I don't know why you bother to look for DC driven display.. They will be very expensive and as you know rare. I have purchased a
sinusoidal DC to AC converter. It is high quality, electrically quiet and 88% efficient. Your LCD screen needs about 35 watts.
What problem?
Steve

"CaveLamb" wrote in message news
Gordon wrote:
Any advice on a boat computer? I think you bought a notebook a while back. Good , bad, ugly?
Thanks
G

We'll have to wait to see what Lary says.

I've been leaning toward a mini-ITX fanless system - with a fan in the case
and a 12 volt power supply.

Heat is nearly as bad for electronics as water.
So we are running in a hostile environment.

The other issue is mounting. An ITX case is small and can be tucked in
almost any corner. The display can be wall mounted.
No need to take up precious horizontal filing space.

The screen is still a problem for me.
I've yet to find one at a reasonable price that runs on 12 volts.




--

Richard Lamb

Steve Lusardi wrote:
I don't know why you bother to look for DC driven display.. They will be
very expensive and as you know rare. I have purchased a sinusoidal DC to
AC converter. It is high quality, electrically quiet and 88% efficient.
Your LCD screen needs about 35 watts. What problem?
Steve


I take your point, Steve.
And yes, economics do have an important part to play here.

But my boat doesn't have a diesel with a big alternator to recharge the
battery. So we are very frugal with our 'trons.

That 10 or 12% difference over a few hours a day can make a difference.


--

Richard Lamb

On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:55:11 -0500, CaveLamb
wrote:

Steve Lusardi wrote:
I don't know why you bother to look for DC driven display.. They will be
very expensive and as you know rare. I have purchased a sinusoidal DC to
AC converter. It is high quality, electrically quiet and 88% efficient.
Your LCD screen needs about 35 watts. What problem?
Steve


I take your point, Steve.
And yes, economics do have an important part to play here.

But my boat doesn't have a diesel with a big alternator to recharge the
battery. So we are very frugal with our 'trons.

That 10 or 12% difference over a few hours a day can make a difference.

Is it possible to buy an outboard with a generator large enough to
charge batteries?

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Bruce in Bangkok wrote:
On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:55:11 -0500, CaveLamb
wrote:

Steve Lusardi wrote:
I don't know why you bother to look for DC driven display.. They will be
very expensive and as you know rare. I have purchased a sinusoidal DC to
AC converter. It is high quality, electrically quiet and 88% efficient.
Your LCD screen needs about 35 watts. What problem?
Steve

I take your point, Steve.
And yes, economics do have an important part to play here.

But my boat doesn't have a diesel with a big alternator to recharge the
battery. So we are very frugal with our 'trons.

That 10 or 12% difference over a few hours a day can make a difference.

Is it possible to buy an outboard with a generator large enough to
charge batteries?

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)


I don't think so, Bruce.
The largest seems to be about 6 amps.

But a small generator would do it.

Know of any small 12 volt only gen sets?
(I think the manufacturers are missing a niche here)


--

Richard Lamb

On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:35:24 -0500, CaveLamb
wrote:

Bruce in Bangkok wrote:
On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:55:11 -0500, CaveLamb
wrote:

Steve Lusardi wrote:
I don't know why you bother to look for DC driven display.. They will be
very expensive and as you know rare. I have purchased a sinusoidal DC to
AC converter. It is high quality, electrically quiet and 88% efficient.
Your LCD screen needs about 35 watts. What problem?
Steve

I take your point, Steve.
And yes, economics do have an important part to play here.

But my boat doesn't have a diesel with a big alternator to recharge the
battery. So we are very frugal with our 'trons.

That 10 or 12% difference over a few hours a day can make a difference.

Is it possible to buy an outboard with a generator large enough to
charge batteries?

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)


I don't think so, Bruce.
The largest seems to be about 6 amps.

But a small generator would do it.

