7" portable LCD TV for FTA dish alignments

[TRG]

I'm wondering if a 7" portable LCD TV along with my Openbox S9 would be good for dish alignments. Will the display be big enough to see while aligning the dish? I would like to fine tune some DVB-S2 signals on 125W. My trusty old 13" Sony has taken its last trip to the backyard and needs to be replaced. Most of the small sets I've seen only have a composite video input. I'm pretty sure my Openbox S9 only has YCbCr Component or HDMI Video Output. I'll have to check when I get home. Has anyone seen one of these small TV's with the appropriate video input connection? Thanks in advance.

 

[Magic Static]

I've got a Haier 7" TV and the screen resolution is poor. Hard to see S&Q meters. But better than some alternatives This only has a Composite input

 

[brex2001]

I have the same Haier 7" tv. Bought it refurbished @ newegg. It is difficult to see w/o a shade in the open.

 

[TRG]

Thanks guys. I started thinking about this a little more after I posted. I'm thinking that I'll just spend a bit more and buy a 19" Vizio for $110 from tigerdirect. That way I'll be able to use the HDMI plug. My eyes aren't what they used to be. Having a large clear display would be a good idea. And when I'm not using it to align dishes I can use it in the kitchen.

 

[FaT Air]

I use a 7 inch LCD at the dish(es). Have a spare coax, to the dish(es), that's fed with my home made 'cable'**. Just plug in the coax to the antenna jack, tune in the FTA receiver's 'channel', and 'tune away" NO EXTENSION CORDS! Just have to do it in the early am or evenings or when the sun isn't right on it's screen.
** FTA receiver feeds a freq. agile modulator and is available on every TV in the house.
Only draw back is if a channel change is required.

 

[rrob311]

The Openbox meters are kind of jumpy. If I was going to use a receiver in the field I would try the Openbox S12. They are WAY smaller and basically the same thing. Although there are some better meters for peaking signals. I was going to make the same setup but I ended up getting a satlink meter. I heard the older coolsats had OK meters.

 

[TRG]

The Openbox meters are kind of jumpy. If I was going to use a receiver in the field I would try the Openbox S12. They are WAY smaller and basically the same thing. Although there are some better meters for peaking signals. I was going to make the same setup but I ended up getting a satlink meter. I heard the older coolsats had OK meters.

I have an old Coolsat receiver but it wont do DVB-S2. The only receiver I have at the moment that will do S2 is the Openbox S9. As soon as SatelliteAV releases the GEOSATPRO microHD I'll be buying one or two of those.

 

[hwm]

I have a 7" Eviant LCD TV that I sometimes use in the field to setup dishes. It has good enough resolution, but must be shaded on a sunny day for the screen to be visible/usable. On sunny days I use my trusty 13" CRT Hitachi RGB monitor.

 

[squid385]

I have an access hd portable 7" tv with composite and coaxial inputs. I use the coolsat 6000 and a portable dc/ac power supply. Works great for tuning dishes. The tv has a lithium battery which will last maybe one hour, then I just plug it up to the dc/ac power supply if I need more time. I have a skybox f3, but haven't used it yet to try for s2 signals. The coolsat only does sd, but it has an audio signal output. Got the portable tv at big lots for $40 bucks.

 

[PopcornNMore]

I bought a broken car portable DVD player with 2 nice 7" or 9" LCD headrest monitors for only $7 on EBay several years ago. As a bonus the DVD player worked just fine. I use one of the monitors along with a Coolsat 4000 receiver (love the signal display) to adjust my dishes.

 

[Dee_Ann]

I've got a Haier 7" TV and the screen resolution is poor. Hard to see S&Q meters. But better than some alternatives This only has a Composite input

I have that very same little TV. It does help. It's waaaay better than not having one. I just put on my strong reading glasses and it's all good..

What I like about it is that I can put it on an Openbox to tune S2 stuff or if I'm just looking for regular non S2 things I can use my little meter and put the Haier TV on it because it's screen is about like an old school cell phone screen, too small to be of use.




Despite the potential screen area that could be used, it uses a tiny bit with a large border so the info is very tiny. I just plug the Haier into it and then I can actually read the thing..

As others mentioned, it's very hard to see it in the daytime. But then again, all LCD screens are almost impossible to see in the day time.

 

[Dee_Ann]

I use a 7 inch LCD at the dish(es). Have a spare coax, to the dish(es), that's fed with my home made 'cable'**. Just plug in the coax to the antenna jack, tune in the FTA receiver's 'channel', and 'tune away" NO EXTENSION CORDS! Just have to do it in the early am or evenings or when the sun isn't right on it's screen.
** FTA receiver feeds a freq. agile modulator and is available on every TV in the house.
Only draw back is if a channel change is required.

BEST $40 I ever spent!

Amazon.com: Next Generation Remote Control Extender: Electronics

 

[Larobpra]

I have a 7" Eviant LCD TV that I sometimes use in the field to setup dishes. It has good enough resolution, but must be shaded on a sunny day for the screen to be visible/usable.

Same here. I like the fact though that it is battery powered so it's one less thing to plug in.

 

[Dishman Dan]

I kind of do what Popcorn does with the LCD screen from a dual car setup. I bought a player with the 2 displays and I keep the one that has the player in the car and the other stays with me for playing.

Kind of strange... I used to lug a "big" 13" CRT out with a Openbox and yesterday I took the 7" LCD out with my "big" DSR920 receiver to set up my C2 lnbf! :wacko:

 

[arxaw]

Innovative DTV Solutions DPT170D+ 7-Inch Portable Digital TV costs a tad more but it has much higher resolution than the cheap Haiers, etc. Much easier to see/read. Read the reviews on Amazon. If you want a new one, they're cheaper on eBay.

 

[gabshere]

i always liked the idea and since my old setup doesn't do component input it limits me ... so when searching all these smaller options most would list one or the other A/V or component but mainly would list them as output one listed: Component Video, Coaxial TV Antenna, A/V Composite, Coaxial Digital

Amazon.com: Digital Prism ATSC-710 7" Portable Handheld LCD TV with Built in ATSC/NTSC Tuner (Black): Electronics

still looking

 

[madmadworld]

craigslist get get a crt for $25 or less save $ spend it on stuff you use all the time.
Openbox meters are sad. second gen az's have the best i have owned.

 

[Dishman Dan]

I used to lug a "big" 13" CRT out with a Openbox...

Ooops! I meant to say Pansat.

 

[TimLones111]

I've had a Haier 7" for a couple years now. I use it with my first receiver, the Fortec Star Dynamic to peak the dish..Works like a charm..Better than guessing/hoping..

 

[rapidawn]

I bought a 7" Digital Prism LCD for $19.99+tax on clearance from CVS pharmacy a couple of months ago. The tv produces great video, but the antenna that comes with it was useless and changing channels on the clear cable QAM side was a bit slow and buggy. Still, the small thing defintiely beats lugging an old, heavy 10" CRT to the backyard in addition to the sat receiver.




Finally had time to go out @ 5am with the LCD and sat receiver doing some tweaking on my 1.2m dish and was able to squeeze a few more signal/quality points. Also finally figured out since setting up the dish a couple years ago, it actually needed a slight adjustment with how it was seated on the motor tube. :doh: USALS is now much closer to my actual long./lat.