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EFB - iPad Air vs Mini


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I had an interesting thing happen with my mini I pad yesterday . I used a power bank with it yesterday for the first time as the charge was down a bit after takeoff I had what sounded like somebody on the CTAF keying their mike the radio was showing rx like a transmission was coming in so I switched channels and found the interference on all channels and getting worse eventually tracked it to the power bank so just be careful of external power supply's and chargers.

 

 

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I am onto my second mini, no issues with rhe size. Use it for a efb and a checklist provider. Latest one is 64gig so i have no probs with storing everything i think i might need . I use a ram mount onto the lower left side of the windshield. ( Tecnam Sierra ) These mounts are not cheap but dont come off unless you want it off and can adjust to any angle etc and lastly my eyes are getting old but its still not a issue on the mini.

 

 

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Power banks. Yep watch for this sort of thing with any power adapter. Adapters operate as switch mode power supplies, which means the have inbuilt oscillators . These oscillators are supposed to be "clean" but many produce harmonics that get into the radio receiver. My ipad car adapter a non genuine one wipes out the fm band if the station is a bit weak . It just mutes the audio , just like there was nothing there at all. Our vhf Ac radios are just above the fm band so are good candidates for this new feature of our modern world.

 

 

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Space... I would go for at least 64gb

My Mini is perfect for the Jabiru and 16gb is more than enough for what I need.

The RAM Suction cup mount works well and can be mounted according to preference.

 

I found my old Ipad2 far to big for the small cockpit

 

 

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I used a 16 gig mini prior to my 64 gig unit. And had no probs . So dont hesitate if thars whT the budget dictates.

 

I just love the freedom of having every map , document or what ever else all in one machine.

 

So the 16 is fine just regulate what you carry on it . At my ripe age i just wanna keep it all together easier to find during seniors moments , lol.

 

Brian

 

 

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I used a 16 gig mini prior to my 64 gig unit. And had no probs . So dont hesitate if thars whT the budget dictates.I just love the freedom of having every map , document or what ever else all in one machine.

So the 16 is fine just regulate what you carry on it . At my ripe age i just wanna keep it all together easier to find during seniors moments , lol.

 

Brian[/QUO

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I had an interesting thing happen with my mini I pad yesterday . I used a power bank with it yesterday for the first time as the charge was down a bit after takeoff I had what sounded like somebody on the CTAF keying their mike the radio was showing rx like a transmission was coming in so I switched channels and found the interference on all channels and getting worse eventually tracked it to the power bank so just be careful of external power supply's and chargers.

I have a peculiar thing happen occasionally when I take the iPad in the car. I have a standard UHF in the car and occasionally it was playing up, it would come up as if it was transmitting all by itself. Although the tx graph would only show half strength and could be overridden to transmit but wouldn't receive anything. I puzzled over it for days, as sometimes it was fine and resigned myself to the fact that I had an intermittent radio fault until one day I dropped the better half off and she took the iPad with her and the fault stopped once she walked away. I was gobsmacked, it has done it a few times since and turning the iPad off fixes it.

It doesn't play up every time I take the iPad though so I'm not sure if it is some app running in the background that causes it or not, I've never had any hassles with it near the VHF.

 

And that is without the iPad being on a charger.

 

 

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I have had RF noise on my radios recently when plugging a battery back to the iPad (not even connected to ships supply).

 

Although I am yet to confirm my thoughts on this matter, it appears that the charging circuit is creating the noise when the iPad battery is low i.e. at a greater charge current, as it is not there when plugged in whilst the battery capacity is high.

 

As I say I am yet to repeat this situation to confirm it, so I am only saying what "appears" to be happening.

 

 

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I have had RF noise on my radios recently when plugging a battery back to the iPad (not even connected to ships supply).Although I am yet to confirm my thoughts on this matter, it appears that the charging circuit is creating the noise when the iPad battery is low i.e. at a greater charge current, as it is not there when plugged in whilst the battery capacity is high.

As I say I am yet to repeat this situation to confirm it, so I am only saying what "appears" to be happening.

Make sense to me. The power supplies these days are switch mode. The more power you draw, the more switching occurs to feed the current draw. A good design will filter out switching noise, a cheapie may not.

 

 

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Guys,

 

I have a problem keeping my iPad charged on longer day trips. The cig lighter charger plugged in sometimes gives a note to the iPad " not compatible with this device" although works faultlessly in the car.

 

I will try turning off the transponder or one radio and see if that fixes the problem next time up.

 

Noted in a previous post that someone mentioned a battery back up. Any info on these would be helpful, brand, cost etc.

