19" LCD, How should i power it?

**vairu** · 02-13-2006, 02:44 PM

Ok, a friend of mine in my car club has a *****in LCD in his back window (see pics below). I'm guessing it's like a 20~21". This is a really old pic of his xB, back then he had it sitting on top of his sub box ... now it's flush against the rear window which is completely black vinyl'd out ... looks sweet driving thru the city @ night. His is the white xB 2 over from mine:

I'm not sure how he has his powered, it might be a different setup than mine cause he has it hooked up to a DvD unit not a CarPC (it's like chained off his in dash TV and headrest TV's). I'm guessing an LCD for VGA use is slightly different tho.

Here's what i have:

-ViewSonic VX910: http://www.viewsonic.com/products/de...xseries/vx910/

- 140w Inverter from Intec.
-VGA Y-splitter (Comp -> Lili, ViewSonic LCD)

What i'm wondering is, will it be safe to power this LCD view an inverter? I know that with like the 7" Liliput in my dash that when i had it powered via the cig lighter there was a slight chance that a voltage drop could occur and damage the "lamp or inverter" or something like that.

http://mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=48110

"A voltage spike on a DC-AC converter can cause flickering and damage to the lamp and inverter"

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I'm just asking advice from anyone that might know, i'm sure someone does on these boards. I just don't want a blown up monitor u know. Also, please don't post how "unnecessary" it is to have an LCD this big in the car etc. If i do install it it will most likely only be temporary for a show this weekend or future shows. Mostly used to show off the CarPC and/or a DvD from all the footage i've shot at previous shows that my club's been in.

Thanks for the help in advance. I'll post up how my friend wired his up when i find out.

**EsKALad** · 02-13-2006, 06:01 PM

honestly. i say stay unique and dont do it. your friend already did it. but anyway if you must. the best way to do it is with dc to dc power supply like a carnetix if its 12v.

**vairu** · 02-13-2006, 07:11 PM

Are all monitors 12v? And i'm not putting mine in the back window like he did ... It's hard to be Unique nowadays anyhow. And besides, if i don't put it in the car i would be like everyone else who doesn't have one ... i'm not doing it for uniqueness is what i'm trying to say, and to me personally, i consider things i do to my car unique based on what I see where i live on a daily basis (my friend does not live anywhere near me and the club is based from like 10 different cities around Florida ... there's only 2 of us in my town and between us we have some 'unique' shiz).

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My main concern is if it's a bad thing to power the LCD via an inverter, and will my inverter even have enough juice to power it. I know that i have used my inverter to power a PS2 and a 15" regular tube television in a minivan while on the highway ... i was impressed lol. Of course when the van was running in the lower RPMs the inverter couldn't power both the PS2 and the TV. But i would imagine that an LCD could use less power then a CRT monitor or tube television. I'm not sure if that's right but in my opinion i would 'guess' that. This is why i posted the thread to see if anyone who knew could help me out ^_^

**Bugbyte** · 02-13-2006, 08:15 PM

Look on the monitor. It should tell you how many watts it draws. If your inverter can supply that, you'll be okay but to ensure a good connection, consider connecting it directly to the battery rather than a cigarette power port or whatever.

To power it from a DC source, you'll have to open it up and figure out where to input the DC power unless it has a DC input.

**grimor2000** · 02-13-2006, 08:20 PM

wow, that is a dumb place to put a monitor, where does he park? I've got a brick and need a new screen...

**vairu** · 02-13-2006, 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

Look on the monitor. It should tell you how many watts it draws. If your inverter can supply that, you'll be okay but to ensure a good connection, consider connecting it directly to the battery rather than a cigarette power port or whatever.

To power it from a DC source, you'll have to open it up and figure out where to input the DC power unless it has a DC input.

Thanks for the info. This monitor isn't one i'll be using permanently in the car, just to test out places to put one ... once i get one i will look into that. Also, i am going to run the inverter straight to the battery sometime this week. What gauge wire should i run to it? It will probably be like 5 feet from the battery ...

I did put the monitor in just sitting on some stuff in my hatch area, just to test out if it would work and how it would look at night ... it did in fact work with the car off and the CarPC was running as well. No signal loss from the Y-splitter and the 6ft VGA extension either.

In the background my 7" lili is blocked half-way from the front seat i think, or a rear headrest ... also the thing thats in front of the screen at the bottom left is my rear view wiper. I know the pic is ****ty ... of course in person it would look a lot more "crisp" ... and that is deffinitely not where it would be installed.

And grimor2000 ... i knew someone would say that, and it's what i thought as well ... but as of now it is the mounted equivalent of "hard-wired" in, so you would have to do a little bit more than just break the window and "grab" the monitor out. IMO it looks really cool in person, with the screen off even in daylight you can't tell it's there ... as i said the rear window is blacked out with solid black vinyl. Not practical but then again some people would say a CarPC isn't practical as well.

**JimmyFitz** · 02-14-2006, 12:22 AM

Write a PM to this guy: TheLandYacht
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/members/thelandyacht.html

He has a van with multiple LCD monitors like you are talking about. Check out his profile on here and the link to his web site. I saw his ride a while back. It is impressive. I think he uses inverters to power everything, but more than one of them.

**ralfsmith** · 02-14-2006, 01:07 PM

Oh its very interesting. Could you provide me more information ?

johntvery@operamail.com

johntvery@hotmail.com

**vairu** · 02-14-2006, 03:02 PM

Thanks, i contacted him.

Ralf u want more info about the guys van or?

**MatrixPC** · 02-14-2006, 03:36 PM

Get a 42" or bigger plasma/lcs and replace the rear glass windows with the screen. That is unique.

BTW, to power it, depend on the monitor. Some have an adapter that convert to 12V to feed the monitor. Some have an adapter/inverter build inside the monitor.
Like Bugbite said, read the sticker to see what is the wattage the monitor use and get an inverter/converter to match (at least).