I know mains is out as far as elecrical sockets in the bathroom are concerned (well, apart from shavers of course), but what about a low voltage (12v) supply from a transformer located outside the room?
I'm want to run an LCD display, media streamer and amp / speakers, all of which can work from a supply of 12v or less. Is it OK to do this if the mains bit is outside?
Is it OK to have standard CAT5 network sockets in a bathroom too?
Mal
There's a whole set of rules for low voltage electrics in the vicinity of baths, swimming pools, etc. You'd need to read up on them and conform to the special rules. I *think* you'll find it's called SELV.
No. There are various strict regulations to to with isolation and safety which must be complied with.
What would happen, for example, if your mains to 12v power supply developed a fault?
afaik, you could run the whole lot off a car battery and not have to comply.
sPoNiX
That's daft - it would be pretty serious if ANY mains to 12v supply failed and put mains on the low voltage side - bathroom or no bathroom.
No, it would be no more dangerous than if a cable became damaged, the added problem is water and dampness - both of which are great electrical conductors.
I'm not sure what potential internal voltages might be inside a LCD display but quite frankly I would not install one were it could be subject to damp and condensation. Could you not install it in the wall and / behind / a glass 'window' with access from behind in another room for example - IYSWIM ?
You use transformers where this can't happen.
Not good news, as those who have had RC tnansmitters with LCD displays in rainy conditions wuill tell you.
I would say pt it ion a sealde box with a galss front and some dessicant.
Could you not install it in the wall and / behind / a
Is this to make one of those 'Sorority House' webcam subscription sites?
24hr live streaming feed and all that.
No. It started as a "music in the bathroom" request from SWMBO, but since all our music is now in MP3 format on a PC, I thought I'd use one of the new network media streamers that are now available, connected to an amplifier, and all under remote control.
However, the streamer I bought uses a TV to display menus, and also has the ability to play movies, so I thought it would be nice to have a display too. Obviously normal TVs have some nasty high voltages in them, but I thought that LCD panels were low voltage internally (certainly there are some that come with external power supplies), which would be ideal.
It sounds like they might not appreciate a bit of humidity though!
Mal
Not really - the only wall in a convenient location is also the only wall that can be used for storage, so I wanted to stand (and screw down!) a small LCD panel onto a shelf.
Could it be safely powered from a SELV lighting transformer (assuming a 12v or 24v supply)? Or is the isolation defeated by connecting it to a reference voltage via the network cables?
Mal
Is it any good? I've been waiting for one of these devices to come along, and hadn't actually realised it had! Do tell...
David
On 23 Feb 2004, Mal wrote
FWIW, I've seen an LCD television in a bathroom -- the Brigstow Hotel in Bristol -- but as you might imagine, all of the cabling and connections were in the walls. Also, only the on/off and volume were controllable within the bathroom -- it was a straight feed from the bedroom set, and that dictated what you were able to watch.
There are quite a few models either on sale now, or coming soon. I bought a Hauppauge MediaMVP, which you can get for around £85 from Scan. It will stream MP3s or Mpeg2 movies (SVCD), and can also display jpgs for a digital photo album. It connects to your network and TV (rgb or composite) - you can of course break out the audio and send that to an amp for better sound.
The menus are displayed on screen, but are a bit slow (the menu image is created by the server on the PC and sent to the MVP for display). There are people working on various software mods and skins for it, to improve this - made easier by Hauppage having to release the source code because they based it on some open source code (The MVP is actually a Linux device!). Playback though is very good - the picture is superb and the sound as good as you will get with MP3s.
I haven't tried the others, but the MVP is the cheapest. I might ditch the LCD in the bathroom idea and go for an audio only setup, controlled through a web browser on a wireless PDA. In that case I would choose the Barix Exstreamer, which does MP3s only, and has a built in webserver for menuing that can be customised.
To consider: Hauppauge MediaMVP - cheap, good quality output but clunky menus. Barix Exstreamer - audio only, uses a web interface instead of TV for menus. Linksys do one that doesn't get such good reviews Slimp3 is one of the first but a bit pricey compared to the others. Netgear I think are launching one similar to the MediaMVP that will be about the same price but wireless too. The netgear one will probably have better menus, but won't be so easily modded as the MVP.
Mal
Was it behind perspex / glass, or was it free standing?
Mal
On 24 Feb 2004, Mal wrote
-snip-
Not freestanding -- it was a fairly small LCD screen which was surrounded by a decorative (brass-look) panel, and both the LCD screen and the surrounding panel were flush with the wall.
(I don't think the LCD screen itself was behind a secondary glass panel, but I'm not sure of that; it might have been).
The backlight of the LCD is usually pretty high voltage and has a bit of electronics to generate the HT from the 5 or 12V supply. Humidity and condensation would probably cause arcing.
And there's me thinking it would be a simple LV bulb of some sort! Ah well, looks like I'll have to do without the screen (at least SWMBO says its OK, anyway!)
Mal
If you're loaded maybe you could go for one of these:-
I was, and then I bought a house! The Money Pit is no longer a funny film...
I've seen those tvs before - waaay overpriced, IMO.
Mal
internally
supplies),
Humidity
Agreed, on all points!
Neil
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