15" Sanyo TV

416rigby · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:45 pm Post subject: 15" Sanyo TV

We were looking for a smaller TV for the spare bedroom and thought that maybe we could get one with a DC adapter that would suit two purposes. We managed to find a 15 inch LCD flat panel TV/monitor that came with the DC adapter. Question is this-Does anyone have any suggestions for running this TV and how much power it takes to run it. We read on a thread on another site that you shouldn't plug it directly into the 12 volt cigarette socket. Presently we use a little portable DVD player but thought it would be nice to occasionly bring this TV along to watch a movie while out on the lake.
Any help would be appreciated as if we can't do this I could go a lot cheaper on the spare room TV
Rick and Donna

TyBoo · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject:

Rick and Donna -

Are you guys nuts, or what? The muggy south got to your brains or something? Who ever heard of a big screen TV on a boat?

However, if you really want to do something like that, then maybe it would be cheaper to get an AC-only TV and a small inverter. I have a 250 watt inverter on board (one like you can get for under 50 bucks nowadays) that powers a knife sharpener, cell phone chargers, a cheapo DVD player, and yes, a flat screen TV. When I got the TV, it was on sale and I had some coupon things besides that got it down to $187. The cheapest comparable AC/DC set I could find at that time was more than twice that much.

The TV draws 44 watts, so the little inverter is barely working to run it. The kids have it on all the time.

Here it is in the stowed postion where it can be watched from the forward dinette seat.

Here it is swung out on its one-of-a-kind pivoting hanger so it can be watched by the whole family.

That dorky little UHF antenna on top gets us four channels locally that come in clear as can be (translators close by). We can usually find UHF channels wherever we go.

Just kidding about the you-being-nuts part. C-Dory should put those TVs in as standard equipment.

Sneaks · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:39 pm Post subject:

Rick, check your wall wart. Usually it'll give you the wall wart ratings which are close to the max power requirements. We have a nice 15" and rather than go the inverter route, which only adds more 12 volt draw, I checked the wart's output - 16 volts 3.5 amps and picked up a really cheap 12v to 16 v converter that works just fine.

Usually the warning about cigarette lighter usage is because folks forget to unplug the TV when they start the car/truck/bus/Dodge engine up and it's at that moment an alternator spike can occur and mess up your day. Never happened to me, but it is theoretically possible. AFAIC, about as possible as a cell phone starting a fire at a fuel stop.... Rolling Eyes

Don

Dora~Jean · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:42 pm Post subject:

I have a 17" wide screen LCD. Wasn't made for DC operation but it comes with an AC adapter that converts to 16VDC. Ah-ha! Went to Fry's and bought a Air/Auto DC to DC Travel Adapter kit with about 7 different fittings, about $69. Checked the size, voltage and polarity on one that appear to match. Crossed my fingers, plugged it in, voila...works perfect (sometimes I get lucky). Draws 3.8 amps + the DVD player at about 0.3 amps if I remember right. With the DC to AC inverter, then AC to the TV, I measured about 5.0 amps -- conversion losses.

Then I hooked up a $19.95 2 channel amplifier to my stereo speakers (with a switch to switch out the stereo), plugged the DVD player audio out into that and I have a pretty decent sound system as well.

TyBoo · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:43 pm Post subject:

And as you can see by the super-duper Costco clock with indoor/outdoor temperature and satellite time/date accuracy right next to the big-screen, I got right on the response to your query, having taken the picture a mere 14 minutes after you asked.

You can also see in the second pic, right below the left corner of the TV, a small hinged door in the cabinet. That's where the $44 Costco DVD player is, and it is plugged into the inverter and cabled to the TV all the time.

TyBoo · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:57 pm Post subject:

My TV has a standard AC plug and no transformer wall wart gizmo, so using the inverter that I already had there was the best route for me. I think a watt used is a watt used regardless of how it gets into use, so the inverter-vs-adapter question as it pertains to 12v draw is scarely worth considering.

thataway · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:43 pm Post subject:

I have been LCD TV's off 12 volts and cig lighter plugs for about 4 years with no problems. The Sanyo will work fine. I have one, gotten at WAl mart. I prefer to go DC 12 volts and 15" is plenty big on the boat.

