Appareo has introduced Stratus Power Pro, the latest product in its line of TSO-certified USB charging products.
Stratus Power Pro features dual 3.0 amp USB-A and USB-C connectors that work with both legacy and new portable electronics.
The charging ports are backlit for easy location in low-light conditions, according to company officials.
Stratus Power Pro was designed to provide 20% more power than the original Stratus Power, providing sufficient fuel to fully recharge smartphones and tablets even while they’re in use, according to company officials.
“The emergence of Appareo’s line of certified power products was born from experiences with our popular line of Stratus ADS-B receivers. Our customers were experiencing NAV/COM noise from radio interference caused by their cheap charging electronics, which was worrisome and potentially unsafe,” said Kris Garberg, president of Appareo Aviation.
“Unfortunately, TSO’d power chargers were hard for our customers to find at a reasonable price, so our goal with this product line was to provide the best-value charging ports with minimal amount of installation time, to reduce the total cost.”
Like the original Stratus Power, the new Stratus Power Pro was designed with a cylindrical shape for drill-in installation with a common step bit, company officials note.
Connectors on Stratus Power Pro are backwards compatible with Stratus Power, allowing for easy swap out for current customers choosing to upgrade, they add.
The Stratus Power Pro sells for $399.
An aircraft USB charger that sells for $400 is considered inexpensive? Just try searching Amazon for USB chargers and you will see how inexpensive the devices can be. Making it acceptable to the FAA certainly added at least one Zero to the price, maybe two. Of course you then have to have four A&P install the device so that is another expense that could make it even more expensive to add. I am not knocking the company because I have no doubt that with the cost of TSO approval and the low market volume it costs that much to offer it but I am knocking the FAA for making such simple aircraft add-on’s so outrageously expensive. As for me I stay with the EAB category and can add the component I get from Amazon by myself.