Using a Notebook Computer Instead of a TV in an A'vanAdmittedly, TV receivers have since gone thin screen so are more compact, but it is still something extra to carry, and the requirements for an aerial, mast and fixings still have to be accommodated. Eventually, as an alternative to playing Scrabble all and every evening during the winter months, we conceded that maybe some television might not be such a bad idea! The disadvantages of having to carry extra "stuff" however, particularly in the smaller Sportliner, remained. At home, we have a television hard disk/DVD recorder. Once a week, when the TV Guide appears in the newspaper, the recorder is setup to record onto the hard disk all the programmes which might be of interest. At a spare moment, all the ads. and promos are edited out on the recorder, and most of our TV viewing then occurs, free of interruptions, at a time to suit ourselves rather than the TV networks. This works well, and we usually have many programmes of interest on the hard disk which we have not yet had time to view. We usually have our notebook computer (laptop) with us when travelling, as this gives us our own, independent access to the Internet wherever we are (see "Broadband Wireless Internet When Travelling" under the "Tips" topic at the top of the screen). By dubbing programmes, which we have not yet viewed, from the hard disk to DVD-RW disks (which can be re-recorded over as many times as you like), we then have an almost unlimited supply of programmes which are of interest to us, and can be watched whenever we want on our notebook computer in the A'van. Convenient Viewing With some "fine tuning" it all worked as expected. As a rule of thumb, the optimum viewing distance can be taken as five times the screen diagonal. The diagonal dimension of our notebook computer is 360 mm giving an optimum viewing distance from the screen of 1.8 metres. With the notebook on the kitchen bench of our CL layout Sportliner, the distance from the screen to where we normally sit is, you guessed correctly, 1.8 metres... just right! There were just a couple of niggles. The sound from the relatively small speakers in a notebook computer can be quite "tinny". Also, as some of the programmes can be quite long, it is likely the computer battery would run flat before the end of the programme and it would be necessary to connect up its power adapter. Thin sound and dangling cables are a big no-no! Civilised living in a Sportliner demands "lack of clutter"! Both objections have been satisfactorily overcome by incorporating a suitable power adaptor, and an FM Stereo Transmitter as shown below: Power Supplies and Stereo FM Transmitter The transmitter and its power supply, and the adaptor sit in a small tray at the rear of the top drawer under the kitchen bench. For some reason, A'van drawers are a lot shorter than the available space, so it might as well be put to good use. A double GPO (double pole switched for fitting in caravans) was fitted as indicated to provide 240 V power to each. It could have been powered off the A'van 12 V battery, but this would have required a different power adaptor for the computer. The FM Stereo Transmitter was made up from a "Jaycar" kit (catalogue number KC-5341), but commercially available ones could have just as easily been used. Its input is taken from the headphone output of the computer (which mutes the computer's loudspeakers), and we can then listen to the programme sound via the A'van car radio when tuned to the transmitter frequency. As the car radio speakers provide very acceptable sound quality, that fixed the first niggle. Computer Stereo Audio and Power Adaptor Connectors on "ledge" at rear of kitchen bench Interconnection between the "tray" and the computer comprises a couple of cables via suitable connectors fitted on the "ledge" at the rear of the kitchen bench. These cables are short and are not visible behind the computer... niggle two fixed!
In summary, we now can watch programmes of interest whenever we like, and it has not involved bringing any more "stuff" with us!
Website URL "actavanning.org/index.html" Top of page |