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Old 05-10-2018, 06:09 PM   #1
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12 volt inverter making iPad act weird

I have a Bestek 300 watt sine inverter that I plug into a 12 volt cigarette lighter port: a Winegard 12 volt power adapter with TV antenna switch. When I plug the iPad Pro into the inverter it shows that it's charging but simple gestures like swiping to turn a page don't work very often. But I can unplug the iPad and all is well. The inverter says it's sine but is there a possibility that there's a difference between sine and pure sine?
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Old 05-10-2018, 06:30 PM   #2
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12 volt inverter making iPad act weird

There is absolutely a difference between modified sine wave and pure sine wave inverters.

You shouldn’t use sensitive electronics with inexpensive modified sine wave inverters. If you paid < $150 for your 300w inverter is likely an inexpensive modified sine wave device.

Lots of info on the web in modified vs pure :

https://invertersrus.com/pure-sine-vs-modified-sine/

Sensitive electronics want clean power (pure sine wave)
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Old 05-10-2018, 06:51 PM   #3
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Get the cigarette lighter to USB charger. They are way less expensive than inverters, better performance, and more efficient.

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Old 05-10-2018, 07:33 PM   #4
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I can give you about 90 reasons why your having issues. Long long long ago Generators like the ones I own don't produce clean electricity and neither does an airstream. Airstreams don't produce clean electricity as stupid vas this sounds get an old school battery backup. A surge protector protects Against surges only you can invest 300 to 3000 dollars in an inverter it won't fix the issue.
You can get sola line conditioners on eBay there about 70 pounds 2 110 volt in puts give you 1000 watts of clean electricity.
If your having the issue and it continues you can take diy replies or go into a Car audio shop I am sure you can simply plug in an adapter I am positive if you don't have a small diode in place it can screw up the device.

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Old 05-10-2018, 07:40 PM   #5
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New Airstreams have very well regulated converters in contrast to the ones in older trailers. Conventional wisdom for the older trailers said to NEVER operate them without a battery to filter the power from the converter. This is not necessary with the newer converters. I operate sensitive 12V electronics from the Parallax converter I took out of my 2001 Safari with no problems. Current converters are even better.

Airstream says it is OK to operate the newer trailers from the converter with the USE/STORE switch in STORE which disconnects the batteries.

Al
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Old 05-10-2018, 07:46 PM   #6
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Yeah I don’t understand the comment that Airstream’s don’t produce clean power. Airstream’s themselves don’t produce 12v power - converters and batteries do.

The converter in the 2017 is just fine. But the fact that there is an inverter needed tells me that shore power / the converter are not in play anyways.

Issue is likely the cheap modified sine wave inverter.

If all you need is an iPad good suggestion about to use 12v power - in the 2017 you have 12v USB ports that are powered by the battery - you can just plug your lightning cable directly into one of those.
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Old 05-10-2018, 07:46 PM   #7
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The cigarette lighter to USB is a great thought. Only drawback is the iPad Pro has a 110 volt adapter. It’s slow charging enough as it is but using just the USB to Lightning cable without the 12 watt adapter is horribly slow.

Also I just tried the iPad Pro with the Airstream’s stock inverter and it performed fine. No glitches with the gestures.
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Old 05-10-2018, 07:49 PM   #8
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The cigarette lighter to USB is a great thought. Only drawback is the iPad Pro has a 110 volt adapter. It’s slow charging enough as it is but using just the USB to Lightning cable without the 12 watt adapter is horribly slow.

Also I just tried the iPad Pro with the Airstream’s stock inverter and it performed fine. No glitches with the gestures.


