PX-870 Tablet does not charge

[AlexR]

I am researching for a DP for my little, who is learning. I liked this model (PX-870). But read in an online review that the tablet does not charge while connected to the piano USB. I could not find references to this in other websites. I think this could be an important drawback. Is that an issue?

[- T -]

.

 

[Chandler Holloway]

The flash drive port provides 5V power, but this is rarely enough enough to actually charge a tablet or phone battery. If you have an already charged tablet and plug it in, the 5V power should sustain your tablet’s battery, or at the very least lower the rate at which the tablet loses charge. My iPad usually says “Not Charging”, but it still shows the lightning bolt icon over the battery to indicate that power is being received.

 

Synths or other devices that can run on 5V power work just fine when powered from the flash drive port on my CT-X5000, like the Kenton USB-MIDI host I use to control synths over DIN-MIDI. It has to supply enough power to the port to work with flash drives in the first place, after all. When I explain this functionality to potential Casio buyers, I am very careful to say that the flash drive port can “power” devices connected by USB and specifically avoid using the word “charge” for this reason.

 

If you do end up going with the PX-870, just make sure to remember the difference between the USB-MIDI connection and the USB flash drive port. The USB-MIDI port (12 in this diagram) is how you would connect a tablet to the PX-870 to make use of educational apps like Casio’s own Chordana Play for Piano, whereas the flash drive port (11) is what would be supplying 5V power to the tablet.

If you’d like to make use of that 5V power functionality, make sure that whichever adapter you get for your tablet has an extra port for passthrough charging. For example, the official Apple Camera Adapter that Casio recommends for iOS owners has two variants, one with an extra Lightning port for passthrough charging and a slightly cheaper one that only provides the full sized USB port for USB-MIDI connections. This is the one you want. For more information on what kind of cables you’ll need, Casio released this handout that covers all the major brands for mobile devices.

 

In short, as long as you have a decent amount of charge in your tablet before you hook It up to the PX-870 for a long session, you need not worry about running out of power.