TV onboard

[yankeebloke]

Hi All

For the kids i have decided that a LCD TV / DVD combo is required.

My question is this:

I have seen the LCD TV i want, its a 240V 70W TV, and i plan to run it off an inverter from my cigarette lighter adaptor.

Now will a standard 240v 150watt inverter be ok? and is there anything i am missing or not considering?

I work out that with the inverter i will be pulling just under 6 amps to power the LCD TV (70w / 12 vdc = 5.83 amps draw)

can anyone tell me if the standard cigerrete lighter wiring would normally be rated for 6 amps? or would i need to up grade the wiring etc? making it a much bigger undertaking

Any advise / sucess stories are MOST welcome!

Cheers

John

 

[jfm]

Hi All

For the kids i have decided that a LCD TV / DVD combo is required.

My question is this:

I have seen the LCD TV i want, its a 240V 70W TV, and i plan to run it off an inverter from my cigarette lighter adaptor.

Now will a standard 240v 150watt inverter be ok? and is there anything i am missing or not considering?

I work out that with the inverter i will be pulling just under 6 amps to power the LCD TV (70w / 12 vdc = 5.83 amps draw)

can anyone tell me if the standard cigerrete lighter wiring would normally be rated for 6 amps? or would i need to up grade the wiring etc? making it a much bigger undertaking

Any advise / sucess stories are MOST welcome!

Cheers

John

Your maths is fine. Allow for a bit of inefficiency in the inverter and it might draw say 8amps from the 12v socket. You can check on the boat's ammeter. That said, if you do not have TV on max volume and brightness it wont consume 70w anyway, so that gives you more margin

12v cigarette lighter cable will generally be rated quite a bit more than 8 Amps. 20 Amps would be typical. So that is very unlikley to be a problem. Of course, I don't know YOUR boat, so it is worth checking size of actual cables

One thought: before buying the TV why not see if you can get one that runs off 12v. LAVA (which I have on the boat), Toshiba, Sony, all do LCD/TV combos that run off 12v DC. I mean, if you check the power "brick" that comes with the TV you will find that some of them are 230v-12v converters

Some TVs need a reasonably good sine wave output from the inverter else they wont work. I have no idea if your inverter is up to the job or how sensitive your TV is to this. Probably will be fine if there is a power "brick" twixt TV and 230v plug, but if you do as per my para above and get a 12v TV you eliminate this problem

 

[iangrant]

TV On Board

Hi All

For the kids i have decided that a LCD TV / DVD combo is required.

My question is this:

I have seen the LCD TV i want, its a 240V 70W TV, and i plan to run it off an inverter from my cigarette lighter adaptor.

Now will a standard 240v 150watt inverter be ok? and is there anything i am missing or not considering?

I work out that with the inverter i will be pulling just under 6 amps to power the LCD TV (70w / 12 vdc = 5.83 amps draw)

can anyone tell me if the standard cigerrete lighter wiring would normally be rated for 6 amps? or would i need to up grade the wiring etc? making it a much bigger undertaking

Any advise / sucess stories are MOST welcome!

Cheers

John

John

I "installed" a cheapy TV freeview built in and a Halfords inverter which draws about 2 amps, works a treat but as said a 12v unit may be a better option. (Maplin do cheaper but Halfords was closer)

More of a challenge is getting a decent signal on digital or for that matter analogue, even on the saily boat with the glomex aerial 50 feet up it freezes when it feels like it!

you will need a signal booster (more amps but not many) depends where you are of course and where you nearest transmitter is.

Ian

 

[hlb]

We've got a Technica TV from Tesco, with built in DVD, Freeview and even an Ipod dock. It runs on mains mostly, but also off the cig lighter with a little inverter.

Always used to struggle with reception. But now more or less perfect with a Status ariel from the caravan shop.

