Hook TV to 12V vs 110?

[87Itasca]

Hi all,

I've bought a 19" LED HDTV for the bedroom, and I noticed when I purchased it that it is designed with a 12V power supply. The place where I was planning to mount it will work fine, but the "Wall wart" will make it a bit ugly. I was contemplating just cutting the wall wart off and running it directly into the 12V coach power supply. On the other side of the wall are the power switches for my bathroom vent lift motor, light, and bathroom fan. I would think this circuit could handle the TV (2.5A) just fine, and I could tap into that power.

My main concern would be damage to the TV with the fluctuations (13.6V-10V) in the power supply as the batteries are used and charged, plus any potential spikes in voltage. Has anyone had any bad experiences with this?

My only other alternative is to simply plus it into the 110V supply, but that presents the ugly problem, plus the fact I could only use it when plugged in to shore power, or when the genset was running (and I assume the noise from the genset would negate the point of hearing said television).

[SLEETH]

should be fine on 12v=fluctuation is min
im sure some one else will chime in

[bluebird]

Does the TV manufacture offer a car cord for that set? I had a NAXA 22" with a DVD player in my last coach but it came with a car cord, and it worked great . Probably going that route again with this one. You could also check the output of the brick and see what it's putting out.

[tntwardell]

I got the 19in at walmart  i got an adaptor and it works great on 12 volt it will turn off at 12.2 volts. I got a 32in insignna at bestbuy its ben working great on 12 volt too.

[87Itasca]

There is no 12V adapter for it I've found, I was thinking of just cutting the cable in half, and wiring it inside the wall, or buying a 12V wall plug and then getting a 12V adapter that would plug into the TV. I don't plan on having the TV leave the RV anyways.

It is a bit small, but it's the biggest side that would mount where it really makes any sense to mount a TV in the bedroom on this model. I could put a bigger one on a pivot mount on the ceiling I guess, but it would take up headroom and look quite ugly when folded up/down.

[M & J]

What's the make/model of the television?

[bluebird]

If the TV wasn't meant to run on 12v from an auto I wouldn't do it. It may not like the differences up to 14 volts or so in a RV. The TVs that have a car cord may be built with that in mind. I've seen 14.2 volts out of my converter. Have you searched for a cord for that TV?

[87Itasca]

Insignia doesn't offer one for the particular model. It's a moot point now anyways.


The picture was poor, as was the sound, so I returned it to the store and bought a 24" LG TV to replace it. Going to use a wall mount and mount it in the bedroom. Going to have to get in the wall somehow and put a 2x4 or something along those lines in there for support. I'd imagine hitting one bump would rip the whole thing right out of the wall if I just screwed through the luan.

[87Itasca]

I should add, the reason it was a "moot point" was because the LG requires a 19V power supply.

[HamRad Mobile]

I should add, the reason it was a "moot point" was because the LG requires a 19V power supply.

Good morning, 87Itasca; 

     As John, N6BER, mentioned, there are DC-to-DC power converters that will give you a good clean stable 13.8 VDC output over a fairly wide voltage input range.  Some of the "battery booster" units will do this very well.  Also, a rise to 14.2 VDC is within the normal voltage range for the common "12 VDC" automotive type electrical power system. 

     However, you did say that the LG television required a 19 VDC power input.  That is not a problem.  There are many portable and laptop computers (hp, Compaq, Dell, and others) that also need a 19 VDC power source for keeping their battery happy.  While there are many DC-to-DC power converters out there that will do that, I have noticed that some of the lower cost models also use a rather simple circuit, such as many of the "auto power cables," and, as with some of the lower cost "battery booster" units, often they will talk to my radios while they are recharging the laptop computers.  Well, actually, some of them scream at my radios.  The best solution I have found so far are the models made by the Lind Electronics people --   https://lindelectronics.com   -- but they are a little more expensive; in the $120 to $250 range.  They are also very well made, and the two different models I have here now do not talk to my radios.  There is also a wide range of power output cables available which allow one compatible Lind power supply to work with different models of computers which seem to have different coaxial DC power input connectors, and even a wire pair end configuration that you can attach to your own unique power connector. 

     Just another thought on how to get around the 19 VDC power requirement when all you have is the standard automotive nominally "12 VDC" electrical system in your vehicle. 

          Enjoy; 

          Ralph, N7KGA/M 
          Latté Land, Washington 

[Mayhem_audio]

VOLTAGE STABILIZER

http://www.amazon.com/interVOLT-Isolated-Stabilizer-Regulator-Conditioner/dp/B00K8OGBEC

[kansascat]

So just how does that conditioner charger work?  Where does one put this thing in the system at...right by the battery bank so main wires come off battery thru it and then to the coach? What about the charger built into the RV converter? Leave it too or disable it somehow?

[Oz]

Any1?

[khantroll]

You would put the conditioner as close to the output as possible in order to compensate for voltage drop or other variations on either side of the conditioner.  The item listed is designed to be used on an appliance, not the whole RV, so you'd leave the converter alone.


As for how it works, to be put simply, there is a multi-stage circuit inside that reads the voltage. If it's too low it holds it in a capacitor bank until it has enough charge, then flips a switch to let it out. If it's too high, it runs it through a resistor or transistor to get drop it.

[Oz]

Thank you!   

[CapnDirk]

I would also add that many TVs operate on a wall transformer like your laptop.  If you read the wall transformer output voltage and it's 12V great.  Many of them run on 19 volt but you can get a 12 to 19 volt transformer on Ebay.  Wire it with a lighter socket for input and output side to the TV plug.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/STEPUP-Transformer-12V-to-19V-20A-380W-DC-DC-Power-Converter-Voltage-Regulator-/291732261152?hash=item43ec990920:g:JhAAAOSw0QFXBym6