In the past I have had some minor problems with electronics on inverters, such as interference--never with the DC--but I don't run them when running the RV or boat.

Have fun!

Dora~Jean · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 11:04 pm Post subject:

Mike,
I saw your TV setup before, very nice install job, well thought out and versatile. I'm a nature kind of person pretty much, but having a TV on board with energetic kids (me included) sure is nice to see a movie you've been wanting to see for a long time (too busy working on the boat to take time to watch it at home!).

By the way, I have to store mine and deploy it each time, your's is stored in an unused area and ready to go all the time, I'm envious.

416rigby · Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 11:32 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the input, gents, and yes, Mike, we ARE nuts. Laughing

Would be nice to get a TV to watch the occassional movie, especially now that the weather is turning cooler and we'll be spending less time swimming...lake's cooling down.

We've been considering an inverter, but we really have no problems with the house battery we have, so not sure what we're going to do there yet. We've been spending weekends on the lake and run our 12v fan and portable DVD player for music...and lights at night...no problemo. I'm just curious as to how long the battery will last when using inverters for stuff like that TV or other gizmos we may try out like Donna's Senseo coffee maker. I guess the only way to find out is to get one. Probably a good investment anyway, eh? Is one inverter better than another? Donna did some checking and some are listed as being "whisper quiet" or have a low battery alarm feature. One said something about modified sine somethng or other and lines on your TV screen? Is bigger better? (No smart alec remarks on this one, Mike!) If we're going to get one, would we be better off getting a small one like 250 watts or a bigger one...a 1250 watt is about 100 bucks. As you can see, I'm no electrician.

I like that little Sanyo TV and was thinking that any cig lighter adapter for 12v should make it work.

Rick

Papillon · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 12:04 am Post subject:

Hi Rick,
I'm nuts too, but I like the creature comforts of home even when on the water. I am not much of a reader unless you post it on the web. I want my, microwave, radio/tv/dvd player and anything else that my be 110 volts to save buying the junk 12v devices. I purchased a 1000 watt with 2000 watt surge for $49.00 plus shipping and it is big enough to handle my needs. I is not "marineize" but I figure I can buy a new one every year for the rest of my life and still come out ahead in the long run. I do not intend to keep it on the boat in a fixed installation because I can find other uses for it in my business and when on the road in my truck or car.

If you need further details...contact me.

Mike

416rigby · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 12:32 am Post subject:

Thanks, Mike. We'll have to check out your set-up at the Gulf Gathering...looking forward to it...our first one.

thataway · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 12:59 am Post subject:

Although we have had inverters on all of our larger boats, we have refrained from one because of the battery capacity necessary. The larger amount of power you draw, the less capacity your battery has. Battery capacity is rated by a 5 amp or 20 amp draw over a peroid of time. A 1000 watt inverter draws 120 amps.

All resistive loads do fine with modified sine wave inverters (less expensive types). Some electronics and do not do as well with MSW--but we have run almost everything except high draw compressors successfully with inverters. I prefer a small inverter to run small appliances. We used to use an inverter for AA battery chargers-but now we have 12 volt chargers, and that is no longer an issue. There also small "hot pots" for coffee and tea etc as well as slow cookers from truck stops which run on 12 volts. The small 12 volt microwaves use inverters and are still quite power hungry. Right now we are staying with the Honda generator rather than an inverter--but it is nice not to have to fire it up....Microwaves run fairly well on the MSW inverters, but they make more noise and seem to be slightly slower in heating.

But for TV, if you can find a direct 12 volt--or 12 v to XX DC voltage, then it is probably more effecient....but $49 for a 1000 watt inverter--that is a good deal!

TyBoo · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:48 am Post subject:

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 8:58 am Post subject:

I'd like to hear more about that $49 1000w inverter. We are using small ones on the boat right now to power the tv/DVD player (they just plug into the 12v outlet). How does the 1000w hook up? Does it have it's own 110 outlet or have you wired in a separate box? Inquiring minds want to know. Cool

Best wishes,
Jim B.

Sneaks · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:48 am Post subject: