www.iFourWinns.com

My Jensen 19'' widescreen crapped out on the 318... It's currently with Winnisquam and in process of warranty replacement (we'll see how long that takes).

I have been contemplating a change to a normal tv as I am uncovering that the Jensen product is getting some interesting reviews on how 'prone to breaking' it is.

I'm thinking about something like this 19'' samsung.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_305LN19650 ... tml?tp=161

The specs say it only a few watts:
Power On (Manufacturer) 38 watts
Standby (Manufacturer) 1.00 watts
Power On (Crutchfield-tested) 25.00 watts
Standby (Crutchfield-tested) 0.64 watts
Estimated Cost per Month (Crutchfield-tested) $0.49



Would work fine... except for the power situation. Obviously, the Jensen is wired 12v. What do you guys think if I pulled back that wiring and mounted a small inverter in the kitchen cabinet? How big of an inverter do you guys think I might need to run only that TV? Any recommendations on a 'pocket inverter' that would work for it?

I know LCD's are low power consumers...

I definitely don't want to get into a major project just for the TV... but upgrading wouldn't be bad at all if my warranty doesn't go quite as planned...

The inverter I am thinking of is something like this:
http://www.duracellpower.com/power-inve ... r-200.aspx

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

I would just go with a Xantrex Micro 400, and avoid the permanent wiring install. Plus you can move the TV and Inverter to the cockpit if you are not in the cabin.
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/19/p/1/pt/29/product.asp

The Sammy TV does not have the best sound, so if you need volume, you might want to plug it into the boat stereo. I have two relatives with a Sammy 19" LCD, one died after one year (power supply) and the other one has backlight bleeding issues, but if you are not a videophile and extremely anal about PQ, then the TV should work fine for you.

My usual 2 cents.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

I am thinking of adding a tv to my 268 Vista and running the power through an inverter. I have checked out a few larger inverters and have noted the inverter should be directly wired to the battery and no more than four feet away from the battery. Will the plug in mini-inverters draw too much current, and will they have enough power to run a 22" tv/dvd combo? I would also not want to turn the tv install into a major project. The use of a small inverter sounds very appealing. Searching for a 12 volt tv has not given me too many options for manufacterers. I have also read that the Jensen units have reliability issues, so having the option of running the 110 volt tv through an inverter opens up your choices to many more well known manufacterers.

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2008 V338
Twin Volvo Penta 320hp DP

2002 268 Vista
1987 225 Sundowner
1986 170 Horizon
1975 Steury V415SS

Special, check the link I provided. It will run up to a 27" TV (old style power hog) The mini inverter will not draw much power, and neither will a newer LCD TV. I borrowed one of these last summer from a friends' boat, the guys were on my boat watching the race on TV(22" TV/DVD Combo), while the wives' and kids were sunning and swimming on the beach. Priceless

$56 at Amazon too.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Cap'n is right...

I really like that inverter as well - it would have no problems running a small LCD tv. I think I might even use some velcro to the mount or the back of the TV to support this.


If the Samsung isn't a good option - got any recommendations? I just liked the price of that Samsung.... The Jensen didn't even make it a year... sheesh.

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

I gotta say... 190 bucks is a pretty good deal... with a 2 year warranty! It HAS to be better than the Jensen....

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.as ... 41&topnav=

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Coug, the Samsung will probably be fine, just look at one before you buy it, so you can see if the picture looks good to you. You can't do that if you buy on line, and returns are a pain.
If you buy from a local store, you can easily take it back if it is defective, and maybe one of those extended warranties would be worth it too. I just mentioned the problems because I happened to know people that had a problem with theirs, not that they make a bad TV.

Heck, we bought an Emerson 15" LCD, a Sylvania 17" and a Coby 19" LCD, The Emmer is 3 years old, the Sylvie is 2 years old and the Coby is 1 1/2 years old and all work great today.
So you never know for sure if a name brand is better or not. I am a cheapo, so for the smaller TV's we went with the least expensive ones, and they have worked well..... so far.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Cap'n,

Thanks for the specs. My only concern would be the size of the wires running from behind the lighter socket to the boat's battery/12 volt system. I guess the inverter safeguards would shut it down before melting any wires.

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2008 V338
Twin Volvo Penta 320hp DP

2002 268 Vista
1987 225 Sundowner
1986 170 Horizon
1975 Steury V415SS

SpecialK, you can hook the inverter up two ways. Hard wire to the battery, or just plug it in to your 12V receptacle. That is what I did, and it worked great. It includes cables to do both.
Makes it portable. We used it at a tailgate party to watch football before the game on the back of our SUV while the food was cooking.
Built in fan to keep it cool, and the protection features are great, sounds an alarm if you are low on voltage from your 12V system before it drains it or melts any wires.

Here is the manual. On page 21 it shows/tells about the two ways you can hook it up.

http://www.safehomeproducts.com/shp2/da ... 3-0400.pdf

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Do you guys think I can get away with a 200w inverter? The power draw on those 19 LCD's is near nothing... under 100 watts I believe....

Thoughts?

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

I think you could get by with a 150W. We ran two laptops off a 150 with no problems. But, for only a little more money, you have extra capacity if needed, like for some blender mixed drinks.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Although that sounds like a FANTASTIC idea... I already have an AC system for that I want something that's Micro in size that I can velcro to the back of the TV... that way, I don't have to do a bunch of re-wiring.

Heck, I'm thinking of replacing my cockpit LCD (which weighs about the same) - with something.

Just need a good, MICRO size inverter that will run a 19'' LCD and doesn't put out crap 60hz AC. sine versus mod sine versus crap sine

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Well, it looks like Jensen is drop-shipping me a new TV for warranty exchange as we speak.

The admiral & I are on vacation next week - so we'll see if it's on the doorstep when we get back into town.

This project may have to wait. I'm surprised I am *hopefully* getting warranty service that doesn't suck since it was just submitted on Wed for warranty replacement.

Thanks Winnisquam & Four Winns...

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2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA