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Charging Trolleys

DavR

By DavR
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DavR

DavR

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

 

I'm currently in the process of getting quotes for a set of iPads, and I just wondered what peoples experiences are with charging trolleys?

 

The LapSafe Traveller product is the one that I've seen around the most, and I do like it, but the prices are a bit eye-watering.

 

The GoCabby one looks a bit tacky, but it is significantly cheaper, I've had a quote for that at about £700.

 

I understand the significant difference is charge+sync vs just charge... obviously I'd prefer to have the sync functionality in there, but as I'm looking at managing via Meraki after initial setup with Apple Configurator, will I ever need that do you think?

 

Any thoughts, or alternatives? These will be going up and down stairs, so the suitcase style is a must, rather than a static cabinet or a wheeled trolley.

 

Thanks!

mikeprice

mikeprice

Posted
Posted

If you are taking lots of ipads up stairs you need one of these

 

;)

 

seriously - -I had to deliver ipads up stairs in a previous school - they always needed loads which meant 2 trips fully loaded - which wasn't good when my foot went bad!

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Boredguy

Boredguy

Posted
Posted
After a couple of times having to move our GoCabby up and down the stairs with all 15 iPads in it, I found an easier solution. This fits at least 15 iPads in padded cases without any problem and is waterproof when moving around site :)
DavR

DavR

Posted
  • Author
Posted
If you are taking lots of ipads up stairs you need one of these

 

;)

 

seriously - -I had to deliver ipads up stairs in a previous school - they always needed loads which meant 2 trips fully loaded - which wasn't good when my foot went bad!

 

Haha! I could definitely go for one of those, stick a Go Pro on the front and rig it up with a remote control.... although the kids would just ignore the iPads and spend all lesson riding the trolley.

 

We've only got a few stairs, we're like Alis_Klar above, on a hill. Collecting the iPad sets will very much be the class teacher's responsibility, believe me!

DavR

DavR

Posted
  • Author
Posted
After a couple of times having to move our GoCabby up and down the stairs with all 15 iPads in it, I found an easier solution. This fits at least 15 iPads in padded cases without any problem and is waterproof when moving around site :)

 

Haha! :D Good call.... now, all I need is a couple of USB hubs and some super glue, and I can make my own!

 

Seriously, the prices on these things. It's a suitcase with a USB hub and a plug.... LapSafe just quoted me £1349 for the Traveller Gripcase.

DavR

DavR

Posted
  • Author
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Yeah, I'm definitely leaning that way now!

 

It would be nice to have the sync functionality, especially during initial setup, but day to day I don't think I'm going to need it.

mikeprice

mikeprice

Posted
Posted

Another problem I encountered when I needed to have ipads moved - if your site has separate buildings then people tend to assume that things can always be moved. Hence I would find teachers booking iPads out which had to be moved across a quad

 

I refused to allow this as it would suggest that the iPads can be moved - and therefore WILL be moved - even if it is raining heavily

 

If the teacher are moving the things then this may be even worse as they may decide to do it anyway!

 

Just a thought

Alis_Klar

Alis_Klar

Posted
Posted (edited)
All the other manufacturers have caught on to the basket idea now, which gives you more choice.

 

Monarch do an excellent lapcabby with baskets

 

http://www.ict-direct.co.uk/laptop-ipad-trolleys/ipad-trolleys/monarch/monarch-tabcabby-32v.html

 

 

And Isis offer a good choice in that department too

 

http://www.ict-direct.co.uk/laptop-ipad-trolleys/ipad-trolleys/isis.html

 

Have Monarch fixed those annoying timers on the back. I had older one that was a nightmare as I just wanted it to be on all the time and not have to program a timer. The override was behind a locked panel an couldn't give key to teachers so had to come over to do it myself.

Edited by Alis_Klar
DavR

DavR

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Another problem I encountered when I needed to have ipads moved - if your site has separate buildings then people tend to assume that things can always be moved. Hence I would find teachers booking iPads out which had to be moved across a quad

 

I refused to allow this as it would suggest that the iPads can be moved - and therefore WILL be moved - even if it is raining heavily

 

If the teacher are moving the things then this may be even worse as they may decide to do it anyway!

 

Just a thought

 

Yeah, it's a thought. We have two sites, separated by a road, but each site is only one building. Stuff doesn't tend to move between the sites too easily as it's a faff, but doesn't mean some bright spark might not try it!

ICTDirect_Dave

ICTDirect_Dave

Posted
Posted
Have Monarch fixed those annoying timers on the back. I had older one that was a nightmare as I just wanted it to be on all the time and not have to program a timer. The override was behind a locked panel an couldn't give key to teachers so had to come over to do it myself.

 

I would say no, but I've never heard anybody complain about that feature before so I'm not entirely sure. I'm fairly certain though that we could get it set to always be on at the factory so you didn't need to do anything extra :)

DavR

DavR

Posted
  • Author
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Something else to consider on Laptop/Charging trolleys.

 

Interesting! Pity they don't name and shame the manufacturer there.

 

My bigger H&S concern is the weight teachers will be lifting, but if I want to keep the whole lot together in one case, that's kinda unavoidable.

