The death of the cigarette lighter receptacle. Is it near?
Standards change over time, that is a fact of life. In my lifetime alone, the music industry has gone from LPs and 45s, to 8-tracks, to cassettes, to CDs. Now most of those are all but gone, and digital audio files like .MP3s are the standard. And that’s just one industry! It’s best not to stress too much about change, because it’s going to happen whether you like it or not.
One industry standard that I think is long overdue to be replaced is the 12V cigarette lighter receptacle. I can see how we ended up with such a goofy thing, of course. In a time when near everyone smoked cigarettes, a lighter was probably considered an automobile necessity. Then, when manufactures figured out that they could power their devices by tapping into those outlets, that stupid standard was born.
Wikipedia has this to say:
The cigarette lighter receptacle (also called a cigar lighter receptacle or cigar lighter socket) in an automobile was initially designed to power an electrically heated cigarette lighter, but became a de facto standard DC connector to supply electrical power for portable accessories used in or near an automobile. While the cigarette lighter receptacle is a common feature of automobiles and trucks, as a DC power connector it has the disadvantages of bulkiness, relatively low current rating, and poor contact reliability.
In newer cars, the socket is equipped with a plastic cover without the lighter heating element, due to declining popularity of smoking. However, the socket has been repurposed and continues to be used to power consumer electronics in vehicles. Often, a vehicle may come with several outlets for convenience, some in the rear passenger area of the vehicle or even the cargo area, for such purposes as powering portable GPS devices, recharging telephones, or powering a tire inflator, a vacuum cleaner or a thermoelectric cooler. These outlets usually have a plastic cap tethered to them, and are usually labeled as being only for DC power, because they are not intended to withstand the heat produced by an electrical cigarette lighter.
The use of cigarette lighter receptacles to supply 12 volt DC power is a classic example of backward compatibility to a de facto standard. The connector falls far short of ideal, being physically large and awkward to use, while being less reliable than alternatives such as the Anderson Powerpole connector (which is often used by amateur radio enthusiasts in mobile operations). Nevertheless, cigarette lighter receptacles are in widespread use, and all but the lowest-cost cars, trucks, RVs, and even boats can be expected to have at least one such receptacle.
Could we finally be nearing the long-overdue death of the cigarette lighter receptacle? Let’s hope so!
They replaced our favorite radio!
In yesterday’s blog post I mentioned that we always carry a portable VHF radio when out and about in the dinghy. I was actually going to link to our favorite portable radio, the IC-M24, but noticed that it is no longer available. Apparently, it has been replaced by the Icom IC-M25.
When I read the new radio’s specs, I was pleased to see that they list it as being charged by a USB plug. That is a huge plus in my opinion. Given that the radio is also listed as being IPX7 waterproof, I’ll assume that the charging port is just as well sealed as it is on the older model.
The new Icom IC-M25
USB plugs may not be perfect but they are still far superior to the cigarette lighter things. I’ve actually gone so far as to replace a couple of the old plugs on our boat with dual USB outlets, including one at the helm (protected from the elements by the Amel’s hard dodger). Technology being what it is though, even the USB plugs that we’re used to may soon be replaced.
If anyone has purchased one of these newer radios, I’d love to hear a report on it. The radio that we have now is still working perfectly, but you never know when we may need an additional one.
What’s funny/ironic is that your article is now followed by a half dozen Amazon ads for cigarette lighter sockets.
Isn’t technology great? 🙂
A BBC show (“Connections”) had an episode that opened by saying they would show how the 2 horses the host was stroking were directly related to the engineering of the Space Shuttle, which was just launching behind him. It went like this:
* Romans built chariots who width was determined by 2 large horse rumps.
* They conquered most of the known world, including Britain.
* The Brits made their carriages to match the Romans, since the Romans built stone roads, and if the wheels didn’t fit the ruts, they broke.
* The Brits invented the steam engine. Since carriage makers built the cars, they stayed with the same gauge.
* Rails went world wide. If you don’t match the gauge, nothing fits.
* The solid boosters for the Shuttle are moved by rail.
The modern rail gauge is laughably narrow (4’8″); even trucks are 8′, and rail cars are taller and heavier. But the standard is here to stay.
Funny, but I can see it.
Agreed. Both outlets in my car have USB adapters.
As cars evolved, the ashtrays disappeared long before the cigarette lighter leaving smokers the choice of carrying a portable ashtray or tossing their butts. It really bugs me that smokers feel no shame about tossing their butts out their windows, on the ground at doorways or in the sand at the beach. It is believed that the huge Fort Mac forest fire was started by a tossed butt…whatever happened to Smokey the Bear and his “only you can prevent forest fires” . Install USB ports in cars but bring back the ashtray.
People throwing garbage, including cigarette butts, out of car windows is a serious pet peeve of mine!
In case you haven’t heard it — The guy who invented the USB plug died last week. The funeral went well until they tried to lower the coffin into the grave, when they had to take it back out and turn it around to make it fit.
If it was me, I would have had to do it one more time, realizing that the first way I tried was, in fact, the correct way after all.
I recently purchased an Icom IC-35 portable VHF myself. It’s waterproof, floats, and charges by 12v DC input (via an included 120v AC wall wart) which I assumed at the store (WestMarine) would also be compatible with direct wiring to the 12v system in the boat. When I got it home and was reading the manual and specifications that came in the box they nowhere mention anything about using 12v DC boat power or advertise anything like a 12v cigarette lighter plug as an accessory on the accessory page. Perhaps the charger circuit on this radio requires more regulation than what a typical automotive/boat DC battery/alternator typically can achieve (13.8v nominal) or maybe the guys at ICOM just didn’t bother to mention it in the manual. I’ll have to look into this more before trying it. I might need to build a good 12v/12v regulator circuit in order to charge this radio safely off of the boat’s batteries.
We will not have 120v power available most of the time on our boat since turning on the inverter is a power drain even on standby. We do not plan on staying at marinas, instead living on the hook off-grid.
USB power standards are pretty strict about the regulation of the 5v power available on a USB device -it’s only ± 5%, and no more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Power This allows the engineers of utilization devices the ability to design a charging circuit that is more efficient and effective without having to worry about adding additional voltage regulation to it. 12v nominal DC power can range from as low as 10-ish volts to the mid/high 14’s -sometimes even more if an alternator is really pumping out charging current.
I think you are right that 5v USB power is going to become a new de-facto standard along with the form factor of the USB jack (regular USB-A and Micro-B being the most popular these days.)
I just looked that radio (IC-35) up.
https://www.icom.co.jp/world/products/marine/handheld/ic-m35/option.php
The product page shows it as being charged by a cradle. As I wrote, I am not a fan of that.
What led you to the IC-35 instead of the IC-25?
Hopefully your new radio has a USB-C connector, rather than the less capable mini- or micro-USB connectors. USB-C can be inserted up or down (no more fumbling to make sure you’re orienting it correctly), and can handle up to 5A @ 20V. USB mini and micro connectors can only deliver up to 3A @ 5V.
We don’t actually have the USB chargeable version. We have its predecessor.