I have a Catalina 27 and would like to install a small TV to watch while in the slip. I have looked at outdoor amplified antennas and also inside antennas. I would prefer an inside for ease of installation but wonder about reception throught the fiberglass. Anyone have any experience with either?
Digital TV antennas /outside vs. inside
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Just tested a pair of "rabbit ears" style digital antenna. Not out on the water, but in my garage. I had it stuck back under the cockpit pan in the storage area behind the aft dinnette seat-back.
It worked just fine. Same reception I was getting in the house.
It worked just fine. Same reception I was getting in the house.
Thanks GorillaToast. I will try the inside version, if it doesnt work, I will return it for the outside.
Know that digital TV is not 100% digital. Let me explain. While the program is encoded digitally which is different these days when compared with old, it still flies through the air on an analog RF frequency. As such, you do not need any special "digital" antenna since technically there is no such thing. Old UHF antennas work just fine.
I have my stick down and have installed an omnidirectional amplified UHF antenna, (often called a UFO antenna for obvious reasons) at the mast head. I need the height due to distance from towers; roughly 50 miles which is right at the edge of the horizon... I have done a similar install on a previous boat so I know it works well for me. Not everybody will need this. For those who don't have the opportunity for a mast-head installation, I think it still quite possible to purchase a small omnidirectional UHF antenna and simply raise it on the flag pennant when you want to watch TV.
To point in your question regarding reception through fiberglass, you should have no issue if you are reasonably close to the TV towers in your area. I found you and it looks like you are about 40 miles from St. Louis? If so, you may find you need some height, although it is worth trying the internal mounted rabbit ears first.
I have my stick down and have installed an omnidirectional amplified UHF antenna, (often called a UFO antenna for obvious reasons) at the mast head. I need the height due to distance from towers; roughly 50 miles which is right at the edge of the horizon... I have done a similar install on a previous boat so I know it works well for me. Not everybody will need this. For those who don't have the opportunity for a mast-head installation, I think it still quite possible to purchase a small omnidirectional UHF antenna and simply raise it on the flag pennant when you want to watch TV.
To point in your question regarding reception through fiberglass, you should have no issue if you are reasonably close to the TV towers in your area. I found you and it looks like you are about 40 miles from St. Louis? If so, you may find you need some height, although it is worth trying the internal mounted rabbit ears first.
I use one of those flat antennas, sometimes inside, better if I open one of the smaller hatches and set it outside. I found that in middle of lake I can scan in 62 channels.
I would be wary of putting the added windage at the top of my mast in a permanently mounted TV antnenna. Is that really necessary for the limited amount of time that you'll actually be watching? I guess U can't use your mast as a basic antenna aerial? Honestly our boat has a fancy flat screen TV w/ a DVD player to keep the kids happy at night. We usually just watch a movie anyway which has a guaranteed good picture. But the more we're out on the water, the more I want to get rid of high tech gadgets that distract me from why we sail in the first place. I see some of the big yachts with their trackphone domes & satellite TV dishes mounted & I think it just looks kinda absurd.
But that's just my 2 c.
But that's just my 2 c.
Agreed. To point.jrowan said:
I work in the electronics industry and while I often will say why I more often then not say: "why not"
I will tell you in the fall when your local boys are on the gridiron and national TV and you are on you favorite anchorage it is nice to tune in.
One of my projects this spring is to install a TV.....I want a nice 22" flatscreen, 12V. I can send movies to it from my MacBook Pro.
Its for those evenings on the hook, after dinner and a day of sailing. I'd like to stretch out and watch a movie. Also, in the slip, having a hockey game on or football game, while I noodle about fixing things....or (truthfully) hiding from the rest of the world.....bonus.....
Its for those evenings on the hook, after dinner and a day of sailing. I'd like to stretch out and watch a movie. Also, in the slip, having a hockey game on or football game, while I noodle about fixing things....or (truthfully) hiding from the rest of the world.....bonus.....
I here that Joe! I have a flat screen ready to go (also a 22"). I am using a 110v tv since I am only using it while on shore power and look forward to some me time as well. I am going to go with an amplified inside antenna ( I agree with Lrowan about clutter) and see how it works and will let you all know. Thanks for all the input.
I also have a 1980 cat 30 and installed a 14 inch omni directional antenna on the front of the mast just above the steaming light.... Doesn't look bad there at all.... Our boat is our second home all year long... When we want to camp, we go camping in the trailer (no tv there) ...jrowan said:
We enjoy watching a movie or sports when the weather turns cold and wet .... It helps that at home we pick up LA channels while at the boat in Dana Point we pick up San Diego channels.... Feels like we're on vacation
no worries.... We've never been sailing purist... Never took a lesson and still don't know the proper name of everything on a boat.... Taught ourselves to sail from utube and trial and error.... Now we sail from the Channel Islands to Ensenada ..... To each there own
Have fun..
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