TV Volume Issues....

[Freightliner]

Newbie Here...

So far the the Solera has been great. Couple of issues we need to resolved. One is the TV volume. and also the fact that you can't watch TV while in motion without the generator on.

I want to install a small inverter for the TV and want to know if anyone has ever done this and what the best way to do it is. Also I seen other post here where others have wired the TV sound to the aux input for the radio. This sounds like a good idea to me and would like suggestions on how best to accomplish this as well.

[Pedrodasdas]

Hello,

I will go with an inverter too for the TV.
I think the TV is only 60 watts.
Best place is to place it in the shelves right above the door and plug it in the 12 volts outlet present there. Then unplug the TV from the 110 volts and plug it in the inverter.

[reinerka]

I've tried that with a small inverter (400W). However the wiring is too small for that. My inverter usually goes out with low battery warning and then jumping back up (typical sign of weak wiring).

The TV should have been a 12V unit from the beginning. Forest River cheaped out installing a 120V unit instead of a 12V one. It is probably better to install a 400-600W inverter close to the battery and power the outlets from it.....

Reiner

[f1100turbo]

Don't take the cheap route on your invertor. Invest in something that will last!
also go bigger than you would expect to use that way you can use it for other uses.
only problem I see is depending on how many batteries you have and how long you use the invertor you'd have to start gennie to recharge your batteries.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by reinerka

The TV should have been a 12V unit from the beginning. Forest River cheaped out installing a 120V unit instead of a 12V one. It is probably better to install a 400-600W inverter close to the battery and power the outlets from it.....
Reiner

12V TV's and 120V TV's are the same price to us, it is not a decision to be "cheap". We install the 120V because they have proven to be more reliable.

No major TV mfg's stock a 12V TV/DVD in the size and quantity that we need. We are in discussion right now to try and get a local supplier to provide 24" 12V LED TV's, however before we jump on anything we want failure rate numbers.

Up until this year, the only 12V TV/DVD was "Audiovox"...terrible viewing angle and too high of a failure rate. "Jensen" No, DVD only comes in 19"

It's easy to buy one of something...another thing to buy (14) a day.

[reinerka]

Originally Posted by bclemens

12V TV's and 120V TV's are the same price to us, it is not a decision to be "cheap". We install the 120V because they have proven to be more reliable.

No major TV mfg's stock a 12V TV/DVD in the size and quantity that we need. We are in discussion right now to try and get a local supplier to provide 24" 12V LED TV's, however before we jump on anything we want failure rate numbers.

Up until this year, the only 12V TV/DVD was "Audiovox"...terrible viewing angle and too high of a failure rate. "Jensen" No, DVD only comes in 19"

It's easy to buy one of something...another thing to buy (14) a day.

Have somebody look at Winnebago. I really like the TV/Radio set up they had. 12V TV plus a second radio for the living quarters that includes the DVD player for the TV (easier to reach).

We had to wire the TV to the radio and run additional wires to power the radio form the coach batteries (including a switch to power from the other battery when the engine is running). Something that should have a cleaner setup from the get go. Plus that way they support external speakers which would be nice from time to time.....

As well the 12V outlet should be able to support an inverter to power the TV on itself - which it does not. Hence the 12V outlet up there is not very usefull.

However that benefit wasn't worth the 25K they wanted more.....

Reiner

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by reinerka

However that benefit wasn't worth the 25K they wanted more.....
Reiner

Agree wholeheartedly there. That's a similar setup to what we're looking at (minus the 25k).

We have a hard time selling 19" TV's. So for us a bigger 12V was a must. Now that LED's are a mainstay in the market that will allow us to do a 12V 24" LED TV. Radio/DVD wired off the house battery. In addition most 12V TV's don't have "audio out" which we wanted so we could feed a 5.1 surround system from not only the DVD but also over the air digital channels. We finally found a setup we're comfortable with...just needs testing and more testing.

[Freightliner]

I think the AC powered TV is better from a replacement stand point too.

I am looking to run a 400watt inverter just for the TV so the kids will be able to watch TV on the road. But I don't want to locate the inverter in the interior if I can avoid it. I am thinking of installing a switch to toggle the TV outlet from the 120V to inverter 120V as needed. I could mount the inverter under the passenger seat and install a switch at or near the TV outlet. I would need to find the 120v feed for the TV outlet cut and splice into the wire. Maybe install a indicator light to show DC (inverter) use.

[reinerka]

Originally Posted by Freightliner

I think the AC powered TV is better from a replacement stand point too.

I am looking to run a 400watt inverter just for the TV so the kids will be able to watch TV on the road. But I don't want to locate the inverter in the interior if I can avoid it. I am thinking of installing a switch to toggle the TV outlet from the 120V to inverter 120V as needed. I could mount the inverter under the passenger seat and install a switch at or near the TV outlet. I would need to find the 120v feed for the TV outlet cut and splice into the wire. Maybe install a indicator light to show DC (inverter) use.

Easier to find - yes. Usefull in the RV environment - my opinion no.

If you want a permanent install for an inverter it is VERY expensive. You can't use your normal simple wiring (you need some beefy cables due to loss in wiring). You need a fuse (about 50A+) for this close to the battery and then a switch for on/off as well. Don't leave any wires exposed that somebody COULD hit them. They will deliver a 50A (or whatever the fuse has) punch - that is VERY VERY dangerous.

I'm still thinking to install under the sink cabinet and install an automatic cutover for the outlets. That is very close to the battery, hidden so that you won't touch the cables and has space for the inverter.

Your other option would be to beef up the wiring to the 12V outlet and hook up a portable inverter up there (and remove when not needed).

Then you shouldn't use a cheap ass inverter. They are inefficient (like 10%+ difference) and thus drain your battery far quicker. A pure sine wave is recommended as some electronics have problems with the modified sine wave (usually results in shortened life time).

With all those above items, you probably can buy 2-3 TVs until you have paid off for the inverter installation.....

Reiner

[KyDan]

Hey Jake, just curious-- what is the wattage of your TV?

FWIW we have a small 20" westinghouse LCD TV and watch it all the time using
a cheap cigarette socket 150 watt inverter.
I have a larger 400 watt inverter but it also kicks out on low voltage
probably due to in-adequate wiring at the 12v socket.
It works fine on the smaller inverter.
Yeah, I've heard folks say non-sine wave inverters are bad but we try to go
on the cheap as much as possible and it works for us.
Some minor TV interference such as light and dark bars in the screen but they
are very dim and barely noticeable.
We can watch the news/weather or a movie when on battery power and not
be a big power drain on my batteries. We've gone 5 days without a charge
on several occasions.

Larger screens are definitely going to use more watts.

Some have posted here that they purchased 120v TVs that actually had
12v internal circuits. They were able to bypass the 120v power supply
and hook the TV directly to battery power.
No idea how you can tell which TVs this is possible on but it's been done.
(this -might- void the TV warranty but I admire that kind of ingenuity.)

My TV does not have any audio out jacks which stinks but I am able to use
a little cable that came with my camera. I plug the cable into the earphone
jack on the TV and the other end has 2 RCA type plugs that go into the
audio input on my Jensen AM/FM/DVD so I can get TV sound out of the RV
speakers. This is necessary when we're using the roof AC since my TV also
has dismal volume due to the tiny pizo speakers in it. Most modern TVs will
have audio out jacks so connecting to your on-board sound system should
be easy.