Cigarette lighter inverter for Samsung TV?

[rasjad]

We have a Samsung LED TV in our AS and would like to run it off of our batteries using a cigarette lighter inverter. It doesn't draw a lot of power (<50 Watts). I've heard that some TVs are sensitive to the type of inverter (modified sine wave vs pure sine wave). Has this been an issue for anyone usinging an inexpensive cigarette lighter type inverter to run a Samsung?

[Rich W]

I have used a Cobra Marine 400 watt plugged into a cigar lighter for a number of years. I ran an old tube type 13" TV and now a Philips HDTV 21" on it for my son's gaming when we were on long trips. I think I paid less than $100 for it but there's nothing on the outside that tells me anything about the sine wave type. It's marine so it's waterproof, has a 25 watt fuse and a place for a ground wire. There are posts for power input and I bought a cigar plug from Radio Shack and created my own own input wire. Never had a problem with it unless he plugs in his laptop at the same time and draws too much power. It shuts down and we have to reset then it's all fine again. (Picture is of an 800 watt, mine is only 400 watt but looks just like this one.)

[rasjad]

I'll give it a try. Txs

[John&Vicki]

My 22" Samsung has a power supply that I assume is just a transformer that steps down the current from 120v to 12v. It seems like a lot of extra shakin' and bakin' to use an inverter: start with 12v => convert to 120v => convert back to 12v. I'm wondering if I could just cut the cord before the power supply and splice in a 12v plug?

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by Birdmaestro

My 22" Samsung has a power supply that I assume is just a transformer that steps down the current from 120v to 12v. It seems like a lot of extra shakin' and bakin' to use an inverter: start with 12v => convert to 120v => convert back to 12v. I'm wondering if I could just cut the cord before the power supply and splice in a 12v plug?

It may not be dropping to 12v. My Sirius satellite radio has a power supply on the plug that provides a voltage other than 12v, like 7.5 dcv. It's under the dash now so I'm not sure what it actually is. The inline power supply should have the in / out voltages on it. There may be an aftermarket adapter to replace the wire without having to cut off the plug. If you provide the wrong voltage you can do serious damage.

I use the inverter for other things too, that car doesn't have a built in inverter so I use this one to power the TV or charge the laptop batteries. The older TV I have came with a 12v cord but the new LCD didn't. I already had the inverter so I just use it.

Most TVs, radios etc. run on voltages other than 120 VAC, but the transformer that drops the voltage is inside the unit and it expects 120 VAC. If you have an external transformer there should be a data sheet on it telling you what the voltages are. You can always go to the manufacturers site for more information. I wouldn't recommend cutting off the plug.