Scored off grid TV

Nimrod · #1 07/22/13, 11:29 AM

I have been trying to get a cheap inverter to run my CRT TV in the camper and ice fishing house but apparently it needs an expensive, pure sine wave, inverter.

Plan B is a new liquid crystal TV. I found one on both Wally World on line and at Amazon that will work great for off griders. http://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-E195BD...ter+e195bd-shd It runs on DC 12 volt, AC 110 volt 60 Hz, or Ac 220 volt 50 Hz (european power). It uses 24 watts max vs. 90 watts for my 9 inch CRT. It's 19 inch. It has both the new digital (ATSC) broadcast tuner and the old analog tuner (NTSC) so it gets the low power stations and translator broadcasts that are still in analog out here in the country plus the new digital broadcasts. The FCC ruled that all broadcasts will go to digital after Sept. 1, 2015 so no more through the air on NTSC after that. You can also hook up the old VCRs with the NTSC out on channel 3 or 4. The DVD player is built in. It can also be used as a computer monitor too.

Seems like it would be perfect for off gridders, 19 inch, low power consumption, works on DC, gets all the broadcasts, and has a DVD player built in for $128.

I'll let you know how it works out when it shows up in the mail.

LisaInN.Idaho · #2 07/22/13, 02:58 PM

We just used a regular TV but we had an inverter.

ET1 SS · #3 07/23/13, 11:15 AM

A few years ago, the FCC had all TV broadcasts cut their power to 10% of what they needed to broadcast to cover their former regions, as a part of the shift to lo-power digital. The previous analog broadcasts were high-power broadcasts that covered much larger areas. As compared to the smaller areas that are now covered by the lo-power digital broadcasts.

In the process of that shift our little township lost any TV reception that we had.

Most homes here could previously get one TV channel. Some homes were able to get two other channels, if we had the large aerials with rotors to point at each station. After the shift, everyone bought the new 'converters' only to find that we no longer receive signal.

Some folks shifted to satellite dishes.

Some folks did not.

If you plan to go anywhere rural, while you are off-grid. I would have to ask how you plan to get signal?

I have an old TV, a converter and a $200 aerial on my roof, but I have no signal.

Nimrod · #4 07/23/13, 12:37 PM

ET1 SS,

Do you have a link to evidence that the stations cut power to 10%? It is my understanding that the major stations had to go digital and they were moved to the UHF frequencies. UHF does not have the range of VHF, much like shortwave can be received way farther than FM. This resulted in many rural areas that can't receive as many stations as before. Some major stations are broadcasting a digital signal on VHF frequencies so they still have the range. I had to put up a big nasty antenna on a rotor to get the same stations that I used to get on rabbit ears.

Low power stations and translators that re-broadcast the major stations have been able to continue broadcasting an analog signal. They have to switch to digital by Sept. 1, 2015.

Central MN has quite a few broadcast TV stations. I am able to get some at both the new piece of land and the lake I put the ice fishing house on. Check these guys to see what you might get. http://tvfool.com/

Ernie · #5 07/23/13, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaInN.Idaho

We just used a regular TV but we had an inverter.

In general, I prefer to use AC equipment. It's almost always cheaper. DC equipment is made almost exclusively for the camping and RV niche market. Plus, I can find replacement devices for very cheap in pawnshops, junkyards, etc.

My hope is that, as more people go off-grid, the market for those devices will expand, but for now they haven't.

ET1 SS · #6 07/23/13, 02:09 PM

It has been a few years since they shifted to lo-power digital. It was a big deal in the news at the time.

As an Electronic Technician [before I retired] it was of interest to me at the time. So I read the details of the shift back when it was happening.

I have not retained any links showing the details of what they were proposing to do.

ET1 SS · #7 07/23/13, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie

In general, I prefer to use AC equipment. It's almost always cheaper. DC equipment is made almost exclusively for the camping and RV niche market. Plus, I can find replacement devices for very cheap in pawnshops, junkyards, etc.

My hope is that, as more people go off-grid, the market for those devices will expand, but for now they haven't.

Not to sound too paranoid, but in the after-effects of Agenda-21, there does seem to be an under-lying motive in government planning offices to focus more on services to urban population-dense areas instead of rural areas.

Likewise things are marketed for the masses, not the fringe. To cater ad campaigns to 98% of the population, gives your company a better profit. Rather than pitching to 2%.

Ernie · #8 07/23/13, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ET1 SS

Not to sound too paranoid, but in the after-effects of Agenda-21, there does seem to be an under-lying motive in government planning offices to focus more on services to urban population-dense areas instead of rural areas.

Likewise things are marketed for the masses, not the fringe. To cater ad campaigns to 98% of the population, gives your company a better profit. Rather than pitching to 2%.

There's two points in there I would like to address ...

The first one, yes, you're right (and you can't sound TOO paranoid), but those urban populations are going to completely fall apart someday. You won't get to keep your solar equipment running indefinitely, but you'll have power longer than the masses ... and can probably pick up some of their AC devices on the cheap.

Second point ... the economics of the world are changing. I found this out with my knife shop. I am not competing with Kershaw because the people who like the Kershaw brand don't know me or care about me. The economics of a small business are all about tribe. You find your tribe and then you market to your tribe. My tribe is off-grid, liberty-minded homesteader types. They buy knives and they'd rather buy from me than Kershaw.

Coca Cola and other big companies are trying to tap into that "tribe" and failing. It's done by real people with real lives and real dreams. You can't fake that from a corporate headquarters.

unregistered353870 · #9 07/23/13, 07:32 PM

A lot of AC devices these days are actually DC devices that come with a power convertor. If they happen to operate at 12 VDC like the TV in the OP's link, it saves you some efficiency loss to run it directly off of 12 VDC. Every time you convert electricity you lose a little to heat.

Laptops are all DC because they are made to run on batteries, but I think most are around 18 V. I'm not sure about this, but I would guess that converting from 12 VDC to 18 VDC would be more efficient than using the 120 VAC power supply plugged into an inverter run off a 12 VDC system.