Which Flat-Panel TV?

[foxglove]

I forgot to add that we run it on internal battery and charge it through a 75 watt inverter, So we can use it anywhere we go, even at anchor.

[banshee]

Anybody have any suggestions for signal - at the moment the marina has no cable (they are considering it for next year). Can you still get signals from an antenna? (if so how many channels?) Some folks on my dock have installed Dish - wondered what experience you guys have had.

[sailingdog]

Satellite dish is not really a cost-effective option for a smaller liveaboard boat, as you'd probably have to get the much more expensive KVH type stabilized dish, since I doubt your marina will let you mount a standard 18" dish.

Broadcast TV is probably your only option. HDTV may provide you will significantly more channels to watch than analog TV.

The number of channes and the quality of them will depend a lot on where your marina is in respect to the major metro areas.

[foxglove]

Banshee;

I made an antenna for my boat but couldn't receive much because my boat is too far from the larger cities.

Here is how I did it.

I bought 25 ft of 'flat twin lead antenna line' from Radio Shack. It's the same wire we used from our rooftop antenna to the tv set in the years before cable tv. You'll recognize it when you see it.

I stretched a length of wire across from shroud to shroud. Bared the wire at each end and twisted the wire at each side together so that any current would run in a loop.

Then, I went to the mast and cut the lower wire open and bared it on each side. Leave the upper wire alone.

Take another length of 'twin lead' and bare the ends of it. This wire will run from the mast to your TV (analog style). Twist one end of the vertical wire at the mast to one of the bared wires and do the same to the other wire.

When finished, you'll have a 'T' shaped wire running from shroud to shroud and down the mast to the TV. If you were to apply a current to one of the wires at the TV input, it would run up one side of the vertical wire, across to one end of the horizontal wire, pass through the twisted bare wires, across to the other shroud, through the twist there, back to the vertical wire and down the wire to the TV. You won't be applying a current to the wire but this description helps to explain how the wire shoud look.

I brought in one fuzzy station but one of these day, I'll be anchored near enough a tower to pull down a good signal. It only cost me about 5 bucks.

Good luck

[camaraderie]

Banshee... From your post I believe you are asking about marina TV options rather than "at sea". If so you have two options:
1. An over the air antenna like the UFO which you rig on your mast and which has a booster for better signal. Alternatives include hoisting one in the rigging or trying some "rabbit ears" aboard if you are close to the stations you want to get.

2. A Dish Networks or DirecTV dish mounted and fixed on a piling at the marina or to a stand like those who have RV's use. (See RV accessory stores for this. IMHO...DishNetworks has the best programming/affordability options at the moment though this changes as competition responds.

If you ARE looking for signal at anchor you can use option #1 above of course OR you can have a dish. "The follow-me" rotating antenna mount is about $900 and will rotate the dish as the boat swings at anchor so you can watch. It does NOT compensate for big wakes or waves but will get you a piture most evenings. If you REALLY need your TV...the KVH gyro stabilized mount for about $4k will let you watch and sail at the same time.

[Trekka]

I bought a 15" Panasonic LCD for $199 at K-Mart. Although I never buy extended warranties I did in this case because it specifically covered humidity damage.

It runs off 110AC through a convertor in the cable that says it outputs 14v DC though I have not measured it, or tried to run directly off 12v.

I can run both this tv + a small DVD player through a small invertor, one of those little 70W units that is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and plugs directly into a cig plug outlet.

As I said, both DVD player and tv run off this, just fine, no interference. Although the tv is not HD the component input from DVD yields beautiful pictures.

Unless you have a lot of $$$ to spend I would go lower price for now. Every year the cost of these sets is coming down. What you would pay for a 20" set now you will probably get a 27-30" late next year.

I love this set. But if i were buying now I would get one that also has VGA input with at least 1024x768 pixel ratio to use as an external, or dual monitor with my laptop. Those sets have come down in price and can be found for $200-$250 pretty easily.

I know folks who have bought Samsung 17" pc monitors that have built-in tv tuners and love them. So that's an option. They might be available in 19" so check an Office Depot or similar store.

[jr438234606]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Not if you use a good stabilized DC-to-DC power supply, like that used on DC-powered computers.

Know where I can find an inexpensive DC to DC converter as you mentioned? I didn't see one in West catalog. Maybe Radio Shack?

[HIPAR]

May I suggest that you wait until next year when all TV's will be required to receive Digital TV broadcasts. Then, you can buy a widescreen LCD TV that will not be obsolete in 2009 when current analog TV will be shut off. Currently, only the larger TV's are required to have digital (ATSC) tuners.

If you buy a current 'HD Ready' or 'Monitor' you will need to buy some sort of external device to receive digital TV with an over the air antenna.

I'm waiting.

--- CaptChas

[Surfesq]

JR: I like my TV...I have to watch the Redksins on Sunday and I am not going to rot in some stinking slip while doing it. I insist on spinning on a hook, barbequing on the rail, sipping a frozen bone dry and enjoying the afternoon while watching my America's Team kick the Cowboy's Ass. Here is how I accomplish it:

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...n/skunum=31225

I just got this new TV and the picture is kick-ass. Digital and HDTV. Best of all, the TV is 12 volt!!! No Converters or Generators whining...just the sound of steaks sizziling on the grill and "Hail to the Redskins."

Signal at anchor: I have used one a Seawatch Antenna on every boat I have owned. For $150 odd bucks you can pick up the local channels perfectly in the Chesapeake Bay. It was easy to mount and works like a champ.

Good Luck and Remember...You Can Compromise on the Brand of Vodka for a Martini. But you cannot go cheap on the Tube!!!!

[sailingdog]

One thing to watch for, many "mobile" electronics would really benefit from a DC-to-DC stabilized power supply. Running them on lower or higher voltage can often damage them.