Know of any small 12 volt only gen sets?
(I think the manufacturers are missing a niche here)

I don't know about back there but they are fairly common here. I think
that most of them are actually 220 VAC generators with a rectified
circuit but they do charge batteries.

If you got a spare quid you might look into solar panels. I somehow
get the impression that most of your sailing is a week-end sort of
thing and a solar panel, or two, would certainly keep your batteries
charged.... as long as the sun shines.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

But a small generator would do it.

Know of any small 12 volt only gen sets?
(I think the manufacturers are missing a niche here)

I don't know about back there but they are fairly common here. I think
that most of them are actually 220 VAC generators with a rectified
circuit but they do charge batteries.

There are scads of those kind on the market.
But even the small ones are pretty fair sized - and pricey.
There is no real technical reason one couldn't make a 12 volt gas powered
charger no bigger than a weed-whacker motor.
(BTW, the 4 stroke versions are pretty quiet)



If you got a spare quid you might look into solar panels. I somehow
get the impression that most of your sailing is a week-end sort of
thing and a solar panel, or two, would certainly keep your batteries
charged.... as long as the sun shines.

That's true for now.
The marina has AC power, so keeping batteries topped off is no problem.
But a couple of days out of the marina gets to be a challenge.

I've converted most of the lights to LEDs.

The real current hogs are the pumps.
Like the pressure water system and wash down pump.

I have a couple of solar panels - 5 and 15 watts.
But I'm not quite sure how to work them with the existing battery charger.



Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)


--

Richard Lamb

On Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:10:32 -0500, CaveLamb
wrote:


But a small generator would do it.

Know of any small 12 volt only gen sets?
(I think the manufacturers are missing a niche here)

I don't know about back there but they are fairly common here. I think
that most of them are actually 220 VAC generators with a rectified
circuit but they do charge batteries.

There are scads of those kind on the market.
But even the small ones are pretty fair sized - and pricey.
There is no real technical reason one couldn't make a 12 volt gas powered
charger no bigger than a weed-whacker motor.
(BTW, the 4 stroke versions are pretty quiet)



If you got a spare quid you might look into solar panels. I somehow
get the impression that most of your sailing is a week-end sort of
thing and a solar panel, or two, would certainly keep your batteries
charged.... as long as the sun shines.

That's true for now.
The marina has AC power, so keeping batteries topped off is no problem.
But a couple of days out of the marina gets to be a challenge.

I've converted most of the lights to LEDs.

The real current hogs are the pumps.
Like the pressure water system and wash down pump.

I have a couple of solar panels - 5 and 15 watts.
But I'm not quite sure how to work them with the existing battery charger.



Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

You can buy 1, 2, etc., watt inverters here pretty cheaply. Of course
they are Chinese made and vary in quality, and efficiency, but still
pretty good bang for the buck.

The solar panels connect to the batteries. There are a number of
Gotchas though.

You need to be sure that the solar panels have a diode incorporated in
them to prevent reverse current flow. If yours are fairly recent they
likely do but still, take the time to check them.

Unless your panels are extremely small it is possible, if left
connected, for them to boil your batteries and you'll come back to the
boat after a month away and find the batteries dry.... and require
replacing. The answer is install a Solar Panel Regulator. Reasonable
in price and effective. Another method is to simply cover the solar
panels with a dark cover - black garbage bags will work. Of course if
you do then nothing keeps the batteries charged :-(

If I had a boat like yours (I am assuming that you don't have a shower
in the Head) I'd have foot operated water pumps. Believe it or not but
they do save on water use - you really use only what you need.

A wash down pump is really a luxury :-) I hade one rigged to wash down
the anchor but since I also had a power anchor windlass I always
hauled the anchor with the diesel running so a little extra current
for the pump was of little interest.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:49:16 +0200, "Steve Lusardi"
wrote:

I don't know why you bother to look for DC driven display.. They will be very expensive and as you know rare. I have purchased a
sinusoidal DC to AC converter. It is high quality, electrically quiet and 88% efficient. Your LCD screen needs about 35 watts.
What problem?
Steve

"CaveLamb" wrote in message news
Gordon wrote:
Any advice on a boat computer? I think you bought a notebook a while back. Good , bad, ugly?
Thanks
G

We'll have to wait to see what Lary says.

