240v inverter

After suggestions as to where to install a 600w 240v inverter in the cabin of the D40, so the kid (5yr old) can watch movies on my laptop.

On our recent trip to/from sydney, the DVD player i had for him stopped working and kept going back to the begining of the disk - my guess is that the laser is not working properly anymore, and probably not worth fixing.

I have just upgraded my office laptop, and will re-install a clean operating system on my old laptop (only 3 yrs old) and rather than spending money on a new dvd system for the Kid, might as well put the old laptop to good use. I also already have the Inverter, and have plenty of cable - so its really a no brainer to install it in the car instead of dishing out money on a replacement DVD player just for the kid to use.

I am wondering if it is safe to install the DVD player under the front passenger seat, or mayby to install behind the rear bench seat.

Do i have to worry too much about the heat sink getting to hot? I've never really used it much before apart from recharging mobile phones whilst camping. (i can now do that from the 12v accessory sockets)

What thoughts do people have, or concerns about 240v in the cabin?

I have an inverter under the rear seat in mine. Doesn't get used a whole lot, but it's there. It will move into the tub, as we're not going to need 240V in the cabin any more.

Hang on in the third paragraph you suggest the old laptop and in the fourth you suggest a DVD player are you talking about taking the DVD out of the laptop or using an external DVD player connected to the laptop or is that a typo and you're asking about the inverter under the seat?

If you want the inverter under the seat I wouldn't be overly worried providing it's a decent one, the inverter in my fridge doesn't seem to get hot enough to light the carpet on fire but each one is different so I'd test it for a while before mounting it permanently. We used to have the fridge on a semi permanent mount behind the drivers seat of a HiAce van we used for camping and it sat on carpet for several years without issue and we used the 240V for all sorts of things back then.

If it's as read and you want a DVD player under there the only issue would be whether it skipped being mounted to a surface like that but I'd reckon the rear of the hut mount would also be the same issue

The other thing to remember if things are mounted under seats is to be careful when imitating a submarine because you don't want water into things like that. They'll survive being dunked (most electrical stuff does) but it may be a while between uses if it gets dunked.

I think there's another difference between computer CD/DVD players, household DVD players and automotive ones.

I believe the automotive ones oversample the data, so that if there is any bumping happening the playback isn't harmed. Bump a home dvd player and it can do anything from skipping to losing its place altogether.

Most do have some form of over sampling but I think if I was mounting it on either the floor or the wall of the hut I'd be trying to mount it with some rubber to give it some cushioning, would be easy to do and cost bugger all for the piece of mind. But then when it comes to jobs that I do for others I tend to over engineer things a bit because I don't want them coming back at me, I've seen CD/DVD players with 120 second over sampling be un-usable, it wont happen to all of them but I'd make sure it didn't happen to one I put it.

Even the factory CD player in my R51 does some heavy duty oversampling. If you play to the end of a CD and let it move on you can hear the mechanism rummaging around to change to the next one while you are still listening to the last track.

Yeah that's why when it comes to CD or DVD devices in the car, I'd always recommend one designed for use in a car - which will have car power connectors - instead of one designed for use in a home, which will require an inverter. A computer's CD/DVD drive is not designed to operate successfully while being jolted around - the manufacturers assume that you've place the computer on a relatively stable surface. The floor of your car is anything but!

I'm just making the point in relation to the need for 240V for a DVD player or computer. For a hundred bucks I'd buy a 7" car DVD player rather than mess with a household DVD player or laptop that is going to ultimately provide less satisfaction for all the extra effort required in making it happen.

Thanks guys .... my intention is to use the Laptop AS A DVD player ... it already has a DVD drive - and Windows Media player is generally sufficient enought to play movie DVD's

the 240v inverter is to power the laptop power cable, as the laptop battery will only last about 2 hours, and i'll be driving upto 8 to 10 hours in a day sometimes.

I have an old laptop (now) and i have an inverter ... just makes sense to use them, rather than spending money to replace a portable car dvd player. It will only cost me an hour or two in running good quality cables from 2nd battery to inverter

Yeah I understood that Woody, and I know the CD/DVD drives in laptops don't oversample and can't tolerate much movement.

Not to mention even something as small as a 14inch laptop would get annoyingly weighty on your lap after watching a movie for 90 mins of bumping along the road. Some don't seem to mind it but I'd reckon Little Billy would get sick of the weight before most adults. The idea's good, especially since it's costing you so little but I think I'd still prefer the screen on the back of the head rest or something.