There you go. and welcome to the slippery slope of boondocking on 2 stock interstate batteries
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Old 05-10-2018, 07:54 PM   #9
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The 12V cigarette adapters are available in different amperages. The cheap ones sometimes don’t even put out 1A. The iPad likes at least 2.4A. I have a couple of them now and no issues with the speed of charging the iPad. I just had to break out the magnifying glasses to read the output numbers on the little things.
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Old 05-10-2018, 08:14 PM   #10
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Our beginner inverter was an inexpensive 400watt modified sine wave. Pretty quickly we learned the power wasn't what we wanted to use for our electronics. One simple example - digital clocks would lose approx 8 or 10 minutes hourly if plugged into that inverter.

We bought a 600w pure sine wave inverter, connected through big fuse and disconnect direct to the batteries. Quiet, clean power. No iPad or other electronic issues since.
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Old 05-10-2018, 08:25 PM   #11
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best to use the 12V sources and the USB. They will be cleaner that the AC outlets.

We added a new cabinet beside the bed in our AS 22FB and extended the power from the wall to the edge under the cabinet so its easier to access
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Old 05-11-2018, 04:59 AM   #12
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That trailer has at least two, and more likely three, USB charging ports. Why don't you simply plug your iPad into one of those to charge it? No inverter needed, though it will take a little longer to charge at the 7 watts or so output from them, rather than the ten-twelve watts of the 120 volt charger.
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Old 05-11-2018, 05:03 AM   #13
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. . . Or add a 12-volt cigarette lighter outlet someplace per earlier comments. Our 2014 FC20 has one but most new AS [stupidly IMO] do not.

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Old 05-11-2018, 07:32 AM   #14
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Without the AC adapter it takes a LOT longer!
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Old 05-11-2018, 08:06 AM   #15
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Without the AC adapter it takes a LOT longer!
The AC adapter is nothing but a USB charger. Read the label on it to get the amp rating. Buy a 12V to USB adapter with the same or higher rating. Even the early AC adapters that were shipped with the old iPhones and Pads have a lower output current.

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Old 05-11-2018, 09:21 AM   #16
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There are variations in frequency of the AC supply when using a Inverter. The high frequency components of the AC are not filtered out by iPad charger and DC ground level also get shifted.

So now we can get to the basics of how capacitive touch works. Capacitive senors works on principle of capacitive coupling which takes human body capacitance as an input and senses it and there is a change in flow of current through the capacitor. So in all its a capacitor which works on Principle of DC charging and discharging. So when it detects an AC noise passing through it gets totally messed up allowing all the noise component of current to pass though it and giving out some erratic response. Hence what you are seeing.
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Old 05-11-2018, 03:36 PM   #17
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One thing to note is that iPads are known to have their touchscreens act up when not being powered by an Apple power supply. This is very noticeable if the iPad is fully charged and left plugged into a non-Apple power supply while you are typing. I had an evening of frustration until a lot of Googling discovered a number of threads on this design sensitivity.

Since then I only operate the iPad while using an Apple power supply off of 120 volts or using the Airstream's built-in USB ports when less than 90 percent charged. I've given up on ever using inexpensive chargers.
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Old 05-12-2018, 02:06 PM   #18
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I forgot to mention that the issue is exasperated if the iPad gets to 100% charge and you leave it on a charger that is not an Apple charger. Mine kept giving me multiple repeat characters for each keystroke.
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Old 05-21-2018, 12:17 PM   #19
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I forgot to mention that the issue is exasperated if the iPad gets to 100% charge and you leave it on a charger that is not an Apple charger. Mine kept giving me multiple repeat characters for each keystroke.
This is an odd blanket statement, I've personally never encountered it and don't use _any_ Apple branded chargers as they are all overpriced and underpowered. I use 3rd party high wattage 12V to USB adapters, and 3rd party 120V to multiple-USB port adapters as I don't want to use 4 power outlets to charge 4 devices...when I can do it with a single adapter

YMMV I suppose, but it could just be that you are using low quality 3rd party adapters?
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Old 05-22-2018, 06:32 AM   #20
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I believe that you are correct that it was probably caused by poor quality power supplies. My iclever power supply never causes a problem - even when I do a software update the iPad/iPhone finds this supply ok.
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