TV’s onboard

[thamesS23]

What’s the best way to get TV onboard a boat (when on shore power)?

Was thinking about getting one, as noticed there is an aerial connection on our boat in the cabin, where the previous owners probably had one.

Slight issue (I think), is that we no longer have a VHF aerial on our radar arch as we removed it years ago as the cable connecting it had broken, plus the aerial itself was partly snapped.

How do people who have tv’s onboard currently get to use them, is it a case of buying a small tv with free view that has its own aerial or do I need to look into replacing the boat vhf aerial and re wiring it.

Any advice greatly received.

 

[mrangry]

I bought an LG smart tv that was on offer in Argos. Although it has a mans plug and lead it also has a brick transformer stepping voltage down to 19 volts dc. I just fitted a dc to dc 12v - 19v from ebay and wired it into the 12v dc system. I do have a small £10 caravan aerial which actually does work okay if in a good tv signal area but also use my phone as a hotspot where you can watch anything on the internet. Up here on the west coast of Scotland I get a decent phone signal in most areas with EE.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

I’ve just removed the telly from my new-to-me boat, no idea why anyone would want to watch it on the boat, but that’s just me. Glomex TV aerial picks up Freeview and feed TV with the aerial cable. The 12v TV has a PSU that’s Ac powered but could it could easily be be wired into the boat 12v DC. Also has a Roku internet Tv box. Two remotes.

If anyone wants the bits excluding the Glomex they’re yours for £100. Pickup Saffron Walden or Swanwick.

 

[ashtead]

We have a standard Samsung as your would use at home connected to a glomex which gives good pictures but we have a mast circa 20m which I guess doesn’t work on thames

 

[CJ13]

Stream using a Fire Stick into an HDMI port.

 

[The Q]

VHF ( 30 MHz to 300MHz) would be no use for tv, that hasn't been used since 1985 405line black and white TV. Current TV is UHF 470MHz to 862MHz.

You need a proper TV aerial with the correct cable, and as tall as mast as possible, as tv signals are line of sight.

 

[Parabordi]

Stream using a Fire Stick into an HDMI port.

Same here, much easier. Use a mifi with unlimited data.

 

[harvey38]

We stream. There is a router onboard and use a £5 a month data SIM from Smarty which we can pause the payment over the Winter.

 

[Bristolfashion]

Tablet plus WiFi (through a mini router). Download a few favourites on case you moor somewhere with poor internet.

 

[thamesS23]

Tablet plus WiFi (through a mini router). Download a few favourites on case you moor somewhere with poor internet.

to be honest I think this is the route I might go down. get a cheapish tablet and download all the bbc iplayer, ITVX, netflix etc. The wifi in bray marina seems pretty decent, so this will cover our needs, plus smaller and more portable than a TV

 

[Wjj]

We stream too. We've got a mobile wifi router inside the boat with an external 4g antenna outside, so we get pretty good wifi when we're out on the river. Handy for little ones who don't find the river as exciting as the grown ups...

 

[plumbob]

So, to be clear, smart TV, mifi thingy, data Sim to go in the mifi ( powered by 12 volt?) and Amazon fire stick and you're away??

 

[harvey38]

If you have a smart TV, you don't need a firestick unless you want to use it.

 

[Parabordi]

So, to be clear, smart TV, mifi thingy, data Sim to go in the mifi ( powered by 12 volt?) and Amazon fire stick and you're away??

yes mate. lots of deals on Data Only SIMs at the moment. MIFIs normally use same cable as a Mobile so you can get a 12v cigarette adapter for those. Amazon Fire Stick.

 

[plumbob]

yes mate. lots of deals on Data Only SIMs at the moment. MIFIs normally use same cable as a Mobile so you can get a 12v cigarette adapter for those. Amazon Fire Stick.

Cheers Mike. ps Is Chris G feeling better??

 

[lydiamight]

You can't go wrong with this---Months 1 to 7 are £1 per. month. The contract can be cancelled on 1 months notice. Use it for the season---cancel and then take out a new contract next year.
Courtesy of the Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert website

15GB
5G data
UnltdMinutes
UnltdTexts
1mthContract
Months 1-7
£1/mth
Thereafter
£7.90/mth
Equivalent cost:
£3.88/mth
Lebara
Uses the Vodafone network

 

[Greg2]

We have a 12v Majestic TV and 12v aerial designed for boats/caravans/motor homes etc so we can use at any time if we want to i.e. no need for shore power. Have to tune it if the boat has moved since we last used it but that is no drama. Not a smart TV so have a Firestick that needs 240v - could fit an inverter for it but not felt the need.

Not the cheapest option but designed for the job including low power consumption and we get TV whenever we want it.

Our onboard WiFi has a Smarty data only card. Started off with unlimited data for £20 per month and realised we didn’t need that so now have 10gb for a tenner (I think). They allow you to suspend it so no charges during the winter if the boat is laid up and re-start in the new season.