Yes it should just work.

But I recall an occassion when I was trying to download some data from an EHSI, via USB, and just could not get it to work.

It worked fine on the bench at home, previously. Same laptop etc.

So.... what was different?

It was a duff USB cable :ugh:

Incidentally, re LIPO batteries, I have one of those model aircraft LIPO protection bags tucked behind the life raft, on the back seat. They won't contain the smoke but are supposed to contain the fire. It's hard to totally avoid LIPOs because even a smartphone has one. However they should not just go off on their own - unless punctured or massively overcharged

Lipo Safe Charging and Storage Bag - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcwOwf55Rtc

Genghis - i dont know how you can make that remark as to what i said regarding my comment on distractions, i could be a chief aviation health&safety risk assessment manager for all anyone on here knows! however, i am not but, in my line of work i have to undergo continuous training and testing for these sort of things so i think i can quite rightly say that i prob know quite a bit more on the subject than most!

Goldeneaglepilot - i really dont have a clue why your suggesting im one of these 'trolls' :s i have litterally come on here seeking some advice as to why my laptop refuses to work properly whist its inside the cockpit of the aircraft? I am quite new to aviation and therefore there is a lot for me to learn and afaik there may be something specific in aircraft that could be causing the problems i am getting!? If you dont ask the questions, you will never learn the answers, true? no need to stick lables on me for enquiring!

Anyway, back on topic..
Thanks for the head up on the Li-on batteries, i have heard about batteries exploding or catching fire but tbh i thought that was a problem with older types and rectified in todays batteries! Ill certainly bare this in mind. What type of batteries do proper cameras -ie the cameras mentioned earlier in this thread?

GoPro uses a Li-ion. 3.7V, 1100mAh 4.07 Wh to be exact.

Does a Li-ion fire sustain itself without oxygen? The GoPro by default comes in a watertight housing so I would assume that the fire would burn itself out through a lack of oxygen before the housing would melt.

(Doesn't apply if you use the other -open- back door though. And with that open back door attached the sound quality is remarkably better. Or in other words: You hear the engine do "vroom" all the time, much clearer. Yeah, I know, I still need to get me one of those headset adapter/extension cables so you can plug the intercom into the GoPro.)

:ugh:

Anyway - what happens if you start the laptop recording from outside the cockpit, then put the laptop inside it? Anything? Worth a go.

If you *don't* close the lid on the laptop, does it work - do you have the power options set appropriately so that the laptop doesn't enter hibernate/sleep when the lid is closed, or when it's not on external power?

And as previously said, if the lid is shut but for whatever reason, the screen isn't off (happens on my Mac Air occasionally), they can get really hot, really quick and if stuck in a back seat pocket (which I wouldn't trust to keep anything in while inverted btw), it'll get even hotter even quicker, and shut down due to thermal protection, or worse - catch fire!

This is all terribly complicated when you consider the benefits of a cheap video recording digital camera/video device, with a suction mount.

Actually it wasn't a statement so much about yourself, but about the other people on this forum. I know reasonably well a lot of people's backgrounds having been active on Pprune for more years than is good for me, and know that there are very few people *better* qualified than some of the people who have posted on this thread.

Regarding Li-ion batteries. See below. Laptop batteries are very scary things, and a laptop running powered without proper ventilation, can be a major safety hazard. So far as I know all of the NASA and NCAR research aeroplanes, which use laptops on board extensively, prohibit laptop batteries on board, for just this reason.

G

Extinguishing In-Flight Laptop Computer Fires - Lithium Battery Thermal Runway - YouTube

hmmmmmmmmm

Use laptops with USB cameras quite a bit (not in a/c). Virtually all need more power to work properly. As mentioned the USB supply is usually marginal for current.

I use a modified USB cable with its own 5V 1A (battery/regulator) supply but the simplest way is a powered hub.

The thing I dont understand is that the OP said the camera system worked outside the aircraft and was using its own power


Others have managed to use a laptop / webcam, sometimes with spectacular results

try this
 

Depending what windows you have.

Go into power plans and then advanced options

Then under USB in battery change suspend to disable.

And see if that helps.