LCD TV.

[Wilberforce]

References is sometimes made to LCD TVs and where to get them. We bought the Mikomi from Argos, previously recommended in these columns, which is in fact a 12v TV served by a 240v trnaformer to use with the mains. Unfortunately the connection lead into the TV has a funny connection and getting a 12v lead proved difficult. After many months of searching I have just obtained a 12v Stabiliser from Amperor Direct. A stabiliser is important for LCD TVs because of fluctuation battery levels. Looking at their site I realised that ythey had a choice of fittings one of which - the S3 - fiited the Mikomi. Price £43.95. Which means I have a dual powered TV - 12v & 240v for just under £200 instead of £400. (Website www.amperordirect.co.uk/stabiliser) I have tried it out in the van and it works fine. Happy viewing. Wilberforce.

[Guest peter]

[QUOTE]Wilberforce - 2006-10-25 7:44 PM References is sometimes made to LCD TVs and where to get them. We bought the Mikomi from Argos, previously recommended in these columns, which is in fact a 12v TV served by a 240v trnaformer to use with the mains. Unfortunately the connection lead into the TV has a funny connection and getting a 12v lead proved difficult. After many months of searching I have just obtained a 12v Stabiliser from Amperor Direct. A stabiliser is important for LCD TVs because of fluctuation battery levels. Looking at their site I realised that ythey had a choice of fittings one of which - the S3 - fiited the Mikomi. Price £43.95. Which means I have a dual powered TV - 12v & 240v for just under £200 instead of £400. (Website www.amperordirect.co.uk/stabiliser) I have tried it out in the van and it works fine. Happy viewing. Wilberforce.[/QUOTE]It would have been better and cheaper to have used a small inverter off 12V, say 100/150 Watt and ran it on 240V. It would have also powered your Freeview/Satellite/ DVD as well.

[spartan3956]

In fact bought one today with Built in DVD player smart peice of kit. Pete

[Randonneur]

Which model did you go for and where from?

[Dave Newell]

It might have been cheaper but I disagree about it being a better solution to use an inverter. Cheap inverters are not true sine wave output and few TVs will run from them without interference. Plus to use an inverter to power a 12Volt DC TV through a PSU is ridiculous as you're converting your power twice and losing on both conversions. I accept that inverters can be used for many different things but powering a 12 volt DC unit from one via a PSU is not the best idea. D.

[Wilberforce]

Thanks for the comments and for the encouragement from Dave Newell. I was simply trying to pass on information that I thought might be useful. I first heard about the Mikomi from Argos on the Forum but nobody, as far as I knew, had found a 12v lead. I will admit I was surprised at the price, but I recognise the importance of the stabiliser. My question would be whether an inverter would have been appropriate for an LCD TV.

[Way2Go]

Guys,

Is it safe to assume that if I buy a flat screen 12v/240v TV then that is all I need without all this teckie stuff about inverters and the like?

Way2Go

[kelly58]

We have just ordered a motorcaravan and was toying with the idea of using my laptop as a TV and DVD player either by using it on mains hook up or plugged into the cigar lighter socket . obviously we ar going to need to have a TV ariel fitted and also buy the TV dongle to fit in the USB port,if anyone can reccomend what I will need to buy your help would be very much appreciated. regrds kelly

[Clive]

Evening Dave!, I shall resist the temptation of "that" debate on this occasion. Genarally, Our LCD TV was £147 from Comet. It works on 12 volts direct from the leisure battery or via its own mains adapter from our non sine wave inverter. The simplest way to make a 12 volt lead was to chop the existing lead about six inches from the mains PSU and fit an in-line pair of easilly obtainable connectors. Then make another lead for the 12 volt input with the same easilly obtainable connector. Ensure correct polarity is maintained. One word of warning. Our LCD TV has a frustrating habbit. It automatically senses if the signal is strong enough for Stereo reception and then switches to Stereo. Under poor signal conditions it can keep switching between the two modes, stereo and mono, each time with a "pop". There is no manual override built into the software. So check this feature out in the shop before you purchase. Ours is a MAXIM MX11-LCD15 Otherwise its fine on either power source.

