I have recently bought a Sprite (upgrading from a tent!) and am planning on have a number of weekends away over the next couple of months.
I have 2 children who I need to keep entertained in the wet weather that we will probably have and was wondering what people suggest about connecting a TV.
I've been looking on a few sites and we are planning to have multi-service hook-ups wherever we go and was wondering what the situation is regarding TV hook ups as a number of the sites say they have a TV connection.
Is this just going to be a standard TV aerial socket in the electric box I plug a TV into or does it vary every site?
I was wondering if anyone knew any sites in the south east that have free sat or free view that we can plug into without us having to have our own aerial or digi box or whether they will all just be the normal 5 channels?
Usually TV connections are on the electrical bollards so you will need a lead from there to the TV in your van. We usually put the lead through the window nearest the TV. Connection are norally the standard co-ax push type but its also possible that some might have F socket screw type. You can make a lead and all the bits you need will be in B&Q. Of if you want a proper job get one from Satcure.
I think you will find that now all the country has switched over to digital, any TV supplied through the bollard will be freeview (i.e. not just the "normal 5 channels" that you mention) so as long as your TV has a digital tuner in it (which it will do if it's less than a few years old) you will pick up all the freeview channels available just by retuning it once you have connected the arial lead to the bollard, just like your arial and TV at home. If your TV is an old style analogue TV you will of course need a freeview box. Some parts of the country don't have the full range of freeview channels available, but something called "freeview lite" which is about 18 of the more popular channels.
It is just possible that the site will provide satellite based TV through the bollards especially if they are in a freeview blackspot. Unless I'm mistaken I think in these circumstances they do something to the signal so that all TVs can tune in to it, not just those with a freesat or other satellite tuner - I seem to remember this happening to us on one site several years ago in the days of analogue TV and we picked up the channels fine just be tuning in the TV as normal.
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Topic: TV Connection / Freesat
