TV advice please? Forums

Denise

I won't be able to afford a satellite set-up till the house is sold - and not sure if I'd want it anyway - but would still like a TV.
I've got an ordinary 14" portable, but as I'll be wild-camping most of the time I don't think I'll be able to use it?

Or is there a way of connecting it to a leisure battery?

Alternatively, I was thinking of maybe getting a small battery TV, but the only ones I've seen in Argos that run from a cigaretter lighter is a tiny hand-held one for £80 or a slightly bigger hand-held one (but with a stand) is £120.

Can I get them cheaper elsewhere?

Anonymous

I run a mains TV from my batteries useing an inverter. do a search on "inverters" you will find a lot of info.

Ken

BarryandSue

I think if I was wildcamping and wanted TV, I'd go for a small handheld if you could put up with the small picture. A 14" would hammer your leisure battery unmercifully (depending upon how long you watched it for and how big your leisure battery/s) and unless you have very large leisure battery capacity, you'd need to charge the battery virtually every day.

To finally decide, why not try it? Leave your telly on, and see how long the battery lasts. There's nothing like the real thing to decide what will happen! (I've assumed your TV is 12volt, but as Ken has pointed out, maybe an inverter would be needed).

Barry

spykal · Moderator

Hi Denise

We bought an V expensive 12 volt TFT flat sceen, DVD television. Other than the news we have watched very little. Being out in the countryside or near the sea seems to take our mind off wanting to "watch the box". I reckon it has cost me about £20 each time I have watched.

Maybe until you acclimatise to your new life you could get an old TV knock out the back and remove the innards. Then position it with its back against the window. Each day you would have a different program to watch, sometimes nature, sometimes travel, sometimes human endeavor (people, on site, carrying the overfull toilet cassette to the empty point).

Mike

P.S.
Try an invertor first, as suggested by other posters, Maplin have them on offer at the moment around £20 for a 300 watt one

Denise

The portable isn't a 12v one, would it still work with an invertor?
(I'll do the search too Wink

)

Spykal, I won't be watching it during the day, but I'll be living in the van (alone) all through the winter and it will be nice to have one for the early dark evenings.
But not worth spending a fortune on Laughing

Andysam

Yes it would. An invertor steps up battery power from 12v to mains voltage 240v so you can run any appliance allowing for the fact that the more power you use as mains power you will lose very quickly from the battery. You can buy them in any capacity. To run a tele a 300w one will be ample, but it will not run the tele for very long ie a few hours.

If wildcamping all of the time, buy a quiet gennie such as a honda from Ben and Lizzie. I have a 14w solar panel which tops up my battery nicely but I move every 3 days max and then drive for about and hour or so. Solar is an expensive way to go but easy to use. A (good) gennie is expensive to buy and run but worth it's weight, being instant unlimited power.

spykal · Moderator

[quote:0dcf5e37ad="Denise"]The portable isn't a 12v one, would it still work with an invertor?
(I'll do the search too Wink

)

Spykal, I won't be watching it during the day, but I'll be living in the van (alone) all through the winter and it will be nice to have one for the early dark evenings.
But not worth spending a fortune on Laughing

[/quote:0dcf5e37ad]

Hi again Denise

I wouldn't spend any more money yet, except prhaps for an invertor if you can find one on "offer". If as you say you are going to be on your own, the TV would be good for those dark winter evenings. Assuming that as you are on your own, you will, most likely, use a commercial or club site and will have the availability of a hook up to mains electricity. So your 240 volt TV will be just fine for those nights. Whilst on the hook up you will be charging up your batteries too. If we are going for an extended trip I carry an extra 12volt battery wired up just for the TV, when it is flat we don't watch anymore TV..."simple eh". (With the amount we have been watching during the summer this has not happened yet)

Mike

Barty

Unless the TV programmes get any better, I am thinking of saving my dosh on any way to NOT take the goggle box, It does mean I have to talk to her indoors now though,

Jules

I bought a small black and white portable from a camping shop. The screen is about 5-7" can't quite remember, but it was big enough in a small camper. It runs of either mains, battery or cigarette lighter. Have only done week end trips and it did seem to drain the leisure battery last time when we didn't have a hook up. It cost £25 , and is a bit fiddly to change channels, as its turning a nob. But for the money has been OK, as we don't watch much when away and didn't want to spend a lot incase of theft. Have seen the same one in some mail order catalogues, rightway diy, and Great Outdoors camping shop.

Denise

[quote:19aba62c90="spykal"] If we are going for an extended trip I carry an extra 12volt battery wired up just for the TV, when it is flat we don't watch anymore TV..."simple eh". [/quote:19aba62c90]

That looks like the simplest and cheapest solution Very Happy

I've got a spare battery I took out of a car before it went to the knackers yard. What leads etc would I need to get to wire it up to a TV?

Sorry, but I've absolutely no knowledge of stuff like this Embarassed