Open Roads Radio forum for Ham, Amateur Radio and RV camping - View Single Post

Mr. Ham · 09-20-2014, 08:51 AM

I apologize for being rude - but it seems that with most internet posts, if the post goes for more then 3 replies, that it quickly drifts off topic, and the question is not answered, and all you get is opinions.

Terrestrial Television today is all digital.
The OP did not specify which television he planned to use.

Reception would require a decent outdoors UHF antenna - such as the Antenna's Direct XG 91and a rotor - since most network television stations migrated up into the UHF portion of the band, while most of the Fox stations stayed or migrated back down into the VHF - where power consumption costs are much lower.

Unless you can see the light blinking on top of the tower, I would not recommend trying to use rabbit ears antenna's for terrestrial reception.

I did work out a formula for antenna lengths for reception, that required you to change the length of the antenna, and aim the antenna directly at the station each time you changed the channel.

There seems to be a multitude of 12 VDC flat screen televisions available for sale today - most are aimed for use by campers and truck drivers.

http://www.truckers-store.com/12-vol...n-tv-with-dvd/

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics...8/product.html

I cannot comment on the quality of reception of these units or the power consumption requirements -

http://www.12volt-travel.com/12-volt...ons-c-684.html

A simple 1500 watt inverter box would convert your 12 volt battery to 120 volt, but is very inefficient and would consume part of your batteries power in the inversion process.
In the long run, you would probably also need to purchase a battery booster
http://stores.tgelectronics.org/the-...ost-regulator/
that would take voltages of less then 12 volts and boosts it back up to 13.8 VDC - like you would use for your amateur radio...

You would need to purchase deep cycle batteries, not automotive starting batteries.
Deep cycle batteries are not designed to be used to start a engine.

My friend Steve ran his whole house off 12 volts for a year.
He had several large diesel batteries - designed to start the drilling rig he works on and several deep cycle batteries - used to run the 12 volts interior lights and charge the cell phones and lap top computer.
Steve said that with 6 large batteries and the two starting batteries in his one ton Ford diesel pickup that he could run the wide screen television, the 12v inverter box, one light and the modem for the internet for about 6 hours with one charge.

The inverter box did not have enough juice to run the fridge - even though it was a 3000 watt commercial inverter..

I think it had something to do with the distance between the inverter and the fridge and the wiring in the house acting like a toaster.

In the summer, when no one was home, the solar panel made just enough power to maintain the juice in the batteries and keep them at a full charge.

The inverter was only turned on when he wanted to watch television or use the internet.

Solar panels are only efficient if they are in direct sunlight.

Solar panels do not produce electric at night.

The controller for the solar panel consumes power, so you don't get 5 amps out of a 5 amp panel when you connect it to a controller and battery bank.

09-20-2014, 08:51 AM	#7
Mr. Ham Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 95	I apologize for being rude - but it seems that with most internet posts, if the post goes for more then 3 replies, that it quickly drifts off topic, and the question is not answered, and all you get is opinions. Terrestrial Television today is all digital. The OP did not specify which television he planned to use. Reception would require a decent outdoors UHF antenna - such as the Antenna's Direct XG 91and a rotor - since most network television stations migrated up into the UHF portion of the band, while most of the Fox stations stayed or migrated back down into the VHF - where power consumption costs are much lower. Unless you can see the light blinking on top of the tower, I would not recommend trying to use rabbit ears antenna's for terrestrial reception. I did work out a formula for antenna lengths for reception, that required you to change the length of the antenna, and aim the antenna directly at the station each time you changed the channel. There seems to be a multitude of 12 VDC flat screen televisions available for sale today - most are aimed for use by campers and truck drivers. http://www.truckers-store.com/12-vol...n-tv-with-dvd/ http://www.overstock.com/Electronics...8/product.html I cannot comment on the quality of reception of these units or the power consumption requirements - http://www.12volt-travel.com/12-volt...ons-c-684.html A simple 1500 watt inverter box would convert your 12 volt battery to 120 volt, but is very inefficient and would consume part of your batteries power in the inversion process. In the long run, you would probably also need to purchase a battery booster http://stores.tgelectronics.org/the-...ost-regulator/ that would take voltages of less then 12 volts and boosts it back up to 13.8 VDC - like you would use for your amateur radio... You would need to purchase deep cycle batteries, not automotive starting batteries. Deep cycle batteries are not designed to be used to start a engine. My friend Steve ran his whole house off 12 volts for a year. He had several large diesel batteries - designed to start the drilling rig he works on and several deep cycle batteries - used to run the 12 volts interior lights and charge the cell phones and lap top computer. Steve said that with 6 large batteries and the two starting batteries in his one ton Ford diesel pickup that he could run the wide screen television, the 12v inverter box, one light and the modem for the internet for about 6 hours with one charge. The inverter box did not have enough juice to run the fridge - even though it was a 3000 watt commercial inverter.. I think it had something to do with the distance between the inverter and the fridge and the wiring in the house acting like a toaster. In the summer, when no one was home, the solar panel made just enough power to maintain the juice in the batteries and keep them at a full charge. The inverter was only turned on when he wanted to watch television or use the internet. Solar panels are only efficient if they are in direct sunlight. Solar panels do not produce electric at night. The controller for the solar panel consumes power, so you don't get 5 amps out of a 5 amp panel when you connect it to a controller and battery bank.