Portable Digital TV

A while back, some folks were looking for a solution for getting TV news either on the move or when power was out. There was concern that this would become more difficult with the new digital TV broadcast formats.

I just found this: http://www.ecost.com/p/Axion-Consumer-Electronics/product~dpno~8764268~pdp.ghjaiai?source=EWB08130

While I have no idea how well this works, and I'd rather have user-replaceable batteries, for $35 it seems worth a try. I'll report back one I receive it. Worst case, it will amuse my kids on road trips!

Jesselp,
I anxiously await the arrival of your gear too! I've been looking for a portable digital TV and am interested in how you do. I too would like batteries that could be replaced but I can deal with the 'built in' for that price! Thanks for the heads up.

I considered this option after the digital switchover made the various portable TVs I have collected over the years obsolete.

I elected to turn my very portable laptop into a TV instead using the Hauppaugh Win-TV Tuner Stick. One less fragile device to carry around and I have multiple options to keep my laptop powered during an outage.

Could you share some of them? Obviously the battery is one. There is a way to power a laptop from the car adapter. Are there other options without resorting to buying a generator for the house? Maybe something like crank flashlights/cell phone chargers, but for laptops?

my digital portable was in the $99 range at Best Buy.... it has a self contained Li battery, but also a 12v external cigarette plug...I get about 5 good stations off the telescoping antenna here in the Tampa Bay area... a cable with female 12v tubular receptacle and pair of polarized battery clamps on other you can use a spare car battery for power... available in the marine section of Wal Mart

I started with a Dell Latitude E430 with extra standard batteries and an extended flat battery that attaches to the bottom of the unit. It becomes heavy with all the extra battery power attached, but I have almost 8 hours with this setup. Dell's power supply for this unit includes a 12 volt cigarette lighter adapter that plugs into the side of the power supply.

I have two 12v 7.2ah SLA batteries carried in a nylon bag I purchased from Jaycar out of Australia that has a built in socket. This can plug into the Dell power supply for several more hours of service. SLA batteries are cheap, have a long service life, low self-discharge, and are easy to charge with the right equipment ( low amperage float charger).

Finally, I purchased a couple of Goal Zero rechargeable battery packs that can be charged with a solar panel or by normal AC power.

For extended power outages, I plan to recharge any of these units during the daytime hours with a Honda 4kw generator. Even through our worst hurricanes in 2004, I never got past the second SLA battery for normal usage. The beauty of the SLA battery is that you can also use them to charge cell phones and other devices that have a 12v vehicle charger.

If anyone is interested in the details, I can edit this post to add links to where some of this stuff can be purchased.

That would be awesome.

Celler. great feedback. I was tempted the other day to post a new thread on current thoughts of portable power options. Your response was right up that alley.

now that you have the SLA batteries buy a small charge controller and solar panel. Get one with a low voltage dropout connection. Normally that would be used to power a relay to disconnect the load but instead use a relay to switch off the solar input and onto line power so if your batteries are low and solar output is low it will charge from line power then switch back over to solar. Stays always topped off that way.

Done.

Thanks!

I purchased a USB digital tuner that I connect to my laptop computer. The antenna is movable, so you can play with it to get reception. It was under $20 from ebay. Works for me.

celler, if you have some time, can you post a review of some of your Goal zero products and your setup as well, I just started experimenting with there chargers and are looking into there storage devices.
Thanks

falcon5000...what worked for me as a good experiment platform for the Goal Zero 7w panel.... take a piece of scrap plywood, put a 16d nail near the top as perpendicular to the plywood as possible, then take it to direct sunlight... slide a piece of 2x4 under top edge and adjust so the shadow of the nail falls upon itself, you will have good orientation ... it took about 4 hours to completely charge 4 AA Sanyo Eneloop NiMh rechargable compared to 2 hours on AC...slid the charger under the platform to get it out of direct sunlight...my ammeter was down, so couldnt get an accurate charge rate on 12v auto battery I use for digital TV and fan...this is a back up system for a small 3500W Honda

Thanks LesSnyder and only 4 hours of charging the enloops. My charger from Goal Zero will be here tomorrow so I will have to test it. Do you know anything about there Sherpa or Escape power packs?

Falcon5000...sorry, no on the Sherpa and Escape... at the time I got the Goal Zero panel with a gift card from Bass Pro, and not the Guide 10 charger...at the time I don't think Goal Zero offered the charger separately, and AFLM recommended the Eneloops and another processor controlled charger that has both AC and 12v cigarette plug...with the hurricane season heating up I just ordered the Goal 10 unit as it should be able to charge at a higher current rate with the low voltage USB jack compared to the 12v cigarette plug.. the ability to charge my cell phone if somehow separated from my car charger is a plus

I wired a 12v cigarette jack to a pair of battery clips to use as a backup to a 3500w generator to charge a couple of car batteries for portable power

I'm a retired science teacher, and like to fool with gizmos just to see if I can make them work...

Thanks LesSnyder, I will see how this Guide Charger works, if it works out good, I may pick up that usb Led light they have and a Escape battery storage. The Sherpas are a little expensive right now for that and a inverter but if the escape works ok, I may upgrade later.