I'm looking for a battery back up UPS type thing for providing power for a TV. The size of the TV would be about a 12-15" and am interested in what is available and the capacity or options I have available. I'm thinking about something along the lines of a APC Back Up device like I have on the computer.

You need to find out the power usage of the TV, but I'll tell you right now, a CRT drains a LOT of energy. You also need to decide how long you want the TV on battery power. I'm guessing unless you are will ing to spend a lot of money that you won't get more than 10/15 minutes on even a fair size (1000 KVA) battery UPS.

George, I have a pair of APCs in my office. One for the computer and external drives and one for my cable modem, cable box and 14" TV. Drives my daughter nuts when the power goes out and I'm still watching TV. The one that the TV is hooked to is an ES-350. Have no idea how long it will run before the battery gives out, but it's perfect for the blinks and brief outtages.

Haven't purchased the TV yet but am looking at the options there as well. I suspect it will be about a 15" Flat panel as I suspect it will have the least draw. I would be interested in something that would run for at least a coupla hours for sure.

Some of the flat panel tv's actually draw more power than tube units. Make sure you check carefully.

A couple of hours may be pretty pricey. Again, get the power draw of the unit you are thinking of buying. I think the APC site can walk you through what size you need depending on the draw.

Sounds like a custom mod to me, George. It can be done with inexpensive car batteries and an inverter. Or you can try to run a UPS off the car batteries.

Of course, you do all that at your own risk. If you cause a fire, the insurance company probably wouldn't pay anything.

Maybe a gen set in the backyard is what you need? It could run the furnace and refrigerator too.

Splicing larger batteries (typically, car batteries) into an APC unit is relatively common. The ability of batteries to deliver large currents requires skill and care in the wiring. Of course, all warranties are void. Mostly, it is ugly and generally only good in a shop situation - not the living room.

Lets backup a bit shall we?

Why do you need battery backup on a TV?

Mine is so that I don't have to reset the clock and my channel favorites every time there is a power glitch. It also tends to prolong the life of delicate electronics as they are insulated from surges and dropouts. Since an adequate UPS is usually costs only about a tenth of a good TV, it is well worth it.

My Favorite Martian doesn't need a battery backup.

Okay Calvin, you wormed it out of me. The "boss" wants to be able to have a TV (color no less) in her panic room (the basement) when the weather turns bad and we lose power from DTE. It's okay now because we still have analog TV and she has an eight inch portable that runs on D cells. The problem has become she wants color and if that's the case I will need to buy a color TV with a digital tuner that runs on batteries. As for parallel APC's that is not my favorite idea. Still researching.

According to the APC calculator, to power 50 watts (a figure I found searching the net for a "generic" 15" TV) for 2 hours will cost you around $460.

It just occurred to me that I could possibly use a laptop computer for a TV if they made a digital tuner device that I could use in a card slot of my Powerbook G4 or maybe a USB device. Okay Mr. B. I know you have some experience with this what's my options?

Mr. B., Part of the charm of getting old is you tend to forget things easier. It's coming back to me now that you had an article in the MacNews about the "Eye TV" maybe you could reference me that article. Tks. in advance.

It's in the January MacNews. Since the article, Elgato has significantly upgraded the EyeTV software - it much more Tivo-like now. I have written about it because I don't use it much any more, thanks to the Tivo (as mentioned in the article) but it sounds to me like a much better alternative for what you want. Cheaper, too!

I just upgraded one machine to EyeTV version 3. It seems to work very well with the Hybrid (ATSC (Digital) and NTSC (analog). I've sneaked peeks at the football game during the MacGroup meeting using version 2.

Thanks James and Mr. B., Now can I get a copy of that article by Mr. B.? Is it downloadable from an archive someplace?

January Mac News?

Go Here

http://macgroup.org/MacNewsPDFS/MacNews01-08.pdf

Thanks Calvin, that's the one I needed.