Inverters DC/AC

[olds]

I am picking up a used monitor for a system for one of the kids. They guy won't meet me at his house because he doesn't know me. I can take my laptop and an inverter to test the monitor but the inverter is only 100 watt. Anyone know if this will work for a 17" CRT monitor?

 

[KingNothing]

Why don't you meet in a public place with power outlets? The Panera Bread places around here have tables with power outlets. You could meet in a hotel lobby too.

 

[olds]

I am just a little leery of walking into someones business and stealing their power.
Just saw why you posted that, you're the devil!

KingNothing
Senior Member

Posts: 666
Joined: Apr 2002

 

[KingNothing]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
I am just a little leery of walking into someones business and stealing their power.
Just saw why you posted that, you're the devil!

KingNothing
Senior Member

Posts: 666
Joined: Apr 2002

Dang, I hadn't even noticed that. Seriously though, Panera puts those power outlets there for a reason. There's a sign by them saying "Laptop station" or something. As for a hotel lobby...they get a lot of business travellers, although I admit it would look a bit odd to cart a monitor in there and power it up. Can he not meet you at your workplace?

 

[Yomicron]

I doubt that 100W is enough for a 17" monitor and a laptop.

If he is willing to meet you somewhere, is he willing to bring it to your house?

 

[Yomicron]

I just looked up some random 17" monitors, and they apparently use ~75-100 Watts.

If you know the model # of the monitor you're buying, you could look up its power requirements.

 

[nd]

The answer is, "it depends".

It's not too difficult to figure out though. The monitor does have a power rating (which can probably be looked up on the company's web site, just look for a datasheet).

Most 17" CRT's won't use 100W, so it would probably be OK as long as you ran your laptop on battery power (since the laptop + monitor would surely be a bad idea).

 

[olds]

Viewmate 17" is all I have. I will run the laptop of it's own battery.

 

[nd]

Another thing you should keep in mind..

Depending on how the monitor is designed, the use of a cheap 100W inverter may result in minor display problems while it's used. When used at home, the outlet provides a fairly clean sinusoidal signal. If you look at the output of one of the cheap inverters, it's rather choppy and square-ish. This is acceptable for laptops since its power supply converts it to DC anyway, but I'm not 100% sure about CRTs. Some monitors may be more sensitive to that sort of thing.

So basically, there is a possibility that it will look funny even though the monitor may be fine. Maybe someone else here more knowledgable about CRT design can tell you for sure... but it's something to keep in mind at least.

 

[olds]

Thanks for all the input

Originally posted by: nd
Another thing you should keep in mind..

Depending on how the monitor is designed, the use of a cheap 100W inverter may result in minor display problems while it's used. When used at home, the outlet provides a fairly clean sinusoidal signal. If you look at the output of one of the cheap inverters, it's rather choppy and square-ish. This is acceptable for laptops since its power supply converts it to DC anyway, but I'm not 100% sure about CRTs. Some monitors may be more sensitive to that sort of thing.

So basically, there is a possibility that it will look funny even though the monitor may be fine. Maybe someone else here more knowledgable about CRT design can tell you for sure... but it's something to keep in mind at least.

Hadn't thought of that. I did d/l a monitor test program to run on it.

 

[nd]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Thanks for all the input

Originally posted by: nd
Another thing you should keep in mind..

Depending on how the monitor is designed, the use of a cheap 100W inverter may result in minor display problems while it's used. When used at home, the outlet provides a fairly clean sinusoidal signal. If you look at the output of one of the cheap inverters, it's rather choppy and square-ish. This is acceptable for laptops since its power supply converts it to DC anyway, but I'm not 100% sure about CRTs. Some monitors may be more sensitive to that sort of thing.

So basically, there is a possibility that it will look funny even though the monitor may be fine. Maybe someone else here more knowledgable about CRT design can tell you for sure... but it's something to keep in mind at least.

Hadn't thought of that. I did d/l a monitor test program to run on it.

It's probably fine. The square-ish wave output is fine for most electronics... I'm just saying it's a possibility.

 

[JohnMellencamp]

I`m looking for a converter to run a laptop in the car any ideas ?

I found this Here .
Anyone have any ideas they wanna throw in

 

[Harvey]

Most monitors will include the power rating info in the manufacturers info on the back. It's another question whether it will work on an inverter that puts out square waves, instead of a 60 Hz sine.

 

[JohnMellencamp]

Staples and some computer stores carry them so which one to get and to get a DC to DC or Dc to Ac hmmmm