Consoles in cars

[Pantechnicon]

I'm hoping this is the right forum for this topic. Power issues seem to wind up discussed here more often than not so it seemed a good place to start.

I've got a pretty nifty 5" LCD screen. Using game consoles in the car seems like a greater possibility now, but I don't know a lot about powering them. What I'm hoping is a simple solution is that I can go down to the local truckstop and get a power inverter as opposed to the overpriced ones at Gamestop. So has anybody done this? If so, what kind of in-car power requirements am I looking at for various consoles ranging from Genesis to PS2?

This might be simple, but better to ask now than to fry consoles later...

[RoboticParanoia]

For powering you can always use an AC Inverter...

But what I don't get is that why you want to do it. Doesn't eat up the car's battery?

[jonjandran]

A power inverter will work fine.
Use one that is rated for a 25 inch TV and you'll be fine.
I use a 400 watt for my kids Gamecube/Screen and PS1/Screen, but I'd say at least a 600 watt just to be safe.

[Flack]

If you have a Big Lots in your area, check the camping section for some great deals on those power inverters. The one here has tons of them, marked way down -- the reason is, they are still overstock from Y2K.

The first one I bought just had one 3 prong socket, which was good enough for either my laptop OR the ps2, but not both. I ended up buying a larger inverter with 2 outlets, and now I can run both at the same time (or run my phone charger).