Direct TV, Inverting, and Generator use.

[Ozz]

When off-grid and you are Inverting, or on Generator and switch from one to the other, you lose the Direct TV, (or Dish) signal and you have to wait for it to 'Boot up' again. We went through that many times, so I says to myself: "Hershel, what can be done about that crisis in my life?"
I figured the U.P.S. Uninterruped power supply would be the ticket. Basically a small Inverter with a battery. Lasts long enough, if you pick the right size, to keep the Tv and receiver powered up.
Got mine here in Cottonwood at Radio Shack.
Made a slide show about it.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Jimsue1...eat=directlink

[CATCRAW]

Great idea - thanks for sharing...I have a spare UPS and never thought about taking it out..

[7.3Ford]

Great idea Jim. I can normally go from shore-power to inverter without dropping, but not the other way, the transfer switch has a 5 second delay going from inverter to shore-power.

I haven't used my generator in two years, but I like the UPS idea. You need some solar.

[Ozz]

John, you are right, it is in the master plan.

[Art-n-Marge]

I have a friend who installed Solar from the onset because he never wanted to drag around the weight and mess of a generator when he was boondocking. Fast forwarding to today, he sent me a message on how proud he was that he succumbed to buying a generator because his recent summer vacation forced him to RV under trees to minimize the heat of direct sun and found that his batteries couldn't recharge enough since he was in constant shade. The portable generator solved his problem.

I find that you still might need a genny even if you use solar. I solved the genny part, but one of these days I'll be able to afford the solar part.

As for the Satellite delay when switching power sources, I use Dish and if you think DirecTV is slow, I don't ever recommend you switch to Dish Network which can take 15 to 30 minutes or even more from an initial powerup. Ugh.

[Ozz]

Art, it is the delay with the transfer switch, plus it does take 3 or 5 minutes to boot up.
So far we are happy with the Direct Tv on the road, it was a tough start last year, but all is good now.
Ozz

[thekennys]

ozz
when on shore or gen i turn on inverter, then unplug or shut down gen.
the relay switch i have set up so it's normally closed on inverter so as not to draw power to hold closed relays.
there is a delay of ~10 sec when turning on gen or shore then i shut off inverter
works for us except when I'm sleepy
Mikey

[Ozz]

Sounds good Mikey, with our semi-complicated systems we have to pay attention when flipping switches!!!!

[Farmhawk]

I have wired a dedicated outlet from the inverter to the entertainment center. I leave the sat receiver plugged into this outlet 100% of the time. Even when on shore power. I then have I power strip that I move from the inverter outlet to the shore power outlet depending on need. My sat receiver uses between 10 and 11 amps overnight when left on.

[Ozz]

Good ideas Wayen, we all work out a system that works well for us.
Thanks for jumping in on this, we can learn from others here.