# Complete 12-volt Tv & Dvd Solution Without Inverter



## jlukens

We do a lot of dry camping and I have three children that love movies. I know there are several external battery-to-inverter solutions out there but I just didn;t want to mess with that and the power lost in the DC/AC conversion. I have a dual group 24 12-volt Interstate battery system installed.

I bought a Magnavox 15" LCD TV at Wal-Mart that had a DC-input on the back. Then I went to Radio Shack and bought a DC lighter plug adapter to fit the TV's DC input, rated for 12-volts and up to 3.5 amps (the TV's specs). Then I bought a dual 12-volt lighter plug socket that had a mounting bracket and tied it into the constant 12V power lead to the stereo and actually mounted it behind the stereo enclosure under the TV shelf (in my 23rs) so it's low-profile. Then I bought a $45 Coby DVD player off Amazon.com that came with a DC car-adapter kit. The I simply plugged the TV and DVD into the dual socket receptacle. I also bought a male-to-male stereo cord so I can plug into the phones output on the TV and into the AUX input on the front of the stereo to play the audio through the trailers speakers. I had previously replaced the stock Chinese cheapo's with Jensen aftermarket 6.5" speakers (4x). I could tidy up the external wires by cutting a hole through the TV shelf and installing a grommet, etc. but I wanted to keep things pretty flexible. We can also plug in our 12-operated handi-vac, cell phone chargers, etc. into the receptacles. Apparently Gilligan chose NOT to install a 12-plug on my '06 23RS where you'd need it most and instead chose the bed by the bathroom as a convenient (!) spot.

We went camping this past weekend, watched several movies and the system worked flawlessly. I still had 2/3 battery power (off the lie-o-meter) when I packed up after two nights on Sunday afternoon, having run lights, pumps, TV/DVD and other gadgets.

I had been searching for a complete solution like this for a while, so I built my own. The pictures of the install are here.

We had an absolutely stunning weather weekend in Wisconsin. Some scenes from our waterfront campsite at Peninsula Park in Door County are here.

Thanks/FYI,


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too

thanks for sharing your pics of your set up and your camp area!


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## Ghosty

Looks really sharp... good mod...

if you dry camp you may also want to think about two additonal items which have saved me numerous times...

1. A good solar charger kit

2. A good plug in the 12 volt socket meter that tells you exactly what the voltage is... I have a digital one that I set for a certain voltage that starts beeping if i get below that voltage


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## Airboss

Impressive! Nice mod!


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## outbackgeorgia

Great, and absolutely correct.

Much of the latest electronic equipment actually operates with 12 Volt Direct Currect (12VDC) input.
The little "brick" on the power cord converts 115 Volts Alternating Current (115VAC) back to, in many cases, 12 VDC.
It makes no sense to add an inverter to bring the 12 VDC from the Outback to 115 VAC, then convert back to 12VDC to run the device.

Be sure to assure the appliance is rated for 12-13 VDC input. Many are not, or are rated at a lower voltage, so check when you buy. I searched for a LCD Digital TV with 12VDC input so I could eliminate the inverter as did SconnieJonny.

In order to determine the power required, multiple the Voltage (12) by the Amps required for Wattage (12 X 3.5 = 42 Watts)
This will give a relative idea as to how long the batery will last (more math, probably not really worth the exercise)
As always, a little research goes a long way!

Dave


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