choosing a high def TV for the boat

[mondofromredondo]

Anybody know a good durable brand that works on 12V as well as 110V ?
I'm looking for a 19" ish flat screen.

Thanks
Keith

[wwilson]

Keith,

LCDs of the size you are interested in draw very little power - 50-60 Watts. I just bought a 22" Toshiba HDTV/DVD combo that uses 61-Watts. At that level you can buy a 90-Watt inverter and plug it into a 12V receptacle.

That path will open a whole lot more choices for you than the 12V...

DURACELL MOBILE POCKET INVERTER 100 Shop.Sailnet.com - sailing resources, shopping, sail, blogs

Wayne

[bloodhunter]

Keith,
Have had a Sharp 20'' on an inverter for past couple of years. Draws very little power

[JimsCAL]

Most of the smaller LCD TVs use a power "brick". Look for one that is 12VDC. You can than buy or make up a power cord to run it directly off the house battery and avoid an inverter. Radio Shack and others also sell power adapters that plug into a cigarette ligher socket and can output a variety of DC voltages. Just watch the current requirement.

[night0wl]

Originally Posted by JimsCAL

Most of the smaller LCD TVs use a power "brick". Look for one that is 12VDC. You can than buy or make up a power cord to run it directly off the house battery and avoid an inverter. Radio Shack and others also sell power adapters that plug into a cigarette ligher socket and can output a variety of DC voltages. Just watch the current requirement.

I've heard that you shouldn't just directly wire into your 12v since TV's need a very small defined voltage (12v exactly) and our house electrical can vary less than or greater than 12v depending on many factors. Is that true or can I splice any ol' 12v to place my TV in my main salon and one in the v-berth?

[sailingdog]

imho, you'd be far better off with either a small inverter or a dc-to-dc converter. Or better yet, no tv at all...

Originally Posted by night0wl

I've heard that you shouldn't just directly wire into your 12v since TV's need a very small defined voltage (12v exactly) and our house electrical can vary less than or greater than 12v depending on many factors. Is that true or can I splice any ol' 12v to place my TV in my main salon and one in the v-berth?

[night0wl]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

*snip*you'd be far better off with *snip* dc-to-dc converter.

THATS WHAT HE MENTIONED I SHOULD GET!!! A Dc to Dc converter would take care of any voltage spikes and protect the TV.

[TaylorC]

I can't believe that those little external power supplies are all that accurate from a voltage standpoint, and with the cost of the type of TV that uses them (less than a few hundred dollars) the risk is not all that great, at least compared to the risk that my GPS runs when I start my engine.

There have been early postings from others (including MaineSail) who have done just what JimsCal suggested - wired the TV to 12 Volt.

I agree with the second part of SailDog's answer - no TV at all is nice. We compromise and carry one of the kids notebook computers on board. If I get serious about that, I'll order a car adapter for it so we can recharge it when the engine is on.

BTW, when looking at this in the past, the Target sold Polaroid 1513-TDXB and 1913-TDXB were identified as having external 12v power supplies. Since the last time I looked they have come out with a new TV which is specifically touted for AC/DC Compatibility, and that is the FXM-1511C. (not that it seems to be widely sold) It has a 12v DC in jack and a cigarette lighter adapter with some sort box in line, which I assume has some voltage stablization. They do however say:

"Do not connect the unit to the power outlet of the car until the car is running."

These are all TV/DVD combos

Here's their TV comparison page: Polaroid Portable DVD Player Comparison Tool @ Polaroid.com I happened to have it in my history, I can't see to navigate to it.

If you are really worried, Radio Shack sells a 12v surge protector...

[k1vsk]

Originally Posted by night0wl

I've heard that you shouldn't just directly wire into your 12v since TV's need a very small defined voltage (12v exactly) and our house electrical can vary less than or greater than 12v depending on many factors. Is that true or can I splice any ol' 12v to place my TV in my main salon and one in the v-berth?

Despite rumor to the contrary, it is quite true you should never run a 110VAC LCD TV by by-passing the brick direct to the boat's 12VDC power.

These TVs are FAR too sensitive to voltage spikes, much more so than typical boat electronics such as chartplotters, etc... and a voltage spike can easily destroy the power board.

I had this happen to me once after having been assured by the mfg it was okay to do so. When I took the destroyed TV to the repair facility, we both took it apart to investigate the problem and the board was fried making the TV worthless to repair. Fortunately for me, the mfg took responsibility for the bad advice and replaced it.

Certainly there are anecdotal stories about people having done so for a prolonged period without problem but the fact is the a spike will make the TV not worth repairing.

Running through even a square wave inverter, including accounting for the power inefficiency, is preferable to saving a few amps in an attempt to preclude inverter use.

Your TV, your choice.

[JimsCAL]

Just to add a little more confusion to this issue...

I have a Panasonic portable DVD player that uses a 12VDC power supply for charging the battery and also comes with a car power cord that plugs into the cigarette lighter - no obvious electronics in it. And the unit is designed to be used by kids in the back seat will driving and the engine on. Not much difference between an LCD DVD player and an LCD TV other than the tuner. Could be the battery charging circuit provides any necessary power filtering.