Running Satellite box and TV direct off 12v

Anyone have direct experience (not what the books say) on running a 12v satellite box and/or tv directly from the 12v from the leisure battery? I have a 12v Dreambox satellite box and a an old 12v flatscreen tv which are going to form the basis of a low cost satellite system for our Symphony. I have seen 12v voltage regulators advertised on ebay and Amazon, but if the dreambox and tv are unlikely to be harmed by the leisure battery charging voltage then I'll not spend money on the regulator.

Thanks in advance for any experience on this.

Mikebro

I regularly run the led lighting, 22" led TV, Roadpro sat system, sat receiver & heating (with gas) all from 2 x 85ah leisure batteries & 80w of solar panels.
Never come anywhere near to flattening them,  & anyhow, the next day, they will be topped up via the panels or running about in the van.
I have no posh digital or electronic control panel however, I simply took a switched and  in -line fused supply from the batteries, up behind panelling & into the upper front locker, made up & fitted multi 12v socket bank & TV/DVD, & both digi-boxes are plugged into them.

You may find that your old 12v TV may hammer your leisure battery - check the wattage.

We use a Polaroid LED TV from Asda, only cost £69 - very low power requirements.
I just bought the appropriate power connector from Maplin, bit of wire, ten minutes on the kitchen table with the soldering iron. Seems to cope with every voltage chucked at it.

Derek

Thanks to all responders I have got my answer - I'll be hooking up straight to the 12v sockets in the van. BTW my old tv is rated at 38w which would be just over 3 amps at 12v. Are the new tvs a lot more economic than this? In any case I would still get an evening's viewing without flattening the batteries.

Mikebro

Hi there,

We have run the 12v satellite receiver and 12v TV off the leisure battery without problems for over two years.

When we run the 12v satellite receiver and TV off the leisure battery without an EHU we use the "Low Voltage" alarm on the satellite receiver (or maybe it is the TV) as an indication that it is time to recharge the leisure battery before it gets damaged.

Hope this helps.  

Best regards,
 

Hi.   
I another one of those reckless people running a TV and satellite receiver directly from the battery, despite the dire warnings. So far no problems.   

PennyandDerek wrote: We use a Polaroid LED TV from Asda, only cost £69 - very low power requirements.

Snap! (if it’s the 15.6”).  I got one when they were on offer a while ago. Only problem is that there is no headphone socket, something that I intend to “rectify” when I get a minute.

mikebro wrote: my old tv is rated at 38w which would be just over 3 amps at 12v. Are the new tvs a lot more economic than this?

The 15.6” Polaroid (incidentally nothing to do with the old Polaroid company it’s now an Asda trade name) quotes 15W. I’ve never checked it though.

Brod

Feedback on original question on this thread - I fixed everything up yesterday. All works fine off 12v. I bought a 60cm dish, tripod, cable and sat finder off fleabay for about £60. After half an hour's googling for set up advice and another half hour fiddling with the dish on my driveway I got all the usual freesat channels on Astra 28.2E no bother. I'm well pleased with my low cost system and thanks again for the help on the 12volts. We're off "down south" to Norfolk in a couple of weeks and looking forward to telly on holiday!!

Rgds

Mikebro   

Although mine is automatic & self-seeking, I still have to drive around & park where there is a clear south-ish view of the sky, i.e. no obstacles in the way.

That is the only benefit of a tripod based dish..... its easier to move around than a motorhome  !!!

David

Not really, I instinctively KNOW where to park up on site now, & I've had the dish on tripods, unpacking,  setting up, trailing coax  etc.  Too much 'faffing about' finding the sats only to have the thing move or blow over, then dismantling, packing up, stashing it all away again, 
 bla bla bla.

Now its park, throw a switch, 30 seconds of 'hunting' then perfect tv from 7 different satellites. 

Just back from Norfolk and Dales trip. Set up the satellite dish on three separate sites and have got the alignment exercise down to a couple of minutes. I use dishpointer.com to get the correct rotation and inclination angles and a Silva walkers compass to get the bearing. The six quid sat finder does the final signal optimization. I'm sure it's great to have an automatic system, but I like the flexibility of being able to move the tripod around on the pitch if there are obstacles around.

Rgds

Mikebro

mikebro wrote:…………... I'm sure it's great to have an automatic system, …………..

Mikebro

It is, especially when we park up for a cup of coffee or for lunch or at any other time that we stop and fancy a bit of music, some news or a particular programme.

At most lunch stops, by the time I have the hand-brake set Helen has the dish up and I get to watch a whole five minutes of BBC News before "Loose Women" comes on!  (This being a programme specifically designed to make men eat their lunch quickly and get back behind the wheel!!!!)

After juggling a length of coaxial cable, a dish, a tripod, a compass and a sat finder for over eight years on our boat we find that the sheer convenience of an automatic system makes it worth every penny.    

Best regards,