TV onboard

B

B~C

New member
It would just be a perfect world if come fall I could watch the world champion Seattle Seahawks football games when I need a break from reeling in fall Chinook.
At one of our local stores they have a 12/110v 19" TV with a built in digital tuner. has anybody tried one of these on their boat? It seems they work great for picking up local channels at home but I wonder if the unsteady nature of the boat would make it worthless. It would be nice if it worked on the water but I may get one anyway for use at campgrounds and marinas with provisions for tv

thanks
 
As long as you are anchored or in a marina, they work fine. You need an antenna which is omnidirectional--not directional--so your range is going to be limited to about 30 miles--(at least in my experience--from a TV station. You might do better if the station antenna is way up on the mountains, as in Los Angeles area.

Three types of antenna come to mind--the various marine antennas are about a 30" loop, there are some flat antennas (Fractal antenna) which are omnidirectional, and Phillips makes a short mast type of antenna--I have used all of these on boats.

Some boats even have satellite receivers--Jeff Beringer's 25 (I think it sold in the last year or so) had a satellite receiver. I have two on the RV--one is "in motion"--but does not account for "heel", just for direction.
 
There are four UHF channels - sometime three, sometimes five - that come in anywhere from the ocean to at least as far upriver as Cathlamet, and probably others up farther. I get ABC (on two channels), CBS and Portland FOX, using only a little wire antenna inside the boat. I also have a DVD player on board if I want to watch a recording of the only championship game the Boat Show Busting Sea Chickens ever won.

But if you want to put one of those big honking antenna gizmos on top of your boat, go ahead. It will take some of the heat off my huge radome.
 
No big honkin antenna for me, maybe a mud flap antenna. It sounds like I should be able to pick up the Portland channels..cool, thanks
 
I have had trouble with over the air reception in marinas. All of the aluminum sail boat masts cause a massive multipath problem. The broadcast signal gets reflected and distorted from all different directions and makes reception virtually impossible.
 
Generally Multipath problems are less (and different) in digital TVs vs the old analogue TV. Usually this occurs in a strong signal area. You can attenuate the signal with a variable attenuator. You can use a directional antenna, rather than the omni directional (more practical in a marina)--and you can make a collapsable Yagi which can be folded fairly easily. If you have an amplifier in the antenna circuit--remove it.

Since sailboat masts are oval/rounded surfaces, I am surprised that they are the cause of the multipath issue.
 
I agree with Bob,

Multipathing is one of my specialties (work) and those masts should have a minimal impact at best. A nearby amplified and/or directional antenna is more likely and can be a series interference problem from a marina or land source. Digital mitigates but does not eliminate some of these issues.

Greg
 
We have direct tv at home. Years ago I purchased a 1 lobe round dish ($60) that works with DTV. When we are RVing or on the boat at the marina I use the DTV antenna and the older type reciever to watch tv. The dock lines need to be cinched up, but we get excellent reception. The extra receiver cost $5/mo. The antenna is easily mounted in a rod holder on the arch. It takes about 5 min. to adjust the antenna to get the signal.

When we are at anchor or on a mooring we use the digital antenna. We get great reception while at Catalina. Our tv and dvd operate on 12 volts.
 
Back
Top