As a die-hard 'camper' I used to frown upon fellow campers that were sat inside (usually in caravans) watching the soaps, whilst the sun was shining in the early evening. I still do... but have grown to realise that just sometimes, usually on a wet and windy evening, something other than the local paper or a book might not be a bad idea - if only to watch the weather forecast for the next few days!
I'm not keen to have a flip-down monitor in the van or a screen on a bracket that can be folded away. The route I chose to go down was to simply watch TV on the laptop. After-all, the laptop is nearly always with me, I can use it for checking emails, blogging on the go, editing photos etc.
A few months ago I picked up an
Elgato EyeTV DTT dongle. For a little under £60 it comes with an easy setup disk and a magnetic-mount aerial. Simply arrive on site, plug in and set the dongle to auto-tune - it usually finds between 20 and 50 free-to-view channels within a couple of minutes depending on whereabouts you are in the UK. There's also space to record programmes to the dongle for later viewing - just like a modern set-top-box.
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| The size of a small USB stick - the dongle takes up next to no space in the van |
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| Great results from such a tiny aerial, it even works inside the poptop |
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| An instant, pin-sharp, full screen picture |
Plus the whole thing is portable, can be hidden away and plays DVDs and music too. With the addition of an old iMac remote control I can change channel and adjust volume without getting out of bed! Whilst die-hard campers might scoff at the thought of never being away from the television, I feel this is the perfect half-way solution without having anything permanently fitted in the van.
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I am finding that we are exactly the opposite. We started off having a telly and other man toys fitted and although it's still there we find we very rarely use any of it. I'd say about 95% of the places we visit have no hook-up (or any other facilities come to think of it....) and it's become almost a sport to find the most remote/quirky ones out there. The idea of wild camping does appeal however in practical terms I guess (if we're honest...) we are always worried we might end up being somewhere we're not supposed to be....But it's very apparent from your blog that you are a man who loves his HiTech gagdets and so we'll always be on different sides of the fence ^_^ [PS: hopefully I'm not being too overenthusiastic this time and definitely no die-hard camper....just a WiFi addict who craves techno time out sometimes. It's good for the soul man ^_^]
ReplyDeleteThanks MrsB, I wouldn't say I'm gadget-mad; the reason behind the laptop/dongle is so there isn't another gadget 'on-show' and when I did want some telly-time I wouldn't need to seek out a Wi-Fi spot.
DeleteWe like to camp in some remote spots too - my holiday-mantra will still remain: 'no news, no shoes'
I'm a laptop man too (mac air fantastic gadget) but I normally have a download fest from iplayer or sky go prior to any camping for those wet/cold emergency staying in the van nights.
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