Added a Digital Tuner to the Drop Down TV in the cabin of my 260DA

When I first contemplated this project, the main difficulty was trying to find a nice compact unit that could be mounted out of the way and was 12 volt since the 10" inch drop down set on the 260DA was 12 volt. I finally got a lead on a real nice compact unit that I purchased on the internet. Here is the unit and the remote so you can see how compact it is.



And because it is so small I was able to mount it out of the way yet still be able to use the remote to change stations and control volume. It's a perfect fit for the shelf just below the A/C outlet.







Installation is pretty straight forward. First you have to remove the panels in the closet where the Glomax Control is located. Take off the hanger bracket or you won't be able to get the top panel off. Remove the screws for both the top and side panels and remove the panels. This gives you access to the area where you will have to route wires. Next, I drilled a 1 inch hole in the bulkhead directly behind the converter using a paddle bit. It is necessary to first remove the vinyl before drilling. You can use a quarter to outline the hole and then use a razor blade to cut out the padding. (If you don't cut out the padding you will make a real mess of everything so don't omit this step). The hole will be hidden by the converter itself. The additional coax provided will allow you to hookup to the Glomex Controller attached to the side panel and re-route the TV cable to the controller. The converter comes with a 110V plug in transformer. I merely cut the transformer off and spliced the wires into the existing 12 volt lines behind the Glomex. That's all there is to it. I have 26 over the air digital channels that this thing picked up and the pictures are all crystal clear. I am not sure what some of these stations are but there is live weather radar on two of them so it's easy to check the weather if storms are brewing.

The best part about this was the price. I used one of my converter coupons and got the unit for $12.99 plus $11.95 shipping at this site http://www.freedtvshop.com/fdtv/converters/t3apro.php
All in all it's the best $25 bucks I ever spent. :thumbsup:

Great job Dave! :smt038

I just signed up for my coupons at this site: https://www.ntiadtv.gov

What a great idea! I currently get one analog channel where the boat is. :wow:

Don

The small size of the converter is what makes this installation work well. Sounds like you are going to go ahead with this project too right?

Dave

I purchased two of these units. I figured I'd have one as a backup. I haven't mounted it or wired it in, but I'm looking forward to having clear tv shortly. I will wire it into my powered antenna as well. It should be a nice setup.

Doug

Dave,

How many channels were you receiving with the antenna prior to the conversion? In our area I get one station only so I would hate to go through this conversion just to get the same result.

J Levine said:

Dave,

How many channels were you receiving with the antenna prior to the conversion? In our area I get one station only so I would hate to go through this conversion just to get the same result.

Click to expand...

I could get one PBS station clearly and two other networks had a very "fuzzy" picture. In your case if you have a portable TV with a digital tuner I'd take it to the boat and see what it will pick up with rabbit ears. The Glomex may not be quite as good as rabbit ears but I was amazed at how well the Glomex works with digital tuning. All I know is the picture quality is now crystal clear.

I especially like the weather radar available on two stations. With pop-up storms very prevalent here in the summer at least we can keep an eye on the radar and head for shelter if things don't look good.

I should also clarify that the tuner did pick up 26 stations and lock them in but not all of them have broadcast signals yet. I assume that will change the closer we get to the changeover deadline in February 2009.

Dave

So Dave, I'm trying to understand the wiring here...you ran the coax from the converter, through the bulkhead and then split it going into the Glomax controller?? Or did you split it after the controller on the way to the antenna?

MC1600 said:

So Dave, I'm trying to understand the wiring here...you ran the coax from the converter, through the bulkhead and then split it going into the Glomax controller?? Or did you split it after the controller on the way to the antenna?

Click to expand...

