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TV aerial

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magpiecali

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Can any one recommend a tv aerial to use whilst camping. i have seen some people using small magnetic ones on the roof of their vans although these were not a cali's. i was thinking maybe when the roof is up that the aerial would stick to the small exposed metal section above the passenger seat.
 
Though still waiting for delivery of a van I have been looking about for a freeview aerial for my iPad and having only moderate success with the supplied ones tried this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/August-DTA218-F ... iew+aerial
It's the best so far, cheap and the magnetic base is well protected against scratching the paintwork.
There are probably better ones out there so I'll be following this thread with interest.

Andy


Sent from an iPad using Tapatalk
 
i use the one like in the link above .i drilled a hole wear you plug the 240 mains in on side of van .inside the flap i just ran cable to inside of wardrobe .to my tv .works well .but must say we tend to use i pad most of the time now. allways get a good picture were ever we are .no Ariel needed . :thumb
 
I use an AVTEX aerial with an AVTEX tv. The aerial fits to a suction type bracket that fixes to any exterior glass. It works very well.
 
Pistolknight said:
I use an AVTEX aerial with an AVTEX tv. The aerial fits to a suction type bracket that fixes to any exterior glass. It works very well.

I use this as well but I've broken 3 of the suction mounts so far due to the poor design of the plastic lever that you pull across to clamp the mount.
Avtex have replaced them for me upto this point but the 2 year warranty must have expired by now.
Excellent after sales service but couldn't recommend the aerial.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
 
Going off topic slightly but avtex are missing a trick with their tv's in my opinion. Just checked out their current range and there is still no bluetooth support.
We watched a couple of films while we were away, one of which was on my phone. Whilst the picture was obviously pretty small outputting the sound through the cali speakers transformed the whole experience.
Watching a dvd on the avtex afterwards was a bit of a let down in comparison with it's tinny speakers.
Maybe they'll include it in next year's models.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
 
Andy80F said:
Though still waiting for delivery of a van I have been looking about for a freeview aerial for my iPad and having only moderate success with the supplied ones tried this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/August-DTA218-F ... iew+aerial
It's the best so far, cheap and the magnetic base is well protected against scratching the paintwork.
There are probably better ones out there so I'll be following this thread with interest.

Andy


Sent from an iPad using Tapatalk

Cali roof is not steel so magnetic aerial will not work.
 
Cali roof is not steel so magnetic aerial will not work.

I knew that! ;)

The aerial does use the metal its on as an antenna so using perhaps the bonnet or van side would still give better reception than using a suction mount (for the little aerials I have any way).

Not sure I would want to be drilling mounts etc into the Cali just for the ability to watch telly and indeed thats why I went for the DAB option as radio, especially with DAB stations, provides just as good news and entertainment IMHO. Having TV reception on the iPad has more to do with my geeky side than wanting it specifically for the van.

Andy
 
Be careful with the Elgato eyeTV stuff. Fantastic for an emergency situation, but on my Apple MacBook Pro it freezes for many seconds at a time.

I've just bought an Avtex 186DRS (free view/free sat decoder), and use it with the 1000 Avtex ariel. THe suction pad on the ariel has stopped working (not a year old yet), but we just drape it over the wing mirrors, or a handy local bush. Also the remote control doesn't seem to work very well when on 12v. However, it's a great TV and I'm really pleased with the fact that I can watch TV without being on hook up. Quite frankly the kids wouldn't accompany me without TV. Very sad I know, but at lest this way I get to stay out in the van.
 
I have been using the elgato eyetv W for some time now & can thoroughly recommend this with the iPad as a small solution for the Cali. We had an avtex tv in our last van but this took up too much valuable space. The eyetv w is tiny & most times gets a signal on its tiny attached aerial. For better reception, the Necvox magnetic aerial is great. I did a lot of research to find a good aerial for the van and the Necvox one was always highly recommended. The iPad / eyetv W solution is by far the most vesrsitile & compact one I found. For me it was more the geeky challenge to find a solution to catch up on the news or watch a little TV of a rainy winter evening. If you want another solution for films etc we have a USB powered wifi hard drive that also works amazingly well with the iPad - these are now getting pretty cheap. Just need to sell my avtex now to cover the costs of the eyetvW, aerial & HDD :)
 
i use the one like in the link above .i drilled a hole wear you plug the 240 mains in on side of van .inside the flap i just ran cable to inside of wardrobe .to my tv .works well .but must say we tend to use i pad most of the time now. allways get a good picture were ever we are .no Ariel needed . :thumb
Is this wifi
 
I have been using the elgato eyetv W for some time now & can thoroughly recommend this with the iPad as a small solution for the Cali. We had an avtex tv in our last van but this took up too much valuable space. The eyetv w is tiny & most times gets a signal on its tiny attached aerial. For better reception, the Necvox magnetic aerial is great. I did a lot of research to find a good aerial for the van and the Necvox one was always highly recommended. The iPad / eyetv W solution is by far the most vesrsitile & compact one I found. For me it was more the geeky challenge to find a solution to catch up on the news or watch a little TV of a rainy winter evening. If you want another solution for films etc we have a USB powered wifi hard drive that also works amazingly well with the iPad - these are now getting pretty cheap. Just need to sell my avtex now to cover the costs of the eyetvW, aerial & HDD :)
Does the elgato eyetv plug into the iPad and then into the aerial.
 
Hi, they do a couple of versions. The "EyeTV mobile" plugs into the iPad, the "EyeTV W" is wireless - it creates its own mini wireless network or hotspot that you connect to and get the TVs signal to your iPad or iPhone. I have the "W" with both iPhones & ipads & thought it was a bit more future proof since it does not connect directly with a plug & also works on android phones & tablets. It has a built in battery that lasts a good few hours or charges / powered by USB. Search google with "eyetv W" the Elgato website has some good info.
 
Meant to add the EyeTV W has a built in mini aerial, comes with a small aerial on a wire & also an adaptor for plugging in a standard aerial. I get a good signal in he house with the mini built in aerial where my main TVs or laptop need the roof aerial & an amp to get any signal.
 
We have an Avtex 18" TV/DVD and use it with an Avtex 3000 aerial. Once plugged into the TV we just hang it internally from the inside of the raised roof. This usually results in perfect reception.
 
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