 

[yankeebloke]

John

I "installed" a cheapy TV freeview built in and a Halfords inverter which draws about 2 amps, works a treat but as said a 12v unit may be a better option. (Maplin do cheaper but Halfords was closer)

More of a challenge is getting a decent signal on digital or for that matter analogue, even on the saily boat with the glomex aerial 50 feet up it freezes when it feels like it!

you will need a signal booster (more amps but not many) depends where you are of course and where you nearest transmitter is.

Ian

Thanks Ian, and all

I am on the rivers in Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas for the next season or two, with the odd trip out to sea (no TV required at sea, we will be having too much fun going fast!)

I think the brodcast signal around this area will be strong enough with the antenna i intend to buy.

i was going to install the TV and use this antenna, to pick up digital signal etc, it sounds pretty good???? can anyone confirm or deny its any good?

http://www.force4.co.uk/7543/Banten-250-TV-Antenna---FREE-Mount.html

thanks i really want to be sure before i cough up £300 plus and start running wires etc only to find it ends up in failure

going off now to google 12v TV's, but i should add that the TV/DVD combo i have in mind is a 22 inch HD TV with built in Freeview tuner, for £150. I think its a pretty good deal.

I also heard (not sure its true) that a 12V TV could be damaged if batt charger kicks in and Viltages goes up to 14 v etc? any truth in this rumor?

 

[yankeebloke]

I just looked at 12volt TV's they seem to start at around £240 for a 19 inch TV only, i would also need to buy the Antenna, so this looks an expensive route.

I think i will go with the inverter route.

22 inch TV / DVD combo £150

Antenna £60, Inverter £40............this comes to £250 all in.

Hlb.........The TV you have is similar to the one i am looking at, could you tell me what inverter you have? i was looking at a 150 watt inverter

going to look at caravan shop antenna now

Thanks

John

 

[hlb]

On a boat you need an omnidirectional arial, no idea if I've spelt that right, but it needs to look every where. Unlike your house ariel which just has to look out to one place.

At home we have one TV in the conservatory, same as the one on the boat, that runs OK off a ten quid inside arial.

FRom many posts on here about TV's it seems pot luck, depending where you are.

Dont forget, on a boat, your mostly at the lowest point on earth, so not easy for reception.

Think my inverter is a Sterling, no idea what size. It would blow a fuse with the old TV, but works fine with the new flat screen one. Fuse is 3Amp. Screen 32" I think.

The Status was around £90 and said it was ok for a boat. Folks round here recomended it. Glomex is also recomended. But I could not get any sence out of the site I looked at or the folk I talked to..

Anyway, I've gone from a grainy jumping one chanel, to about 96. At the moment the Status is under test, taped to the radar arch. It seems to have passed. You will maybe have to retune the TV if you move.

The cheapo in the conservatory looks directly at Winter Hill, so maybe not a fair comparison.

 

[Bojangles]

I've got a 19" UMC lcd tv/dvd which works off 12 or 240v and cost about £180 from Macro, it has built in Freeview.

The aerial really depends on where you are, I would find out what works for others in the same marina. I have a glomex aerial on the radar arch with a booster but the picture is not reliable and it doesn't even detect the freeview digital service. A £60 satellite kit from Maplin gets loads of channels although when you set it up you have to search for the right direction. Picture quality is superb and no matter where you are you can always pick up a satellite (as long as you're on a pontoon).

 

[rafiki_]

"We've got a Technica TV from Tesco, with built in DVD, Freeview and even an Ipod dock. It runs on mains mostly, but also off the cig lighter with a little inverter."

Hayden, we had a Technica as above last season, but the DVD stopped working when the evenings got cooler in Sept/Oct. I think due to condensation. Have changed to a Teac, but too early to tell if it is any good.

 

[yankeebloke]

"We've got a Technica TV from Tesco, with built in DVD, Freeview and even an Ipod dock. It runs on mains mostly, but also off the cig lighter with a little inverter."

Hayden, we had a Technica as above last season, but the DVD stopped working when the evenings got cooler in Sept/Oct. I think due to condensation. Have changed to a Teac, but too early to tell if it is any good.