[Terrytraveller]

Hi Kelly, I use the Avermedia pcmcia card available from [url=http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=Avermedia%20pcmcia&menu=0&WorldSearch=Y&doy=26m10&ShowPics=true&Stock=28&MinPrice=0&MaxPrice=9999&SD=true]Maplin[/url] The USB cards are good if you have a fairly fast PC, around 1.7 Ghz minimum speed I would recommend. My laptop works at 1.5Ghz and its not quite fast enough for a USB Tuner and some pixelization occurs. The Avermedia pcmcia card uses far less processing power from the laptop and I have found it perfect, it's also multistandard so it can be used worldwide, you can also receive digital terrestial stations as well as all UHF and VHF analog TV and FM and Digital radio, but it does not receive DAB broadcasts these are different from Digital Radio. I also purchased the 12v laptop power supply from Maplins so can run the laptop off of the leisure Battery, I use and indoor active aerial or couple the aerial input up to a Sky sat receiver for satellite viewing. Regards Terry

[Dave Newell]

Evening Clive, yes let's avoid a repeat of our old debate regarding inverters and agree to disagree. I too use the Avermedia Hybrid PCMCIA TV card and it works a treat. My laptop is a 1.5GHZ celeron processor with 256MB Ram and it works fine as long as it's connected to a decent aerial. It also turns your laptop into a personal video recorder (subject to speed and storage limitations) which I have found to be far superior to the old VHS video recorder at home. Recorded video is indistinguishable from the original! Almost all LCD TVs that run on 12 Volt DC have the voltage regulation built into the mains PSU not the telly, this renders them sensitive to over voltage and the LED backlighting strips are the usual failure items. In my mind it's worth £40 or so to safeguard a £140+ investment. D.

[spartan3956]

I bought an Alba with built in DVD sorry it was from a trade outlet. The DVD quality is excellent i havent yet tried it with the sky set up as i cant get a signal unless i go on the roof. Im concerned that buying one of these voltage stabilisers will be a waste of money as i know of a few people who run their off a 12volt supply and have had not had a problem. Ive made a lead up ready for the 12 volt which doubles as a charger for my lantern torch etc. pete

[Mel B]

Hi gang We've had an LCD Relysis TV for 18 months now and have been running it direct off 12v without a problem, both when on hook-up and not. We've never had any problems with it at all. I must admit I did think of getting a stabiliser but when we bought it, the lady at the stand said they'd never had any problems and they made the 12v lead up for us (different ends) - said if there were any problems they'd have no hesitation in covering it for us, can't say better than that. We made sure we bought a good quality LCD tv so maybe that makes a difference, I haven't had one of the cheaper models so can't say whether they do or don't.

[Dave Newell]

Obviously some sets are ok with direct battery voltage but I know from personal experience that some sets don't like it up 'em. In my previous job we sold some of these LCD TVs and had a few back with blown backlight LEDs because of over voltage. The real question is, for those of you buying new LCD TVs, do you really want to risk damaging your new toy for the sake of £40? D.

[flicka]

Just been nosing around local Tesco's they have 2 LCD TV's which they sell as 240vAC, but looking at their display both have transformers in the power supply cables. Quess what ! the're transforming the 240vAC to 12vDC. One is a Digitec 15" @ £169.00 straight forward TV, this has a loose plug-in power supply cable. The other (new model just arrived apparently) Technica (or similar) 20" has a built in DVD player @ £329.00, but too difficult to tell is loose Plug-in cable or fixed. (Too big for what we want in the Van, but may be of interset to others) I assume it would only require a 12vDC Power cable with a matching Plug (Maplin or RS Components, come to mind) and it does away with all the need for Inverters, etc. Or am I barking up the wrong tree (again). Do others have any experience ? Flicka

[Dave Newell]

Hi Flicka, this is exactly the situation with most LCD TVs. It's done this way to keep the TV thin and light, to fit the PSU inside would mean the TV becomes thicker. Most of them have a regulated PSU in the power cable and no voltage regulation in the set itself which is why its advisable to use a voltage regulator/stabilizer. D.

