Iain Strachan Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Have just invested in a portable hard drive, for down loading films, but also need to upgrade my speaker system, I have a spare pair of computer speakers that are mains powered, so everything fine when on EHU. However we like to wild/aire as well, at present use 150watt inverter to run TV. which works fine. I think the addition of the speakers might well overload inverter though. Has anyone used usb powered speakers successfully or should I just up grade inverter? Thanks Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 On the strength of this linked thread we bought one of theses gizmos from Amazon and the improvement in sound quality from the TV for such little outlay and compact dimensions is quite remarkable. I wonder if it might suit you Iain? https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Poor-sound-on-your-M-home-TV-an-answer-/32166/61/#M383915 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southender Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Just upgrade to a 300 watt inverter. Sell the other on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Why not run the TV sound through your headset my van is wired like as standard, don't need any more kit just some cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolly1965 Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Just discovered my TV has every connection under the sun - apart from an audio out - not even a headphone socket! The problem is the speakers are on the rear and all the sound goes to the rear of the van. I may try making a panel to deflect the sound to the front... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I used the audio and TV output from the scart connection and fed it into the aux input of my radio, works fine. The radio is a double Din type screen for the reversing camera. Its useful to have a mini screen for watching news / weather when having a meal. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Thanks all, yes the sound from the radio is good and now that we have cracked it not shuting down after 20 mins, thanks to this site. I will investigate getting audio to it, either bluetooth or usb. Good ideas guys cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I got two hearing aids, sorted things out a treat! H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Iain Strachan - 2013-11-11 10:33 PM Thanks all, yes the sound from the radio is good and now that we have cracked it not shuting down after 20 mins, thanks to this site. I will investigate getting audio to it, either bluetooth or usb. Good ideas guys cheers.iain, for bluetooth, you need a bluetooth connection on the TV, not that common? For your USB speakers you have the connection from the TV but no power when not on hookup. As others above have said, the easiest answer is to run a headphone type cable from the headphone/audio out of the TV to the aux in on the head unit of the van. Select AUX on the head unit and you should get sound from the van speakers. I have used this to run audio from my ipod/ipad/smartphone etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Bolly1965 - 2013-11-11 7:18 PM Just discovered my TV has every connection under the sun - apart from an audio out - not even a headphone socket! The problem is the speakers are on the rear and all the sound goes to the rear of the van. I may try making a panel to deflect the sound to the front... Have the same problem. I stand a large plastic chopping board, or large plastic place mat at back of TV, it works Ok. OH is going to make a stand for one , sometime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 I used to do that except I was always unsure how much impact it would have on the starter battery, also many vans audio in the cab will only work with the ignition switched on, does that matter ? dunno for fear of repeating myself my solution was a tiny bluetooth speaker than also has a line in option, which for around £20 is amazing, plus no trailing wires to trip over. I will say to the OP I have tried a few usb powered speakers for my laptop, but they have all been crap, and ended up down the tip, so I use my little speaker for that as well now. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Yes, mike, but Bluetooth output from a TV is a fairly recent thing, isnt it? I guess many radio head units have it and are able to receive as they have been designed to amplify mobile phone output for hands free driving. If the Tv had bluetooth, you could connect straight to the cab head unit. It really depends on what outputs iain's Tv has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Iain Strachan - 2013-11-11 10:33 PM Thanks all, yes the sound from the radio is good and now that we have cracked it not shuting down after 20 mins, thanks to this site. I will investigate getting audio to it, either bluetooth or usb. Good ideas guys cheers. ....another way is to buy an FM transmitter to connect to the TV headphone socket, and then tune the 'van radio to the transmitted frequency. There are quite a few units out there, particularly on eBay, but something like the Belkin Tunecast II or a cheaper equivalent will run from batteries, meaning a neat solution with a few less wires floating about. There have been some mixed experiences with this method, but my Avtex has a built-in FM transmitter, which I have no need to use, but tested works pretty well. This method should be OK on vehicles where the FM aerial is not a huge distance from the TV when in use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 bolero boy - 2013-11-12 9:18 AM Yes, mike, but Bluetooth output from a TV is a fairly recent thing, isnt it? I guess many radio head units have it and are able to receive as they have been designed to amplify mobile phone output for hands free driving. If the Tv had bluetooth, you could connect straight to the cab head unit. It really depends on what outputs iain's Tv has. The bluetooth speaker is a bit of a misnomer as it accepts a line in signal as well, of course as long as the TV has a headphone socket. ;-) although there is no mention of line in, on the description :-S In reply to the FM route ( above ) I must say we too tried an FM transmitter in the past, but perhaps we were unlucky, it was dire with constant hissing and trying to find a "free" frequency that ended up in the bin as well. But let me be clear, I'm not saying do as I have done, it's just the route I've took after many failed attempts http://www.amazon.co.uk/SoundWave-SW100-Rechargable-Portable-Bluetooth/dp/product-description/B009LJG4VU/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=4085821&s=receiver-speakers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 If you have a scart plug then you can get a "scart audio breakout" which gives you either 3.5mm or phono sockets. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 More good suggestions, I like the FM route Robin. TV does have scart, HDMI, USB. 3.5 earphone jack, but no blue tooth, Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Our Avtex has an FM output that the radio head unit can be tuned to. Never worked too well, and if it did, we found that at the next stop. the unit had to be re tuned as there was interference from a local station. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 hallii - 2013-11-12 10:57 AM If you have a scart plug then you can get a "scart audio breakout" which gives you either 3.5mm or phono sockets. H Tis what I use http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.euronetwork.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/500x500/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/c/scart-breakout-adaptor.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.euronetwork.co.uk/scart-breakout-adaptor-3rca-svideo&h=500&w=500&sz=29&tbnid=E-B4-swgKASOPM:&tbnh=138&tbnw=138&zoom=1&usg=__1IZGApuEAYWM2fu2jBSBOzDKSoI=&docid=oPjTRSBJ3neMgM&sa=X&ei=QCSCUsGnDKLD7AaImoGwBg&ved=0CDMQ9QEwAA Good grief ! If that does not work just Google Scart break out ! Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 tonyishuk - 2013-11-12 12:50 PM Our Avtex has an FM output that the radio head unit can be tuned to. Never worked too well, and if it did, we found that at the next stop. the unit had to be re tuned as there was interference from a local station. Rgds Exactly, they are more trouble than they are worth, unless you like hissing and crackle sounds. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Don't bother with the FM one if you want to use it in France very difficult to find a spare frequency. Cheap ones only have about 5 pre set frequencies, don't know if they are still available used be able to get expensive one that you can tune across the full FM bandwidth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 ....the nature of the plug on this one would mean you would have to have an "unimpeded" headphone socket, but at the price it might be worth a punt. Rechargeable battery driven, and ability to tune output frequency across the FM band. (Of course, it might just be rubbish!) http://tinyurl.com/fmthingy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolly1965 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Bolly1965 - 2013-11-11 7:18 PM Just discovered my TV has every connection under the sun - apart from an audio out - not even a headphone socket! The problem is the speakers are on the rear and all the sound goes to the rear of the van. I may try making a panel to deflect the sound to the front... Never thought of that! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Strachan Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 Just ordered a Comodo, has 205 presets so should be able to find a clear slot! I will report back on its performance later! Cheers Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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