Thats a good tip i will remember to remove the TV/DVD from the boat during the cold winter months!!!

 

[AndieMac]

I heard somewhere that it is wise to turn on all the electronic gear everytime the boat goes for a run, to get them warm and limit the potential damage caused by moisture in the systems.

 

[Trundlebug]

A couple of points to add to the comments made above.

1. Better to check the TV's in the shop as to whether they are 12v or not. Searching for a "special" 12v one will cost you more, as has been mentioned above. Many TV's are in fact 12v but don't advertise the fact, so best to have a look at the brick and what the output voltage from it is to the TV. That way you get a bargain..

2. A note of caution when running TV's direct from 12v. LCD TV's are very susceptible to under voltage, so as soon as the TV sees less than 12v the sound starts to go, then it pixellates, then the picture goes. Very annoying!

This can happen quite quickly if you have a number of lights on, or someone runs the water pump, etc.

Even though your batteries may still be showing 12.6v, there is easily 0.5 volt drop along the wire and through the cigar lighter socket, making it all very marginal at the TV end. This is the problem I currently have, and I'm rewiring the TV power supply with 10mm2 cable, through a special lower loss connector, to overcome it.

For that reason it may well be better (albeit less efficient) to run it via an invertor unless you can overcome these issues.

3. As regards aerials, We bought a directional status caravan aerial which has been excellent. Directional aerials will always provide a stronger signal without boosters, although of course you have to point them in the right direction. That's easy, just turn it round until you get the strongest signal - our Roadstar TV even has a signal strength info indicator on it (% strength and quality). I accept it's no good on a swinging mooring but we only use it in the marina or when tied up to a river bank.

The main requirement for a good signal though is Height. Stick it on the end of a 3m collapsible pole and you're much more likely to get a good signal.

 

[asteven221]

Personally I have always gone for a 12v TV and never had any problems. I have just bought one for our new boat. It's a Ferguson with built in freeview (never works) and DVD player. I cut the cable from the power supply brick and rewire it on the 12v side so it goes to a toggle switch where I can switch between 240v or 12v. I then have the choice of running the telly directly from shorepower, genny, battery power pack/charger or from the ships battery. You will have to be carefull to choose the right TV and make sure you are happy with it as the warranty will be void if you start to cut the cables!

 

[Kipper]

A couple of points to add to the comments made above.

1. Better to check the TV's in the shop as to whether they are 12v or not. Searching for a "special" 12v one will cost you more, as has been mentioned above. Many TV's are in fact 12v but don't advertise the fact, so best to have a look at the brick and what the output voltage from it is to the TV. That way you get a bargain..

2. A note of caution when running TV's direct from 12v. LCD TV's are very susceptible to under voltage, so as soon as the TV sees less than 12v the sound starts to go, then it pixellates, then the picture goes. Very annoying!

This can happen quite quickly if you have a number of lights on, or someone runs the water pump, etc.

Even though your batteries may still be showing 12.6v, there is easily 0.5 volt drop along the wire and through the cigar lighter socket, making it all very marginal at the TV end. This is the problem I currently have, and I'm rewiring the TV power supply with 10mm2 cable, through a special lower loss connector, to overcome it.

For that reason it may well be better (albeit less efficient) to run it via an invertor unless you can overcome these issues.

3. As regards aerials, We bought a directional status caravan aerial which has been excellent. Directional aerials will always provide a stronger signal without boosters, although of course you have to point them in the right direction. That's easy, just turn it round until you get the strongest signal - our Roadstar TV even has a signal strength info indicator on it (% strength and quality). I accept it's no good on a swinging mooring but we only use it in the marina or when tied up to a river bank.

The main requirement for a good signal though is Height. Stick it on the end of a 3m collapsible pole and you're much more likely to get a good signal.

You are spot on about the 12v powwr supplys more many tvs def up to 20 inch. never had a voltage prob on ours in 6 years wired direct ito 12v supply. why bother about switching to 240 when on shore power?
If the batteries are up to it shouldnt pose a problem.