GuyJD

GuyJD

Posted
Posted
Have Monarch fixed those annoying timers on the back. I had older one that was a nightmare as I just wanted it to be on all the time and not have to program a timer. The override was behind a locked panel an couldn't give key to teachers so had to come over to do it myself.
I have the Monarch timers in our 2 iPad trolleys and once I got them set up to charge during the night I can't say I've ever had to worry about them again, it is a pain they cant just be set to stay on but I can see why they aren't for power consumption reasons. As long as the iPads are put back in the trolley and plugged in they easily have enough charge to make it through the following school day.

 

Now that I think about it, you set them up to how many hours you want them to charge for I've got mine set to 1am to 5am but I'm pretty sure you could set them to 12am to 12am. I have found that they lose the settings and have to be reconfigured if they are unplugged for a considerable length of time though i.e half terms.

Alis_Klar

Alis_Klar

Posted
Posted
I have the Monarch timers in our 2 iPad trolleys and once I got them set up to charge during the night I can't say I've ever had to worry about them again, it is a pain they cant just be set to stay on but I can see why they aren't for power consumption reasons. As long as the iPads are put back in the trolley and plugged in they easily have enough charge to make it through the following school day.

 

Now that I think about it, you set them up to how many hours you want them to charge for I've got mine set to 1am to 5am but I'm pretty sure you could set them to 12am to 12am. I have found that they lose the settings and have to be reconfigured if they are unplugged for a considerable length of time though i.e half terms.

 

For iPads as you say an overnight charge is fine.

 

The problem I had with the Monarchs was with laptops that needed a top up charge after every use!! So needed to be able to charge them during the day. I'm at a new school now so forgot what the problem was. Was probably as you say over half terms when it forgot the timer programing.

rad

rad

Posted
Posted

We have sync and charge... I think they get used as charging only.

 

we have the Belkin bays, lapsafe trolley Gocabby trolley, but the best thing they all have is the Griffin cases. A must for an ipad

Bev

Bev

Posted
Posted
Sync and Charge | iPad Cart, Table Cart, Laptop Cart | LocknChargeLocknCharge Europe lock 'n' charge by a country or nautical mile. They come with baskets which store 5 devices so stairs are not a problem. Exact reason I got one as we are on a hill and have stairs in middle of corridor on same floor!

 

This is the one we have, our baskets hold 8 ipads, and I don't let the cart leave the ICT suite. The kids come and collect the iPads in the baskets to take to the classrooms. It works well for sync'ing (I use Apple Configurator) and seems quite sturdy. We did have a situation where the entire trolley fell over and the ipads survived unscathed.

Bev

Bev

Posted
Posted
For iPads as you say an overnight charge is fine.

 

The problem I had with the Monarchs was with laptops that needed a top up charge after every use!! So needed to be able to charge them during the day. I'm at a new school now so forgot what the problem was. Was probably as you say over half terms when it forgot the timer programing.

 

 

We have the same problem, especially if they haven;'t been plugged in correctly overnight. I can open the back of the cabinet without a key though, there is a handle inside that you pull to open the backdoor, so I've shown staff how to set the timer.

mikeprice

mikeprice

Posted
Posted

I just remember a problem with the charging trolley we had at a previous school

 

The kids would often set an alarm on the ipads for some random time in the future - at which time the ipad would start bleeping which drove me crazy until I identifies which of the 3 trolleys was affected and found the specific ipad that was doing it

 

On some days this would happen 5 or 6 times!!!

 

solution is NOT to have the charging trolleys near where you work

DavR

DavR

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I just remember a problem with the charging trolley we had at a previous school

 

The kids would often set an alarm on the ipads for some random time in the future - at which time the ipad would start bleeping which drove me crazy until I identifies which of the 3 trolleys was affected and found the specific ipad that was doing it

 

On some days this would happen 5 or 6 times!!!

 

solution is NOT to have the charging trolleys near where you work

 

Haha! I have heard of this trick before actually, that's a good bit of mischief right there. Right PIA to fix though.

 

I'm going to try and put these devices into an MDM, I think (hope) that's one of the things I can lock down.

jmak

jmak

Posted
Posted
It's the Sync bit that costs the most. It's all licensed from Cambrionix who happily charge a fortune to let people use their tech.

 

You can get a non-sync trolley/cart for far less :)

 

If you fancy a DIY, Cambrionix will sell you just the clever bit :) You can save a fair bit like this (although you're still taking hundreds), but it would be a faff to make it look professional, so depends on how much time/inclination you have.

 

Me, I'd seriously consider an Anker 10 way USB charger and flight case with some decent cases for the iPads. Or a locked cupboard. All of the storage solutions seem ridiculously expensive for what they do. But then you'll go a long way before you find anyone tighter than me :D

Brimstone

Brimstone

Posted
Posted
Yeah, I'm definitely leaning that way now!

 

It would be nice to have the sync functionality, especially during initial setup, but day to day I don't think I'm going to need it.

 

Only if you are using an MDM....If not you really fancy spending hours plugging one iPad into a MacBook to update the apps?

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