We have now retired and intend to spend as much time as possible away in our very very small camper van. As my OH suffers ill health we can no longer do the walking and country pursuits that we have always enjoyed. We can manage a short walk to the pub though but we can't spend all evening in one or he would be an alcoholic as well as ill!!! He is confined to the van for quite long periods and I want to get a small TV for the autumn and winter evenings.
I have looked at a few 7" portable sets on the internet but don't know where to start. can anone recommend a small portable one, we are not into high tech and perfect images we just want something to watch a bit of telly on when it is really wet and cold.
I'd maybe advise going for something like a 14 inch portable because (And I'm not getting personal here), in many people, their eyesight deterioates with age and a 7 inch TV might be a bit on the small side.
Take a look at Argos (Page 833 in the new catalogue) for some ideas and then shop around for best models / prices.
We bought a Tokai 7" portable from Pixmania on the net, it was £79 and it's superb. It has an antenna but you can also put on an external ariel in aswell. It's nice and neat and I think it's well worth the money.
I bought a Maxim 7" LCD portable from Currys a couple of months ago, reception is excellent. I used it at the Ravenglass site where reception is poor and I could get 4 channels. It was on offer at £99.00 when I bought it in May.
They also sell a 7" LCD portable with Freeview for £199.
I have just bought a cheap and cheerful portable Bush TV from Argos for our T T. Tried it out and it is really good.... nice silver colour, has teletext and excellent picture for the price. Forgot to say it was just £49.99 there was one for £45.00.
I too would say don't go for 7 inches. That is terribly small to be watching for any period of time. You can get 14 inch LCDs for about £160 now and CRTs for £45 upwards. Of course the TFT ones are much smaller and therefore better in a camper or caravan in my opinion.
Black and white and a VERY small screen, but as we only used it occasionally we found it to be a great buy. Mind you, when we were camping a few weeks ago we were slap bang next to the transmitter!!
Thanks for all your help and Stackridge I appreciate the sensitive way you pointed out that i may need a little large set than 7" and I guess you have a point.
Taking into account that the van we have is a tiny Romahome I think we will be ok with a slightlybigger one.
I have found one at Maplins which is a 10.4" Digital/Analogue and 12 volt /Mains and they are holding it for me to look at this afternoon. It is on special offer at £199.99 instead of £240 ish.
We had a 10inch one that we used in the boat it had a video attached too. it was great and worked off 12volt as we had no EHU. I saw them at camperlands a few weeks back. Think it was a Bush. not sure on price cant remember.
I have also been looking for a small TV for our caravan, and about 10 inches sounds perfect. There are a few LCD ones with built in freeview around that size on Ebay for about £100. I suppose you could buy them for a little more from a reputable shop. Does anyone know if freeview reception is usually OK with a portable antenna?
Argos had some well priced lcd flat screens a week or two ago. There were knocking out a 15in one for £99 and one with built in freeview for £149. Dad had one of the freeview ones and the picture is fantastic.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: portable television
