Battery Powered TV and DTV Converters

I get questions like this often….

… Now my question, to which I believe I know the answer: I have one of those handy, portable 2.2" LCD TVs that runs off of a few AA batteries. No radio - it is TV only - but has VHF/UHF bands, telescoping antenna, contrast/brightness control, etc. Nice little TV, good to have during storms, power outages, etc, but of course it is analog only. With no apparent way to feed a digital signal into it, is this a soon-to-be doorstop, albeit a little one? I assume that the answer is "yes, it is a soon-to-be doorstop". Have you run across any "second life" uses for something like this? I hate to just junk it (don't worry; I'll make sure it gets in the proper recycling channel), but if there is any other way for me or somebody else to use it, I'd appreciate knowing about that.

Regards,
Tom Harrison Township

The short answer is that you could make this TV work post February 2009 but is most likely not worth the effort or expense. You could attach a wire from DTV converter to the actual VHS antenna. You would need to find a way to power the DTV converter. A hobbyist would look at this as a fun project. Most of us would find it a hassle.

The underlying question is a good one and relates to a similar issue of using radios that have TV bands. Many, like me, use these when "Duke's Hamsters" go in strike and the power goes out to listen to the TV weather and news. These radios will no longer work post February 2009.

While they are still scarce, there are and will be more small digital TV’s that will run on batteries just like Tom’s. The one’s on the market right now, one from Toshiba and Coby are very pricey. Just like all electronic devices they will soon be affordable. Same will hold true for radios with TV bands that will receive the audio form DTV stations.

Battery Powered TV and DTV Converters

I get questions like this often….

… Now my question, to which I believe I know the answer: I have one of those handy, portable 2.2" LCD TVs that runs off of a few AA batteries. No radio - it is TV only - but has VHF/UHF bands, telescoping antenna, contrast/brightness control, etc. Nice little TV, good to have during storms, power outages, etc, but of course it is analog only. With no apparent way to feed a digital signal into it, is this a soon-to-be doorstop, albeit a little one? I assume that the answer is "yes, it is a soon-to-be doorstop". Have you run across any "second life" uses for something like this? I hate to just junk it (don't worry; I'll make sure it gets in the proper recycling channel), but if there is any other way for me or somebody else to use it, I'd appreciate knowing about that.

Regards,
Tom Harrison Township

The short answer is that you could make this TV work post February 2009 but is most likely not worth the effort or expense. You could attach a wire from DTV converter to the actual VHS antenna. You would need to find a way to power the DTV converter. A hobbyist would look at this as a fun project. Most of us would find it a hassle.

The underlying question is a good one and relates to a similar issue of using radios that have TV bands. Many, like me, use these when "Duke's Hamsters" go in strike and the power goes out to listen to the TV weather and news. These radios will no longer work post February 2009.

While they are still scarce, there are and will be more small digital TV’s that will run on batteries just like Tom’s. The one’s on the market right now, one from Toshiba and Coby are very pricey. Just like all electronic devices they will soon be affordable. Same will hold true for radios with TV bands that will receive the audio form DTV stations.

DTV on Batteries?

I read and enjoy your article every week in the Harrison Press. Keep up the good work.

I have a 12 volt TV/DVD player with a large antennae my wife and I use at our property in Osgood, Indiana. Since we don't have electricity (its where we go to get away), but like to get the weather and news occasionally, the 12 volt TV works well for us. Does the converter require 120 volts? I suppose it does, but are 12 volt ones available? We may be losing our TV out at Laughery Creek if we have to come up with the higher voltage.

Will there be a 12 volt HD TV available? I hate to go that route, but the world changes in many ways and I'm not in charge. I hope I haven't used up my question allotment. Thanks for the info, I do enjoy your article.


Thanks for the good questions. I have not seen any converter on the market that runs on 12v DC. Since the converters do not consume a great deal of energy you could use a car battery and purchase an inexpensive DC to AC power inverter to power it. The Zenith model we have here at CET uses only 7 watts of power @ 120 volts so a charged up 12 volt car battery would run it for many hours and most likely power it for a weekend or more.

I have not seen any DC powered Digital sets that I would recommend yet. The few that are out there are way over priced but I am sure lower priced models will be available soon.

Some people who have radios that have the TV band will also loose that feature in Feb.2009. I use mine to listen to the audio form the TV while I am doing dishes or working in the garage. That will no longer work since it picks up the analog signals only.

DTV on Batteries?

I read and enjoy your article every week in the Harrison Press. Keep up the good work.

I have a 12 volt TV/DVD player with a large antennae my wife and I use at our property in Osgood, Indiana. Since we don't have electricity (its where we go to get away), but like to get the weather and news occasionally, the 12 volt TV works well for us. Does the converter require 120 volts? I suppose it does, but are 12 volt ones available? We may be losing our TV out at Laughery Creek if we have to come up with the higher voltage.

Will there be a 12 volt HD TV available? I hate to go that route, but the world changes in many ways and I'm not in charge. I hope I haven't used up my question allotment. Thanks for the info, I do enjoy your article.


Thanks for the good questions. I have not seen any converter on the market that runs on 12v DC. Since the converters do not consume a great deal of energy you could use a car battery and purchase an inexpensive DC to AC power inverter to power it. The Zenith model we have here at CET uses only 7 watts of power @ 120 volts so a charged up 12 volt car battery would run it for many hours and most likely power it for a weekend or more.

I have not seen any DC powered Digital sets that I would recommend yet. The few that are out there are way over priced but I am sure lower priced models will be available soon.

Some people who have radios that have the TV band will also loose that feature in Feb.2009. I use mine to listen to the audio form the TV while I am doing dishes or working in the garage. That will no longer work since it picks up the analog signals only.