On Board TV's

[Sailfree]

On Board TV\'s

JUst about to buy a freeview &DVD LCD flatscreen TV. Don't know the transformer rating and hoping its on the box EG 220V to 9.6V etc. I am assuming its not going to be 12V (that can fluctuate to 14.6V on charge).

Are there any transformers from 12V /voltage stabilisers that you can recommend.

Or do I need an expensive TV that sold for the Caravan/Marine market to work off a 12V battery

 

[mikesyam]

Re: On Board TV\'s

Hi
Dont know what you class as expensive but I have one of these, fantastic piece of kit and works off 12v and 240v through the supplied transformer,
http://www.kjglobal.co.uk/acatalog/DM_TECH_LT20DT_built_in_DVD_freeview.html

 

[Robin]

Re: On Board TV\'s

We have a Bush 15" LCD TV plus separate Freeview box, both came 'free' via Argos with a huge collection of Nectar points. At the time these TVs were over £300 but now are under £200 I think.

Make sure the one you chose has multistandard capability and will work in other countries like France, Spain and so on if you want to use it outside of the UK, a lot of UK sold sets do not.

All of these sets run from 220v via an adapter to DC BUT at varying voltages from make to make. Many are 12v nominal, as is ours but some (Sony was one when we were looking) will say the warranty is invalid if run from 12v supply direct, this was the case with the ones being sold by a Sony dealer at SIBS. Our Bush set will run OK from 12v in our berth when plugged in (float volts 13.6v) but after 24hrs on a buoy (battery volts now 12.7v) the picture would occasionally freeze yet it would be perfectly OK when run on 220v through our on board inverter. We now power both TV and Freeview via the inverter. Also when evaluating different sets, many had '12v' adapters but the connections were multi-pin plug/sockets, not easy to adapt to the boat 12v sockets, our Bush set was a simple enough one to adapt but in the event we went the inverter route anyway.

One thing we have yet to test is if our UK Freeview box will work with the French Freevew system. We occasionally use the set in France on analogue to look at news and weather.

BTW Poole is still a Freeview blackspot, ours works in the marina but drops about half the channels, that is using a loft aerial we put in a coachroof winch. In the Solent it works on anything from a piece of wire upwards.

 

[Sailfree]

Re: On Board TV\'s

As you know ours is a charter boat and am fitting a TV with DVD to keep it better equipped than the rest. It also seems to be attracting more 1 week charters with families this year hence the requirement for DVD.

To answer both you at once currently looking at the DM Tech 18" from Makro at £249 + VAT. They seem to be coming down in price as before when I looked Freeview + DVD were nearer £450. Checked Argos but the Bush is £249 inc VAT but only 15".

Don't know how quality compares between the 2!!

 

[ShaunG]

Re: On Board TV\'s

The majority of TFT TV's (at least the smaller ones) use a 220v AC to 12V (ish) DC convertor. Due to the way in which the TFT's work you will need to provide a very stable 12v to the tv. On the more expesive TV's from the caravan shops this is built in, alternativly you can use a 12v DC volltage stabiliser, http://www.amperordirect.co.uk/products/12v_Stabiliser.asp

i have used the amperor for over a year with a voltage anywhere between 11 and 16V and a TV that cost less than £150

 

[pappaecho]

Re: On Board TV\'s

I have a two year old 15 inch LCD TV which I paid £150 which has a external 12 volt transformer. This has been transferred from our bedroom to the boat, and works well on the 12 volt supply. This year we have added a cheapo Sagem Freeview box, which again has a 12 volt external mains transformer, and which works very well with the TV. Wife watched Formula 1 on Sunday on it whilst we crossed the Solent!
Only downside is that the fridge tends to depress the battery voltage somewhat, and for reasons unknown the sound stops working at 11.6 volts. Spent 10 minutes trying to work out why until I switched off the fridge!
I will fit a Traco regulator chip 9-13 volts in and 12 volts stabilised out, from RS components... It will cost about £15

 

[PhilipF]

Re: On Board TV\'s

> Or do I need an expensive TV that sold for the Caravan/Marine market to work off a 12V battery <

DSG - Currys, PC World etc. are selling a 7 inch flat screen multi standard freeview set. It will run on its own re-chargeable battery, the boats 12 volt supply, which also re-charges the TV's internal battery.Or it will run off the mains.

Good value I reckon at £129

 

[philip_stevens]

Re: On Board TV\'s

I am trying to find a 17" 16:9 (or to be totally pedantic accurate 15:9 Ref: AVforums ) widescreen LCD with freeview - and DVD if possible. But freeview first. Most sets you see are plain analogue, even though digital is coming in next year in this area. The 15" sets are 4:3, that makes a widescreen view very small.

So, where can I get a 17" widescreen LCD TV with Freeview, that will work off 12vdc, without a mortgage/loan price.

I don't apologise for wanting a TV on the boat, and I don't make the excuse of wanting to watch the weather forecast - as the BBC forecast is worse than useless without isobars, and is playing to the lowest common denominator viewer - dumbing down.

 

[Sailfree]

Re: On Board TV\'s

am I missing something?

What would be wrong with the DM Teck 18 at £249 from Makro - whats 1" between friends.

Thanks for the response PhillipF but I did say for a charter boat and wanted DVD a 7" flatscreen would not cut the mustard i'm afraid!

 

[Chris_Robb]

Re: On Board TV\'s

Any 12 volt tv will work - It is important to look at the voltage specs - the one I have just bought is 12 + - 1V. So you may well need a voltage stabailizer at around £40, which will cope to 15V.
Here is one http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/12v_regulated_power_supply_amperor_21mm_d1119/

If you are plugged into shore power, your battery voltrage could well be 15 volts for a time (equalization) this WILL bugger the set.

I suppose you could tell your charterers to use the mains to power the tv when on shore power - but thats asking rather a lot!.

 

[philip_stevens]

Re: On Board TV\'s

No, you're not missing something, I am/did. Your post.

I clicked on KJGlobal (post above yours) where it is priced at £358.

The Makro price looks good. Food for thought, though I'm not registered, but a friend is.

The 17" is priced at £279 with coupon from Dixons.

 

[Sailfree]

Re: On Board TV\'s

Sorry either I read the advert wrong or store printed it wrong!! Its 20" LCD with Freeview and DVD for £249. Makro prices are + VAT. So its 3" bigger than the 15" you said yopu wanted.

Transformer output is 12V jusy not sure if it needs stabilising

They were stacked high in store this morning but they have one less now!!

Bought a bracket just got to figure out best way to mount it.

 

[freebird1]

Re: On Board TV\'s

We have a 15" flat screen Alba (c£120) on our Konsort with a proper 12 volt digibox intended for cars/boats etc.
The TV runs straight of the ships batteries no problem.
Our in-car portable DVD player may come away with us at times too. It has seperate screens (that we leave at home) and we plug it in to the TV.

 

[Danny]

Re: On Board TV\'s

[ QUOTE ]
BTW Poole is still a Freeview blackspot, ours works in the marina but drops about half the channels, that is using a loft aerial we put in a coachroof winch.

[/ QUOTE ]You mean the town itself rather than Poole harbour generally? We got excellent freeview signal while anchored in South Deep. The signal was from Rowridge, IOW.

 

[Robin]

Re: On Board TV\'s

Yes Rowridge is the transmitter, the local relay transmitter which we can see from our berth will not be converted until the very last apparently. We get some channels OK in the marina but not all and friends house freeviews only work with hi gain aerials.