connector(if you are in US/CAnada) http://shop.store.yahoo.com/laptops...irpowadcor.html

Thanks, Jonas. It looks like one of those will work fine with a MiniSync cable

[jonasolof]

Originally posted by terrier
Actually voltage at the seat varies with aircraft. It can be anywhere from 11 to 16 vdc, that's why the Targus accepts variable voltage inputs.

Check with the airline before plugging in.

That would be handled by most voltage regulators and switching circuits used in voltage stabilized palm chargers. But it's good to know. Thanks.

[brettd4]

Do they allow a gps turned on during a commercial flight?

[crowl]

See this site: www.gpsinformation.net. Towards the bottom under GPS Information is a post on airlines that accept and don't accept gps usage. I do not know the source. Apparently it is still up to the pilot.

[apersson850]

The source for that is reports from users. I've reported some missing company policies myself.