[Way2Go]

Chaps,

Can I assume that the recommendation is when I buy a brand new 12v/240v LCD TV I then chop off the cables and bodge up some cables and fit a PSU (whatever that is) ?  Being non electrical, that all means nothing to me.

What happens if the TV goes wrong and has to be returned?  They're gonna be well impressed with a load of Heath Robinson dangly bits, huh?

Can anyone explain (in English) what I need to buy and how I need to do whatever it is you are talking about?  A wiring diagram would be kewl, or a link to a web site.

Hope you all enjoyed your extra hour in bed.

Way2Go

[Dave Newell]

Hi Way2go, My recomendation is to leave the original power lead alone with its PSU (power supply unit) intact for exactly the reason you mention. If you wish to use it from your leisure battery circuit then get a stabilizer/regulator from Amperor (other suppliers are probably available). D.

[Way2Go]

OK, thanks for the reply Dave.  I'll go and have a look to see what a stabilizer/regulator looks like then it might make more sense.

Thanks again for the reply

[Way2Go]

Ahhh, I see.  Thanks to Dave, I've had a look and can see what you mean.  I assume then, that the voltage  stabiliser is only needed when connecting to the leisure battery?

Next I need to find a TV and work out which socket size I need.

Sorry if this is all a bit "don't he know nuffin?" But we've ordered our first motorhome and don't take delivery until next March.  In the meantime I'm sorting out the accessories.

Thanks for your time

Way2Go

[Mel B]

Hi If you don't need a TV until you get your van I'd suggest you hang on as they are coming down in price so by next spring you should find they are cheaper. As for other accessories, don't feel you have to buy them from dealers etc, you can get stuff from lots of other places as well - pound shops are very good for your plastic bits and pieces etc, even car boot sales and markets for your other sundries like pots and pans, linen, cushions etc - we've had some lovely stuff - all new I hasten to add - that they just hadn't used. :->

[Way2Go]

Thanks Mel, some good suggestions there.

We're really exciting about our delivery and are sitting on our hands.

[Mel B]

Garrison You're welcome, just a thought though, when the time comes for you to go and get a LCD TV make sure you know the exact dimensions of wherever you're going to store it in the van, they look quite tiny but you'd be surprised at how big some of them are when you're trying to stuff them in the cupboard! We have a standard TV cupboard with a roller front and slide out tray with a video player strapped to it, our LCD TV wouldn't store upright in it but it does store flat on top of the video player with a plastic basket of bits of cable etc on top and a cushion to wedge it securely. I had some old green baise from a snooker table so I cut a piece so that it covered the front of the screen and overlapped the top/bottom, I then stitched a couple of pieces of elastic to each edge on the long side, these now hook round the back and hold the baise on keeping the screen safe from scratches.

[Way2Go]

Hi Mel, thanks for that.

We've gone for the Bessacarr E560 fixed-bed model which comes with a swivel bracket mounted on the wall so we can watch TV in bed or swivel it around to watch from lounge area so I don't think the size would be an issue . . . . I just hope the holes line up 8-)

Ideally we'll be looking for something around the 15" size without a DVD as the 'Elegance Pack' updates the cab CD player to a DVD player and we can watch DVDs from the rear LCD TV or the 7" drop down screen which doubles as a reversing camera screen.

[Dave Newell]

Garrison, its also worth considering where your telly is going to be viewed from before deciding what telly you get. Many LCD sets give a dark picture when viewed from below so if your TV cupboard is mounted up high (as so many are now) you might find that your chosen TV gives a poor picture. If you own a reasonably modern laptop computer you might like to consider using a TV tuner card with it. These are available from most computer outlets now at around £50-£100 and can give digital reception as well as analogue. If your laptop has a DVD drive built in you can also use it for viewing DVDs. D.