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Cheryl Fox, of Warners, charges her iPhone 4 at a charging station in the Center of Progress building at the New York State Fair. The fair installed four charging stations this year.
(Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com)
Geddes, N.Y. -- You're at the New York State Fair, and your phone is dying.
Where can you charge it? Here are some suggestions.
1. Charging stations installed by the fair this year. Locations:
-- Center of Progress Building, main entrance
-- International Building, main entrance, just to the left
-- Horticulture Building, main entrance, just to the left
-- 4-H Youth Building, at the far end near the poultry building.
Each station has two sets of 10 different plugs for various devices (none for iPhone 5, though), two standard electrical outlets and four USB ports.
Jackie Dean opens a self-service phone charging locker at the Call 811 display outside the Art and Home Center at the New York State Fair. Fair-goers can lock their phones inside, take the key and come back later to a charged phone.
2. At the
811 Dig
trailer just outside the Art and Home Center. You plug your phone in inside a tiny locker, take the key, and get it later. There's no time limit and it works on iPhone 5s.
3. Outlets in the International Building. There are 40 standard electrical outlets along the outside of the raised seating area, and you could charge your device while sitting at a table or on the floor. There are dozens along the walls, too, right next to tables. (That's where I am right now.)
4. Outlets next to the tables in the Horticulture Building directly across from The Saranac Brewery Store. There are 12 outlets total.
(Here are some tips for charging your phone faster, including turning off the power while it's charging.)
Cheryl Fox, of Warners, used the charging station for her iPhone 4 at the Center of Progress Building today.
"It's like a lifeline," Fox said. "I was wondering how I was going to get through the day."
The fair-provided charging stations are, however, a work in progress. There are still a few glitches:
-- The chargers aren't fast, and you have to stand at the station and wait. It took Fox 10 minutes to get her phone from 79 to 86 percent charged.
-- The cords for the plugs are just a few inches long, and the shelves are narrow. That means only a few people can use a station at a time.
-- Some plugs don't work. Yvette Mathis, of Syracuse, couldn't charge her LG phone in the station in the International Building. She had to use a wall outlet instead.
The 811 Dig station, provided by Dig Safely New York, has 15 mini-stations that look like post office boxes. Each one has three plugs -- including one for the iPhone 5. Fair-goer Jackie Dean left her phone in a locked mailbox for about 20 minutes and added about 20 percent of charge to the battery, she said.
"It's enough to get me through," she said.
Each of the four charging stations at the New York State Fair include two sets of 10 cords for various devices. The popular iPhone 5 is not among them.
So where else can you charge your phone? If you find a good spot, can you let us know in the comments below? You just might save someone's selfie.
Contact Glenn Coin: Email | Twitter | Google + | (315) 470-3251