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Where To Find Battery-Powered Monitors?

Posted by timothy on from the wireless-power-har-har dept.

jutus writes "I work for a company which creates medical simulators using off-the-shelf components (including Linux and MacOS X). We're looking for battery powered LCD VGA monitors, but can't seem to find many appealing solutions. This just happens to be one of the rare times when Google has failed me. Does anyone know of a good starting point for such monitors and other industrial PC components?"

12 of 23 comments (clear)

  1. ha by tps12 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do you have any idea how much power a monitor drains? You'd be replacing all 96 AA batteries every half hour or so. Better to just get a gas generator.

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    1. Re:ha by phorm · · Score: 2

      They mean LCD's though, not CRT monitors. They'd be of similar power drain to a laptor on a similar battery I would think, probably less, as the LED alone doesn't have moving parts as does the rest of the PC.

  2. is this one big enough? by Minn_Kota_Marine · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.allactionalarm.com/Portable%20LCD%20Mon itor.htm

    "This handy unit is a battery powered LCD monitor perfect for may applications. Complete with adjustments for color, brightness, audio volume, etc. Comes with cables for video in and out. This unit perfect for mobile security systems, camera installers, etc."

    Google seemed to work fine for me.

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    1. Re:is this one big enough? by netringer · · Score: 2
      "This handy unit is a battery powered LCD monitor perfect for may applications. Complete with adjustments for color, brightness, audio volume, etc. Comes with cables for video in and out. This unit perfect for mobile security systems, camera installers, etc."
      That's a video monitor, not a data monitor. That one is designed for security applications where video in/out means COMPOSITE video, i.e. RCA jack connectors like on a VCR, not VGA connectors.

      The connectivity could work with a VGA to video adapter, but it would be about the same as using an analog TV as a PC display. You won't get enough a sharp enough picture for text.
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  3. Here's something by prostoalex · · Score: 2
    Maybe you should talk to these guys. The page is horribly out of date, but here's what they have to say:
    Quantum Energy Technologies Corp. is developing electroluminescent materials that may one day be used in light sources such as low-powered battery displays, computer displays, and eventually even as light sources. The company predicts that electroluminescent materials will be the future of lighting and visual displays, replacing everything from light bulbs to computer screens. The company hopes to have a prototype in place by the fall of 2000 to rival the efficiency of other battery-powered displays, such as liquid crystal displays.
  4. A couple of local hospitals by MImeKillEr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...use a mobile cart with a small desktop, keyboard/mouse and LCD. The carts also have external wireless adapters (USB, I imagine) and have small UPS' on them. When the terminals aren't in use, the UPS is plugged in to keep it charged. The computers sit in locked boxes at the bottom of the stand and the wireless adapters are bolted to them.

    It looks a little like a cross between an I.V. stand (6 legs with wheels) and an adjustable boom arm. It appears lightweight, and easy to get into and out of the rooms.

    Its been a while since I've been in a hospital with one of these, so I can't tell you who made it.

    I'd bet this would be a much easier (cheaper?) solution than a battery-powered monitor.

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  5. Check out Kent Displays by ip_vjl · · Score: 5, Informative

    Kent Displays has different displays that use a technology that only uses power to update the display - that way, when the image is static, it uses no power.

    Don't know if they fully support what you're looking for - looks like they go up to
    800x600.

  6. Laptop? by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Any particular reason you don't use a laptop/notebook PC? The whole thing is already battery powered and highly efficient, with an LCD monitor. You admittedly might have problems prototyping connections for high-speed data; I don't know what's available for, say, easy-prototyping USB connections. PCMCIA would probably be even more difficult. If it's lower speed, using the serial or parallel port would be trivial.

    1. Re:Laptop? by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, they're looking for a VGA monitor; I assume they're using a computer to drive it. So why not replace both computer and display with a notebook PC?

  7. UPS by seigniory · · Score: 2, Troll

    Why not just get a decent UPS (APC 1400 comes to mind) and plug into that?

  8. make your own battery pack by fist_187 · · Score: 2

    lots of LCD displays that i've seen take a DC input, not 120 AC. see if you can find one with a DC voltage that you can match with a battery.

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  9. Battery Powered Monitors? by jonr · · Score: 2

    I don't quite get it, where would battery powered monitors be useful? What are you connecting them to? I assume that you are talking about some kind of portable device, but then why not use a laptop?
    If it is more specalised, why not use smaller LCD?
    My Google search came up with this:
    http://www.ps2modchip.com/flash/dvd013.htm
    http://www.ktechuk.com/ktprod/ktmarsh/tv_lcdpan_r a nge.htm
    Good luck! (I'll bill you later) :)
    J.