I would go to a computer/best buy and look at the monitor. The 12v ones
have an external 'brick'. If it has output of 12v and the monitor looks
'good' buy it.
Thank you for that advice Hanz - it seems to be a good idea. I'm actually
sourcing for a marine customer so I'll offer them that solution. Boats
definitely would have an unstable DC supply.
Another option to consider is using a small/cheap DC to AC inverter with
a LCD that has an AC power input. Small inverters are getting pretty
cheap (especially the modified sine wave stuff) and they are not too bad
as far as the power draw for a smaller load.
They must have inverters up there in the Canadian woods by now, aye? We
got em down here in Maine now, they're wicked cheap too. Yep, you
betcha...
Surplus HP F1064A DC-DC converts. They were designed for their 12v
Lap Tops to run off of car "12v" so have a wide range of input
voltages supported. They supply I think around 50 watts.
Shows up on Ebay every once and a while for under $10
A DC-DC solutions uses much less power then an inverter, and is
entirely silent (if you use line isolators to eliminate any ground
feedback, for example when connecting a DVD player, etc.)