I installed a Follow Me TV
on Sunshine Lady to meet the desires of the Admiral. I jokingly
refer to this as the “Watch Oprah Winfrey” mandate and the ability for me
to watch sports events and other TV shows was of obviously minor
importance.
Alternatives:
The
standard over-the-air capability included a Glomex amplifier and a saucer
antenna located in the brow of the fly bridge. This was totally
unsatisfactory. I did not feel that installing any comparable other
antenna or relocating an antenna to the radar mast would result in a
significant improvement.
Dome
systems, mast mounted.
I
looked at a mast mounted dome as an alternative. This included the
KVH M3 (the M2 came out later) and the Raymarine offering. But, from
the KVH literature:
KVH recommends that you do
not mount
the antenna on the same level as the
radar,
because the radar's energy might overload
the
antenna.
I
have a Raymarine 4 kw radome on my mast. The KVH warning meant that
I would have to mount the KVH above the radome and this would require a
custom mount; quoted by my dealer at $1000.
An
additional concern then becomes the weight of the two
units.
From
Mainship:
The mast on the 390 was
designed to hold a Raytheon or similar Raydome
Radar 24 inch unit, GPS
Antenna, running light and deck flood lights,
which all together weigh
around 35 to 40 pounds. Where some owners had
trouble is if they or a
previous owner installed an open array unit
which by itself weighs in
around 80 pounds. The mast itself will
support the weight, but you must
add guy wires or other means of
stabilization because of the additional
weight mounted that high.
Yours truly,
Jim
Krueger
Even
though the 390 and 400 have different masts, this made me nervous about
having too much weight too high. My Radome weighs 22# and the KVH
weighs 19#. The custom mount would add to that and the raising of
the KVH above the radome further exacerbates the problem.
The
complexity of the TV dome installation was now exceeding my limited
capabilities. My dealer's quote was about $7000 total for the M3;
installed; with custom ss mount.
Follow-Me TV; now called “Track-it
TV”
Their web site: www.track-it-tv.com
This
unit currently lists for $896. It is designed for owner
installation and the documentation and customer support are very good.
It has the same functionality as the KVH M2 that lists for
$2995.
The
FMTV requires a satellite receiver. Since I was converting from
cable to Direct TV at the same time I was able to get an additional
receiver for $5 per month. I was also able to obtain a 3 LNB dish
for nothing from an obliging technician; they can be bought on Ebay for
about $50 if needed.
The
FMTV installation is ugly when compared to the sleek appearance of a KVH
dome. Granted. But I like the money I saved.
The
white square to the right of the dish is my outboard motor bracket.
It is a square of Starboard bolted to the rail with U-bolts.
Since my outboard only weighs 28 lbs, it is sufficient.
The
FMTV device is the white cylinder attached to the rail with ss hose
clamps. The satellite dish slips on the post at the top of that
cylinder.
There are three wires to be run to connect the dish and
the FMTV to the receiver.
- Coax cable for the signal (I used “quad” cable because
it has a double ground shield)
- two wire 12 volt supply for the FMTV.
- six wire control wire for the FMTV.
I
added the gray conduit box to have a water tight home for the wire
connections. You can see the FMTV wires entering the box from the
bottom and exiting from the top. I used 6 connector CAT 3 network
cable instead of the flat telco cable they supplied and used flat telco
connectors to make the splices. I filled the open ends of the
conduit box with silicone caulk to make it watertight. The coax cable is
shown going around the FMTV; it needs slack to accommodate dish rotation.
I
ran all wires into the rail and fed them forward to the end of the rail
and into the space under the seat cushion on the starboard side. From
there I was able to feed these aft and down into the space above the
microwave. My first attempt had the wires following the
numerous control wires going down the chase in the forward portion
of this under seat space. That would have had the wires going down
by the wastebasket into the bilge and then up into the electrical panel
area. The alternate path is much more direct.
After much agonizing, I decided to mount the receiver on
top of the microwave. I used TV hold down straps to attach them.
The cut for the receiver needs to be oversize to accommodate the TV
straps. The microwave is held in by four screws that go up from the
bottom of the shelf.
While you have the microwave out, fit some insulation (I
used Styrofoam sheets) in the top of this space. I have found that
in the summer there is significant infiltration of HOT air from above.
Connections:
The
coax cable from the FMTV goes into the back of the receiver. A coax
goes from the receiver to the Glomex box (the TV amplifier).
I
dropped the AC panel and found that the microwave plugged into one of the
two outlets inside the panel space. I cut a hole in the bulkhead
perpendicular to the front of the microwave and used an HD short extension
to plug in both the microwave and the receiver. This allows enough
slack to set the micro and receiver on top of the range for final testing
and hookup. I shortened both the receiver and microwave power cords
to conserve space.
The
two conductor power cable goes to a convenient breaker and ground on the
DC panel - I used one of the two accessory breakers.
The
six wire cable (either the ribbon cable or cat 3 cable) goes to the
furnished control box. I fed this through the space behind the TV
set and would advise leaving enough slack to take the control box outside,
Operational
Considerations.
A
good hand bearing compass will help you set the azimuth (left to right)
setting for the antenna. The receiver will, during setup, tell you
where it should be pointed. Once set, the FMTV will remember where the
satellites are and will track automatically.
Elevation needs to be set manually. It will not
automatically adjust but this is not a concern until you travel several
days north or south from home or are trying to watch TV while the boat is
pitching or wildly rolling.
Performance:
We
were able to watch TV on the overnight crossing of the Gulf from Tarpon
Springs to Appalachicola. But we didn't.
We,
like most 400's, swing a lot at anchor. I am told this means that the boat
is “crabby”. I knew that I was, but . . . At
its worst, we will loose signal for a moment or two (the picture freezes)
but not excessively. Two anchors or a bridle will reduce this
tendency.
I am
still struggling with remotes. Now I have three. I have not
been able to program either the Direct TV, Bose, or TV remote to replace
one of the others.
I
installed my Raymarine radar myself but found that this installation was
significantly more complicated.
If
you use a 1 lnb dish you will not get the local stations that you get at
home.
Direct TV customer service is not at all helpful on boat
issues and will not provide a free service call. FMTV telephone
support is great.
Conclusion:
I am
very happy with this installation. It does everything that I want it
to do and I do not see that the advantages of the dome approaches are
worth the additional cost.
Bob
Ackley
Bob
can be contacted through the Yahoo Group Mainship List.
Email - srcyr@sbcglobal.net