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Old 03-06-2015, 04:26 PM   #1
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Default 12 volt TV

Well I finally shopped around and purchased a small 12 vdc powered flat screen TV. The primary reason was to be able to watch TV without power to the house, and it would make a nice bedroom TV in the camper should the need/desire arise.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QKGM4NE/..._sAq9ub0YTX479

I would have liked a 19" but this is 15.6" and that will do. I figure the reduced screen size will make the battery last longer. I plugged it into my MFJ switching power supply and the meter said it pulls about 1 amp. It comes with both a 12 vdc cigarette lighter cable (I don't have to make one up!) and a power supply like a laptop. It does NOT have internal batteries.

This is the review I stuck up on Amazon.

Picture quality is surprisingly good, even from extreme viewing angles. Very light weight, making it ideal for mounting in an RV. On the other hand, construction is not what I would call "robust." The receiver seems to be plenty sensitive. The scan feature seems slower that other TVs and it seems to "think" several seconds when you ask it to change channels.

Lot's of inputs/outputs make it highly flexible. I have not tried it as a PC monitor. There is a USB port labeled "service" of which the manual makes no mention. The audio quality is poor due to the tiny speakers, but good enough for watching the morning news in the kitchen. I hooked up some USB powered speakers (to the "service" USB port and earphone jack) and after setting the audio to "Surround Sound," which turns on the stereo sound and playing with the equalizer menu got some really nice sound! The menu system compares well to much larger and complex sets allowing you to tailor sound and picture quality to your taste.

But here's why I'm not happy. The TV arrived broken, damaged, such that the picture panel had fallen loose inside the case. Being the inquisitive engineer type I took the TV apart to see if I could just snap it back in place. What I found was the picture panel is held in place by a series of fingers or pegs, one of which had broken off. I also found that some one had attempted to hot glue the finger/peg back in place, but didn't do the repair right, and the finger/peg had broken again.

So what I have here is a TV that was once broken, refurbished or repaired, sold to me as new, and broken again. I had some aircraft grade super-glue and just repaired the little TV rather that deal with returning it.

I think someone somewhere along the line is being less than honest.


I like building kits, but I like to know up front that's what I'm getting. BTW, they do include a cheap little screwdriver with the TV (to attach the stand).

So with a bit of do-it-yourself effort I have a portable 12 vdc TV that will serve well in emergency or just in the RV. I would recommend the TV if you can get one that will survive the rigors of being shipped. Otherwise breakout the glue and the screwdrivers.
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Old 03-06-2015, 06:07 PM   #2
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Send they a bill!
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Old 03-07-2015, 09:03 AM   #3
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I have a 21 inch Samsung.. it is not 12 volt, it's 14.. if you assume 10% tollerance that's 12.6 to more voltage than you should ever have on the house system, if you assuem 20 percent 11.2 is less voltage than you should ever have on your house system.

Some folks worry about feedign 13.6 or charging voltage often 14.5) to a 12 volt device.

Oh, got a deal on it, Former display model, no remote... Turns out I used to have a Samsung there (not a wide screen but still a Samsung) same remote. Same exact remote. I scrapped the tv, but kept the remote, So I got a real good deal.
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Old 03-07-2015, 10:25 AM   #4
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I once had a Sanyo big tube type TV. Went to buy a VCR/DVD combo. Had choice of Magnavox, RCA and Sanyo all within $5 of each other. Went with the Sanyo on the chance the new remote would work with the old TV.

Sure nuff, it did! Seems manufacturers have their own remote schemes they like to adhere to. I had one remote that ran everything. At least for a while.
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Old 03-09-2015, 06:04 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wa8yxm View Post
I have a 21 inch Samsung.. it is not 12 volt, it's 14.. if you assume 10% tollerance that's 12.6 to more voltage than you should ever have on the house system, if you assuem 20 percent 11.2 is less voltage than you should ever have on your house system.

Some folks worry about feedign 13.6 or charging voltage often 14.5) to a 12 volt device.
This got me thinking because I have a 23" Vizio tv that runs off a 12 wall wart. I did a little checking with a power supply. Here is a list of the voltage and amperage it draws at each voltage. It quit working at 10.5 v.

10.6 v. 1.98 a
11.0 v. 1.9 a
12.0 v. 1.7 a
13.0 v 1.5 a
14.0 v 1.4 a
15.0 a 1.3 a

As the voltage increases the current decreases. This tells me it has a switching regulator and should not be damaged by voltages higher than 12volts. I have used this TV when connected to campground power and also while boondocking on battery power.
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Old 03-10-2015, 11:06 AM   #6
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Patrick,,You have done a great service with that informatio.

I do not recall if I said it this way but SOME people claim their12volt device was damaged by RV house power being 13.6 normally and Higher on occasion.

I..On the other hand....AM NOT CONVINCED, of this.

YOU,,,,Explained why.
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