All you have to do is re-route one coax cable from the back of the Glomex controller (mounted to the panel in the closet). You unscrew the cable connected to the "To TV" connector on the Glomex and plug that cable into the "out" side of the converter box. Then you take the other coax provided with the converter and plug it into the "in" side of the converter and plug the other end back into the (now) empty slot in the Glomex. The only other caution I will mention is before wiring in the power for your converter, you will have to use an ohm meter to figure out which wire comming from the controller is the hot side and which is the ground since the wires are not marked. The Sea Ray 12V wiring is color coded so splicing into that is easy.

Cool, thanks Dave! I just applied for my coupon and it should be here in a couple weeks!

I will take another picture of the hole I drilled in the bulkhead and post it here because this is actually the most difficult step in the whole installation process.

I really hesitated before I drilled this hole because it is more or less permanent. But after thinking about it, if I ever want to remove the controller that area is easily patched with a piece of wood painted black to match the surrounding rails on the existing shelf and it will look like it was installed that way at the factory. You just need to drill the hole low and you need to use a paddle bit. But as I also mentioned you first have to remove the padded vinyl covering where the hole is being drilled because if your drill bit catches that stuff it will twist and rip the surrounding vinyl which won't be good. :smt021

I used this site:

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

in past to determine that the one analog station I was receiving with the Glowmex was all I could receive in my area with a multidirectional antenna like the glowmex. When I do the search now it still shows the same results even though the digital signals are shown for 2009. Still it is probably worth a shot since the coverter is so cheap.

Dave S said:

Don

The small size of the converter is what makes this installation work well. Sounds like you are going to go ahead with this project too right?

Dave

Click to expand...

Absolutely! Looks like a no-brainer to me. The more pictures the better. Thanks!

I'm also looking into patching the DVD audio output to the AUX input of the Clarion stereo so we can at least listen to DVD movies in stereo. I can't believe Sea Ray patched the audio from the LCD TV through a single channel mono speaker. I haven't pulled the audio panel off yet but it should be easy. I use the MP3 input also for my MP3 player so I will add some type of input switcher switch to the front panel so I can switch inputs to the AUX in of the Clarion receiver from the DVD player or the MP3 player. I'll post pics of the setup as I get to this one.:grin:

I've noticed a few rebels out on the docks blasting DVD movies through their sound systems through the cabin AND cockpit speakers at the same time. :smt021 :smt013 Most of us don't want to hear your movie soundtracks all over the dock so be kind and turn the FADER knob on your stereo right or left to send the sound to the cabin only. :thumbsup: This works for music also!

dsteele1 said:

Absolutely! Looks like a no-brainer to me. The more pictures the better. Thanks!

I'm also looking into patching the DVD audio output to the AUX input of the Clarion stereo so we can at least listen to DVD movies in stereo. I can't believe Sea Ray patched the audio to the LCD TV through a single channel mono speaker. I haven't pulled the audio panel off yet but it should be easy. I use the MP3 input also for my MP3 player so I will add some type of input switcher switch to the front panel so I can switch inputs to the AUX in of the Clarion receiver from the DVD player or the MP3 player. I'll post pics of the setup as I get to this one.:grin:

I've noticed a few rebels out on the docks blasting DVD movies through their sound systems through the cabin AND cockpit speakers at the same time. :smt021 :smt013 Most of us don't want to hear your movie soundtracks all over the dock so be kind and turn the FADER knob on your stereo right or left to send the sound to the cabin only. :thumbsup: This works for music also!

Click to expand...

I have more good news for you...............you can already play your DVD's thru the stereo speakers with no changes whatsoever. :wow::wow::wow:

The tuner in your TV has an FM broadcaster built in. I don't have the manual at home (and I don't remember how to do it) but all you have to do is tune your FM radio to a particular frequency and the sound comes thru the speakers.
:smt038:smt038:smt038:smt038

As promised here are the pictures of the hole that I drilled in the bulkhead. As I mentioned before, this hole could easily be covered later with a nicely shaped piece of wood painted black to match the shelf and rail. Just drill as low as possible. The Converter will hide the opening.

