Television

[Patbwell]

I will be getting a 2017 JayFlight145 next week. I have to be able to watch football.Do I need a 12 volt television or will a small flat screen work? What about an antenna?

[ALJO]

Flat screen works on regular 110 volt. Many have adapters anyway.

[Atlee]

If you don't have 120 AC available, you will need a DC powered TV. Most TV's work on 120 AC. If you have good enough battery power, you could run an inverter to power any 120 AC TV.

If you are close enough to a city, you could pick up the OTA games via your regular antenna.

Otherwise, you will need satellite antenna and receiver, plus 120 AC power to run it. This usually means a generator unless you're at a campsite that at least has electric hookups.

Originally Posted by Patbwell

I will be getting a 2017 JayFlight145 next week. I have to be able to watch football.Do I need a 12 volt television or will a small flat screen work? What about an antenna?

[oldmanAZ]

Congratulations on the JayFlight and welcome to the forum.

Virtually all trailers come with an OTA antenna so odds are yours should have one. Like Atlee said, as long as you are near a city and the games are on broadcast TV, you should be able to watch.

We've used a small (23"?) flat screen in the trailer and I'm using it now for my PC monitor.

[vcbice]

Where are you going to set up camp? Will you be hooked up to power or will you be on battery? Do you have a generator? Will you be close enough to somewhere to get TV reception or do you have a satellite dish?

So, most TV sets, even the flatscreens, run on 120V. Unless you can plug the trailer in, then you won't be able to turn on the TV. The alternative is a small generator. Yes, you can get an invertor to run the TV off the battery, but, it will drain the battery and then how will you charge it?

TV reception. Will you get reception at the camping location? Getting reception is not always easy. We have been camped within 10mi of a broadcast station and not able to receive a signal because a very small hill was between us and the station. And, you are limited to the channels you can receive, which may not include sports stations.

If you want to be very confident of watching TV wherever you go then a satellite system is your best bet. That also means power at the campground or a generator. My brother in-law watches car racing. He keeps a satellite subscription for his trailer and has a generator for powering it.

Keep in mind that in some places getting a clear satellite signal can be tough because of all the trees. Carry a long ant cable so you can position the ant where you need to.

[Patbwell]

Thank you.

[Patbwell]

Thanks for the info.

[Patbwell]

90% of the time, I’ll be hooked to shore power& should get local channels. Thanks for all the info.

[ALJO]

Most of them are less than 100 watt so a small inverter can help without shore power.