Charging iPad while connected to a connector kit?

Hi, I have a digital piano (Yamaha P105) that has a USB-TO-HOST output I can connect to my iPad via the ‘Camera Connection Kit (CCK)’ to interact with Garage Band. However, the iPad slowly runs out of juice. So I need to charge the iPad while I’m interacting with it. Does anyone know of a reliable interface I can use that will enable me to interact with Garage Band WHILE I’m charging the iPad?

Any or all help is appreciated in advance!

Thanks!
Mo

Hi Mo,

Thanks for posting your question here, unfortunately I don’t know of anyway to accomplish what you are hoping to do. The iPad will be running as a USB host when the camera connection kit is running so it’s meant to be connected to a USB device, and I’m not aware of any way to a charging source in the loop with the USB device and the upstream host on the iPad.

Sorry I don’t have better news.

Thanks,
Jerome.

Looks like I am reviving an old thread here… I have recently discoved your products and am awaiting a usb hub to be delivered for ipad use. Really hoping it will solve some issues i have been experiencing!

The apogee duet allows for charging the ios device while acting as a host.
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products…

The issue that the OP references here is the achilles heel of the ipad as a pro music device. What someone needs to make is a “made for iPad/iOS” certified USB hub designed for specifically iOS devices. Eliminate the CCK entirely, have a 30 pin (or lightning) connector that goes directly to a 4 port hub with an external power supply that both supplies bus power to any connected USB devices AND also charges the iPad/iOS device. Then you could use any combination of standard class-compliant USB/MIDI devices. Is this a dream or a possibility given the design of the ipad?

Hi Steven,

Thanks for posting with your thoughts on charging the iPad while also in data mode. There’s much confusion in iPad charging realm because iPads and iPhones have special requirement when it comes to charging. Depending on which of our hubs you purchased and which iPad you have, your results will vary.

In general though, the new 8 pin “Lightning” connector based iPads are the most widely compatible with various hubs. For a Lightning based iPad, you should be able to do what you are describing with our 4 port BC 1.1 compliant charging hub.

http://plugable.com/products/USB2-HUB4BC

I hope this helps
Thanks,
Jerome.

Thanks for the response but I think you may have misunderstood my post. People in music often use the iPad with a camera connection kit and a powered USB hub to connect various audio and midi USB peripherals. This is done for two reasons: 1) the iPad doesn’t provide enough bus power to power USB devices and 2) a hub allows to connect multiple devices to the single iPad port.

What is desperately needed is a USB hub designed with the iPad host mode in mind (not a hub where another computer is the host). It seems that apogee has figured out how to send/receive data to the iPad while also providing power to it. What I am suggesting is essentially the same type of thing, only instead of being the audio/midi device, it would be a USB hub that provides power to the iPad (through the upstream USB port) and allows users to connect any combination of their own audio/midi interfaces to the iPad. Since you guys appear to be USB experts, I figured I’d share the idea with you for your consideration and let you cash in on musicians everywhere who need this. :slight_smile:

Hi Steven,

Thanks for the product idea! It does sound like a compelling product. While I don’t see a design like this in our near future, we are always introducing new products.

You can see them all here:
plugable.com/products

Best Regards,
Jerome

Plugable Technologies

Hi Jerome
I’d like to bump Stevens wish and to speed your attention to a hub able to forward midi data as well as power the ipad. When connection a midi piano keyboard to a Plugable hub and further via Camera Connection Kit to the iPad lightning port no charging seems possible.

Also with the recent iRig Pro and similar interfaces many musicians look with envy to Apogee One, Duet and Quatet that can power their iPad while playing. Can you please help the many users of one-port Lightning ipads to charge before the juice runs out, thanks?

Came to the same idea as Steven. Apogee interfaces are so expensive. A lot of people like myself use use another audio and midi interfaces through a powered hub. But there is simply no way to charge ipad while use due to camera connection kit limitation. Please make such a product!!! It would be very popular among ios music makers, and not them only :slight_smile: