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iPod Touch: Can a car charger be used on an airplane?

R

Rick America

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 1, 2007
65
25
I have a 16GB first generation iPod Touch. I will be on a series of LONG airplane flights coming up and was wondering if the car charger I use could also be used on an airplanes power ports?

(I apologize if this is a dumb question, but I cannot find a definitive answer anywhere else!)

Thanks!
 
There are no cigarette lighters on board an airplane therefore no.
 
My suggestion would be either to purchase a backup battery for the touch, or bring a laptop along (fully charged) with the ipod usb charger and plug the touch into the computer when the battery gets low. Make sure to keep the computer in the lowest possible battery usage state (turn down screen brightness, turn off bluetooth, wifi and even put the monitor to sleep if you can keep the ipod charging.
 
they sell airplane power chords for macbooks, charge your macbook with that and drip charge the touch. Otherwise you maybe out of luck. You can go on your airlines website and figure out what type of power outlets they offer and if you need to request a certain seat to get them.
 
Go to seatguru.com, look up your airline and the type of aircraft you are flying in. They have very detailed seat diagrams that include the location and type of power ports.

Many of the newer planes have standard 110 and take normal plugs. You can use a standard wall charger. The other version is called "EmPower" and it is a bit like a cigarette plug, but has different contacts. You will probably need some sort of inverter to go from EmPower to standard 110 if you cannot find an Empower adapter specifically for your device. A regular car charger will definitely NOT work. Don't even bother bringing it.

I have used both types of power outlets on planes (with and without an inverter) without any troubles for both my laptop and my ipod.

Linky: http://www.seatguru.com/

Good luck.
 
jessica. said:
There are no cigarette lighters on board an airplane therefore no.
Click to expand...

Thats not entirely true. Most airplanes dont have cigarette lighters, but newer ones do. The New boeings and airbus' are starting to include them becasue laptop companies make chargers with cigarette output. It all depends on the plane.
 
All of the intercontinental flights I've been on in the last couple years have had a 2 prong AC power outlet and a USB charging outlet. I haven't noticed any cigarette lighter outlets.

So now I just bring my USB cable and a wall charger with me and hope for the best.
 
Mlrollin91 said:
Thats not entirely true. Most airplanes dont have cigarette lighters, but newer ones do. The New boeings and airbus' are starting to include them becasue laptop companies make chargers with cigarette output. It all depends on the plane.
Click to expand...

These are not cigarette lighters. They are the EmPower stations. They look almost identical from the outside. But once you look at the business end, it is completely different.
 
mojohanna said:
These are not cigarette lighters. They are the EmPower stations. They look almost identical from the outside. But once you look at the business end, it is completely different.
Click to expand...


I've been on two international flights via Boeing 777 and both of those planes had cigarette lighters that charge like a car. They take the DC charger and both times I've charged my laptop via an DC-AC adapter that I also use in the car.
 
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