how big of an inverter for Direct TV

I had problems with a KVH in-motion dish seeking. Turned out it was voltage drop...too small wire. It wanted 13V+ at the dish. By the time the wire handling 12V (13.5) power supplied at the inverter ran to the dish controller (50') then to the dish motors (40'), the voltage had dropped too much. I supplied 13.5V near the controller, just a 120V/12V transformer, no more issues. If I was on shore or genset power, no issues with the original setup. Spent hours with KVH as the circumstances kept changing.

Rmack1 wrote:

I'm more worried about my trailer wiring. That's a much larger investment.

Genuinedealz.com has good prices on wire.

BlindGuynAR wrote:


I've wasted much more than $20 in the past on junk. I say buy and try for the low up front investment.

I'm more worried about my trailer wiring. That's a much larger investment.

Rmack1 wrote:

Rmack1 wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Go cheap and see how it works.

http://www.donrowe.com/Samlex-SAM-100-12-p/sam-100-12.htm

Wow. Very small and cheap.

I would have to use a three-way splitter to plug all three of my devices in, but, theoretically, it's still within the wat7tage range.

That's gotta be one small cooling fan.

I don't know. I wouldn't mind spending more money to ensure a greater chance of success. That thing is just too small and cheap to work.

I've wasted much more than $20 in the past on junk. I say buy and try for the low up front investment.

Rmack1 wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Go cheap and see how it works.

http://www.donrowe.com/Samlex-SAM-100-12-p/sam-100-12.htm

Wow. Very small and cheap.

I would have to use a three-way splitter to plug all three of my devices in, but, theoretically, it's still within the wattage range.

That's gotta be one small cooling fan.

I don't know. I wouldn't mind spending more money to ensure a greater chance of success. That thing is just too small and cheap to work.

smkettner wrote:
Go cheap and see how it works.

http://www.donrowe.com/Samlex-SAM-100-12-p/sam-100-12.htm

Wow. Very small and cheap.

I would have to use a three-way splitter to plug all three of my devices in, but, theoretically, it's still within the wattage range.

That's gotta be one small cooling fan.

Go cheap and see how it works.

http://www.donrowe.com/Samlex-SAM-100-12-p/sam-100-12.htm

OK, I received an email from a tech at Winegard, and he confirmed that I can shut down the dish by holding those two buttons at once after the dish is aligned.

He said the other component, which I think he called a 'PI-21' only draws 25.5 watts. With my TV at 33 or so, and the receiver at 18, this would put my wattage requirement well under 100, which leads me to believe I could get a 150 watt inverter, which someone said would be able to be plugged into a 12v receptacle without overloading the wiring.

I would much rather do this, as my local RV dealership quoted me 1,200 to 1,400 bucks to install an inverter for me, albeit a much larger wattage one. I wouldn't know where to begin myself.

One poster said some TV's need a power surge to start up. What if I had the 150 watt inverter, and I started the TV first, then after it settled down, turned on the other components? That is, the receiver and then the SWM add-on thing, NOT the Sat dish.

I do not need to power anything else when I'm dry camping. I just would like the capability to watch a couple of hours of TV with dinner at night, and what-not.

Almot wrote:

The OP only said "...uses 120". Maybe it's time to tell us - 120 of what? :)... And if it's not 120V, then what 120V devices do they have in total, i.e. what this inverter will have to run, including electronics?

Sorry, I thought I was clear.

Some guy at Winegard said he calculated by multiplying the volts by the amps, and came up with 120 watts for both the 'Trav'ler' dish and the SWM system add on that I had to get to make my dish work with my receiver, for a total of 240 watts for both.

That seems pretty high. I'm guessing that this is the peak usage when the dish is running it's electric motor to position itself. Don't know for sure.

Now I'm wondering if I position my dish when I have my gennies running, and shut off the power to it when I use the inverter, will the SWM system still pull 120 amps? I'm guessing not. But, even if it did, that would put my wattage at under 200, which someone said I could get away with using a 12v receptacle to power a 200 watt inverter.

Thanks Almot for the correction and Doug for the info.