I've been leaning toward a mini-ITX fanless system - with a fan in the case
and a 12 volt power supply.

Heat is nearly as bad for electronics as water.
So we are running in a hostile environment.

The other issue is mounting. An ITX case is small and can be tucked in
almost any corner. The display can be wall mounted.
No need to take up precious horizontal filing space.

The screen is still a problem for me.
I've yet to find one at a reasonable price that runs on 12 volts.

--

Richard Lamb



The first flat screen TV's I saw all were 12VDC. Has a brick power
supply like a laptops. Now they all have built in ... progress I
guess.

I wonder whether they are still 12 VDC internally?

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Bruce in Bangkok wrote:
On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:49:16 +0200, "Steve Lusardi"
wrote:

I don't know why you bother to look for DC driven display.. They will be very expensive and as you know rare. I have purchased a
sinusoidal DC to AC converter. It is high quality, electrically quiet and 88% efficient. Your LCD screen needs about 35 watts.
What problem?
Steve

"CaveLamb" wrote in message news
Gordon wrote:
Any advice on a boat computer? I think you bought a notebook a while back. Good , bad, ugly?
Thanks
G
We'll have to wait to see what Lary says.

I've been leaning toward a mini-ITX fanless system - with a fan in the case
and a 12 volt power supply.

Heat is nearly as bad for electronics as water.
So we are running in a hostile environment.

The other issue is mounting. An ITX case is small and can be tucked in
almost any corner. The display can be wall mounted.
No need to take up precious horizontal filing space.

The screen is still a problem for me.
I've yet to find one at a reasonable price that runs on 12 volts.

--

Richard Lamb



The first flat screen TV's I saw all were 12VDC. Has a brick power
supply like a laptops. Now they all have built in ... progress I
guess.

I wonder whether they are still 12 VDC internally?

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)


I actually have one of those early ones.
It's a Phillips flat screen 4:3.
But the wall wart makes 60 VDC - not 12.



--

Richard Lamb

On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:37:18 -0500, CaveLamb
wrote:

Bruce in Bangkok wrote:
On Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:49:16 +0200, "Steve Lusardi"
wrote:

I don't know why you bother to look for DC driven display.. They will be very expensive and as you know rare. I have purchased a
sinusoidal DC to AC converter. It is high quality, electrically quiet and 88% efficient. Your LCD screen needs about 35 watts.
What problem?
Steve

"CaveLamb" wrote in message news Gordon wrote:
Any advice on a boat computer? I think you bought a notebook a while back. Good , bad, ugly?
Thanks
G
We'll have to wait to see what Lary says.

I've been leaning toward a mini-ITX fanless system - with a fan in the case
and a 12 volt power supply.

Heat is nearly as bad for electronics as water.
So we are running in a hostile environment.

The other issue is mounting. An ITX case is small and can be tucked in
almost any corner. The display can be wall mounted.
No need to take up precious horizontal filing space.

The screen is still a problem for me.
I've yet to find one at a reasonable price that runs on 12 volts.

--

Richard Lamb



The first flat screen TV's I saw all were 12VDC. Has a brick power
supply like a laptops. Now they all have built in ... progress I
guess.

I wonder whether they are still 12 VDC internally?

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)


I actually have one of those early ones.
It's a Phillips flat screen 4:3.
But the wall wart makes 60 VDC - not 12.

I was sure that I remembered 12 volts..... old age, I guess.

You can get small inverters to make 110 from your batteries. They do
vary a lot in efficiency so it is worth while doing some checking
before you buy, but I used one for years to power a Toshiba laptop
that was my nav system.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)