Inexpensive TV

booster · 02-28-2018, 10:13 PM

Walmart is closing out a Hitachi 22" tv. 1080p, 2 HDMI, optical audio out, composite, usb, etc for $80 which puts in the same range as the super cheapo no input or output types. I got one for our exercise room and it has a very good picture and decent sound. Tuner pulled in more channels at home than most of our other TVs and much better than the Vizio we have in the van. I just ordered another on for the van. It is very light so it should ride better on the swing out bracket, even though it is a bit bigger than the Vizio. Downside is that it direct plugs, so it will have run on the small inverter like the DVD player, but then I can take out the 12v stabilizer we had to use for the Vizio running on 12v.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hitachi-2...22E30/55584500

avanti · 02-28-2018, 10:57 PM

You should open it up and see how the internal power supply works. You might just find that there is just the equivalent of a power brick inside.

I was able to convert an Apple TV to 12VDC operation by replacing its internal power supply with a simple DC-DC converter.

Bud · 02-28-2018, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

You should open it up and see how the internal power supply works. You might just find that there is just the equivalent of a power brick inside.

I was able to convert an Apple TV to 12VDC operation by replacing its internal power supply with a simple DC-DC converter.

avanti, booster, this ac tv to dc tv has me wondering if it is important amp wise when buying ac vs dc tv. 'IF' the inverter is going to be on anyway, how many more amps would be used? an estimate.

Thanks.

Bud

booster · 03-01-2018, 12:25 AM

The TV only takes 35 watts rated tops (the Vizio was rated at 36 and only used about 15 watts) so it will be able to run, along with the DVD player off the 100 watt Samlex PSW inverter we have for off grid video stuff. Very efficient and and tiny parasitic, so really no big penalty at all. It will also allow me to remove the voltage stabilizer that we needed for the Vizio, so will save that power also.

When I was looking at TVs for exercise room before finding this deal, I made a point of checking as many as I could find that had bricks, and essentially all of them I found were at 19v now, so they would require an adapter anyway. That must be a new thing because it wasn't that way a few years ago. There also seems to be a lot more of them that are straight 110v plugs now, too, instead of with bricks.

Bud, our Magnum inverter has about 1.4 amps of parasitic load, which is about what the old 12v TV used, so it doubled the drain. The Samlex is tiny by comparison. It is rated at "less than .5 amp) but ours actually runs at about 1/5 of that.

cruising7388 · 03-01-2018, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bud

avanti, booster, this ac tv to dc tv has me wondering if it is important amp wise when buying ac vs dc tv. 'IF' the inverter is going to be on anyway, how many more amps would be used? an estimate.

Thanks.

Bud

Because they are more limited in production, I imagine that 12V TVs cost more than the equivalent 120V units but in the RV application I think the 12V units are superior. In our Roadtrek we have to energize the inverter to operate the 120V TV or the DVD player. So, added to the TV load is the operating load of the inverter which at the power level delivered for the TV/DVD is not a very efficient operating point for the inverter. A mini inverter supplied just to run the TV/DVD would mitigate this issue. IIRC, the TV on one of Davydd's coaches was wired to run off a dedicated mini inverter.

On the early Gallerias which had no inverter at all , the TV/DVD was 12V by necessity. But their current models that are inverter equipped still provide 12V TV/DVD which permits operation with the inverter shut off which I think is a plus.

avanti · 03-01-2018, 12:55 AM

I take great pride in the fact that absolutely everything in our rig runs native at 12VDC, with the obvious exceptions of A/C, Microwave, and Keurig. I was also careful to design in a very convenient toggle switch to turn the large inverter on/off. It is usually off.

I admit that with modern small inverters, it makes little practical difference, but I allow myself this narrow bit of OCD.

booster · 03-01-2018, 12:56 AM

You must be running the surround sound receiver with built in DVD? If it is like our original was, by the time you run the tv, surround sound, and inverter, you will be around 10+ amps of 12v depending on how loud you have it, which is a lot of power to use watching TV.

We still have a surround sound receiver, but also have a standalone DVD only player that runs on the small Samlex inverter. Between the two of them it is barely .2 amps, plus about 1.4 amps for the TV and we have only 1.6 amps total to watch DVDs, a little less for just TV, but the antenna booster does add a little to the 1.4 amps of the TV.

About the only time we turn on the big inverter is for microwave, hairdryer, etc.

avanti · 03-01-2018, 01:00 AM

I see a total of about 2.1 amps watching TV, listening through a Jensen DVD/amp.

booster · 03-01-2018, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

I see a total of about 2.1 amps watching TV, listening through a Jensen DVD/amp.

Your post got in ahead of me, I was referring to cruising7388.

Davydd · 03-01-2018, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cruising7388

Because they are more limited in production, I imagine that 12V TVs cost more than the equivalent 120V units but in the RV application I think the 12V units are superior. In our Roadtrek we have to energize the inverter to operate the 120V TV or the DVD player. So, added to the TV load is the operating load of the inverter which at the power level delivered for the TV/DVD is not a very efficient operating point for the inverter. A mini inverter supplied just to run the TV/DVD would mitigate this issue. IIRC, the TV on one of Davydd's coaches was wired to run off a dedicated mini inverter.

On the early Gallerias which had no inverter at all , the TV/DVD was 12V by necessity. But their current models that are inverter equipped still provide 12V TV/DVD which permits operation with the inverter shut off which I think is a plus.

My 2005 Pleasure-way had a 450w inverter for TV in an enclosed cabinet and my 2011 Great West Van had a more versatile 800w inverter above the kitchen galley for the TV and it had a duplex accessible outlet with a USB plug. I could use it with a slow cooker crockpot which I did numerous times because I cooked while driving all day and not run the battery down. I just braced the crockpot in the kitchen sink.

GeorgeRa · 03-01-2018, 04:13 AM

I often use the MotoZ projector, especially with grandkids, it mates with the Motorola Z phones, has internal battery which last for an hour and more with the phone battery. If dark 40” diagonal is OK and less in a brighter room. I am still fascinating with this technology, DLP with LED.
https://www.motorola.com/us/products...hare-projector

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBVC...ature=youtu.be

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