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I have been debating about how to continue to get TV reception when cruising now that the DTV switch will happen next month. I really don't have the room for a larger TV on my boat and none of the major brands seem to be interested in marketing smaller screen TVs that will operate on 12VDC. I was reluctant to drop several hundred dollars on some no-name brand of LCD TV with questionable reliablity. My low-cost solution was to buy a DTV converter box that operates on 12VDC and use my Panasonic portable DVD player as a monitor.
The converter box is an Artec T3AP and only cost me $25 shipped on Ebay. Note that it isn't marketed as a 12VDC unit, but it uses a 12VDC power supply with a standard 5.5mm power plug. Easy to buy or make up a cable to plug it in on the boat. Tried the converter box/DVD player combination out at home the other night using an indoor amplified antenna and it worked great. We'll see what kind of reception I get when at anchor off the New England coast this summer.
The converter box is an Artec T3AP and only cost me $25 shipped on Ebay. Note that it isn't marketed as a 12VDC unit, but it uses a 12VDC power supply with a standard 5.5mm power plug. Easy to buy or make up a cable to plug it in on the boat. Tried the converter box/DVD player combination out at home the other night using an indoor amplified antenna and it worked great. We'll see what kind of reception I get when at anchor off the New England coast this summer.