 

Phil.

 

 

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Guys,I have a problem keeping my iPad charged on longer day trips. The cig lighter charger plugged in sometimes gives a note to the iPad " not compatible with this device" although works faultlessly in the car.

I will try turning off the transponder or one radio and see if that fixes the problem next time up.

 

Noted in a previous post that someone mentioned a battery back up. Any info on these would be helpful, brand, cost etc.

 

Phil.

iPad needs 2.1 amps. Is the adapter / fuse appropriate? Any electrical store will have the battery packs. Easy to use but in panel charging is much better and given you already have it set up, should be fairly easy to troubleshoot

 

 

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iPad needs 2.1 amps. Is the adapter / fuse appropriate? Any electrical store will have the battery packs. Easy to use but in panel charging is much better and given you already have it set up, should be fairly easy to troubleshoot

I use a battery back up. People have posted elsewhere here that the charging circuit on Rotax & Jabiru can leave voltage spikes dangerous to iPad batteries - I personally don't know about this but avoid it anyway.

 

 

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Guest Andys@coffs

I use a mini 2, after 1st having a full size ipad 3...... I wouldn't go back to full size.....In terms of pixels big or small have the same count so if it works on the big it'll work on the mini just smaller to look at (right up until you learn to zoom in and out on demand, something that is inherent and essential in any EFB offering) .

 

In regards in flight....I use a cig lighter charger, with a genuine apple lightning cable. Most complaints about "Not compatible with this device" come from cheap lightning cables. I know they are expensive to buy.......$28 vs $5 for a micro USB with no real appreciable benefit other than you can plug it in any way rather than one way....but that's apple. If you must buy non apple lighting cables buy one that has licensed the lighting technology so can offer it fully rather than some crap Chinese knock off that will work only until the next minor version IoS upgrade which will then make it no longer work....Oh if the non Apple OEM has licensed the technology then the pricing will only be $1 or $2 cheaper than genuine but generally will have a big clumsy housing on the lightning connector than will likely not fit whatever dock or case you have for your pride and joy.....

 

If you buy the cig lighter charger off ebay then be prepared to buy a few different types to get one that works without interference......or buy a brand name one from JB or similar (and yes that will likely add $10 or $20 to the cost) .... But you then have the advantage of being able to return it validly claiming that it is not fit for purpose, if it interferes or doesn't actually provide the claimed output current, to then try another.....

 

In my case I purchased one off ebay for about $5 that claimed 2.1Amps and it worked without interference except that the 2.1A must have been measured using Chinese Amps which don't have the same characteristics as everyone elses amps.......but having the mini meant that the 2.1A wasn't actually needed, it gets by with the same charger as the iphone....... And if by chance you do have a charger capable of delivering 2.1 International units of Amps then you mini will charge up quicker.

 

Someone asked about known problems with mini 2's ........ theer is one and I have it from time to time, where it appears that there is a ghost finger at work on the display starting apps and shrinking or zooning things without any command......turns out there is a flexible connecter PCB in the device that can shed insulation and short out the digitizer on the aluminium case.... google it, plenty of storys and fixes available but the fix requires major surgery on your ipad mini and quite possibly the destruction of the LCD display and digitiser in getting it apart......

 

I don't know if the mini 4 has the same issue, but I would suspect that Apple have addressed the issue and moved on.......I would be cautious with a mini 2, especially 2nd hand to ensure that it doesn't have this issue

 

given that we need cellular ones with good coverage that infers Telstra service and if post paid plans then the cost Delta from a mini 2 to mini 4 is only of the order of a few dollars per month. I recall that the display in the mini 4 is supposed to be better in high ambient light conditions, and having a finger print reader to log in is likely to be much more user friendly than dealing with a pin code in flight.... In addition the internals are much stronger in performance and apparently better in terms of power draw so you get faster and at the same time longer..... something that is usually not provided because the newer comes with additional bells and whistles to eat up any power savings with features you probably don't really need......

 

Andy

 

Andy

 

 

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Hmmmm

 

I learnt something yesterday, big is not always best!!

 

Armed with the credit card I decided to go for a cruise and get some kfc for me and the girlfriend, ended up spending $4,000 bucks.

 

iPad Mini 4 Cellular 128GB

 

Two Go Pro Hero 4 Blacks

 

MacBook Air 11 inch

 

I never thought I would go near a ipad mini but after playing with one I said man this is bloody perfect!!

 

Even downgraded my 15" laptop to an 11" MacBook Air, wow big is not everything.

 

Mind you I got back to the girlfriend and relised I forgot the KFC !!!

 

 

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