Dave S said:

As promised here are the pictures of the hole that I drilled in the bulkhead. As I mentioned before, this hole could easily be covered later with a nicely shaped piece of wood painted black to match the shelf and rail. Just drill as low as possible. The Converter will hide the opening.

Click to expand...

Very cool, Dave. I have a source for hundreds of thousands of hard to find parts for various projects. You may already know of them: www.mcmaster.com Search for Finishing plugs; and you may find one of the black ones fits your hole. You could then drill out the center to give you a nice finished look. Or, if you ever remove the unit, you can plug the hole with one of these. Just a thought.

EDIT: Found a perfect grommet to clean up the drilled hole: http://cgi.ebay.com/Cord-Grommet-1-...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262http://www.amazon.com/Light-Gray-Phone-Grommet-1041ltgy/dp/B000NISO3O Just ordered 2 for $7.80 in almond.

Dave - my converter came in the mail yesterday, and everything looks good to go. The only thing I'm a little skiddish on is the wiring for the power. Can you go into any more detail about which wires are back there that I am splicing into and how you did it? Wiring ain't my thing...sorry if this is elementary.

I just installed my Digital Tuner (temporary hookup) while I was checking the boat today. I was shocked how well this worked. The tuner found 29 channels in my area. Crystal clear video. Thanks Dave for leading the way!!!

Dave S said:

I merely cut the transformer off and spliced the wires into the existing 12 volt lines behind the Glomex.

Click to expand...

Artec recommends the line to the box be fused and the line be run to a breaker that can be turned off. You might want to add a fuse

Dave S said:

As promised here are the pictures of the hole that I drilled in the bulkhead. As I mentioned before, this hole could easily be covered later with a nicely shaped piece of wood painted black to match the shelf and rail. Just drill as low as possible. The Converter will hide the opening.

Click to expand...

Dave - you are a genius! If we ever meet, I owe ya a beer! Finally made it down to the boat today to start this project, and your instructions were perfect! All hooked-up, nearly 30 channels, and all I have left to do is drill the hole. Thanks!!! :smt038

Dave S said:

When I first contemplated this project, the main difficulty was trying to find a nice compact unit that could be mounted out of the way and was 12 volt since the 10" inch drop down set on the 260DA was 12 volt. I finally got a lead on a real nice compact unit that I purchased on the internet. Here is the unit and the remote so you can see how compact it is.

And because it is so small I was able to mount it out of the way yet still be able to use the remote to change stations and control volume. It's a perfect fit for the shelf just below the A/C outlet.

Installation is pretty straight forward. First you have to remove the panels in the closet where the Glomax Control is located. Take off the hanger bracket or you won't be able to get the top panel off. Remove the screws for both the top and side panels and remove the panels. This gives you access to the area where you will have to route wires. Next, I drilled a 1 inch hole in the bulkhead directly behind the converter using a paddle bit. It is necessary to first remove the vinyl before drilling. You can use a quarter to outline the hole and then use a razor blade to cut out the padding. (If you don't cut out the padding you will make a real mess of everything so don't omit this step). The hole will be hidden by the converter itself. The additional coax provided will allow you to hookup to the Glomex Controller attached to the side panel and re-route the TV cable to the controller. The converter comes with a 110V plug in transformer. I merely cut the transformer off and spliced the wires into the existing 12 volt lines behind the Glomex. That's all there is to it. I have 26 over the air digital channels that this thing picked up and the pictures are all crystal clear. I am not sure what some of these stations are but there is live weather radar on two of them so it's easy to check the weather if storms are brewing.

The best part about this was the price. I used one of my converter coupons and got the unit for $12.99 plus $11.95 shipping at this site http://www.freedtvshop.com/fdtv/converters/t3apro.php
All in all it's the best $25 bucks I ever spent. :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Thanks for the great advice. I ordered a Dish converter http://www.dishnetwork.com/dtvpal/tr40CRA.shtml for the AC TV's in the main cabin and the Artek for the little 12 volt TV in the aft cabin.

I found the Artek on this site: http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=T3AP-Pro