industry EMTEQ intelliUSB SR Power FOR PORTABLE AVIONICS More than repurposing the 12-volt cigarette lighter S T O R Y N B Y J O H N D . R U L E Y ot long ago, the only portable electronic device you were likely to find in an aircraft cockpit was a hand-held emergency VHF (very high frequency) radio, and perhaps a battery-operated intercom in light singles that didn't have one built into the panel. In the passenger cabin, you might find a few laptop computers but it was understood they were to be operated only in cruise flight, and then on battery power. Times have changed. Beginning with hand-held GPS receivers, a huge variety of portable electronic devices have made their way into every class of airplane from piston singles to heavy jets, in both the flight deck and the passenger cabin. While most of those devices are battery powered, some are not - and in any case, both flight crews and passengers increasingly expect to charge their devices in flight and save battery power for use on the ground. This creates both an issue and opportunity for avionics shops: The issue is that practically none of the airplanes in the current fleet were built with portable device charging capabilities. That's also the opportunity. 68 avionics news * july 2014