Satellite TV Dome

[AGLyme]

Re my 2013 31cb, Thinking/planning on removing the Sat Dome in the mast and to install a Weboost Marine system. I will replace the (2) TV's with essentially "smart" TV's which are effectively computer screens that will pair with my cell phone and onboard iPad.

The present TV reception is quite bad given that the equipment is old. I will lose the TV link to the Garmin Chartplotter but its a small sacrifice.

When I install the marine Weboost, I would like to re-use the existing/installed Sat Dome cabling. I believe the TracVision Sat TV dome uses either the RG-6 or RG-11 RF cable...according to current info on the internet, I will try to see if the cable gauge is actually written on the cable itself.

The plan would be to add cable to hook up with the WeBoost inside booster, which will be linked to the WeBoost antenna up in the mast where the TracVision dome was previously.

I am seeing both RG-6 and RG-11 cabling sold on the WeBoost website. So I am hopeful my re-use the cabling plan works.

Would also appreciate tips on where folks placed the inside WeBoost booster and electrical hookup. I think I am buying the 12v version. I am not smart when it comes to electricity or electronics... so go easy...; )

Thank you in advance.

 

[JeffreyAC77]

Would be interested in hearing what TV you choose for the cabin replacement....thanks.

 

[AGLyme]

“smart” TV’s for sure… 12volt is important as well taking advantage of the existing wiring and space.

 

[dbsea]

“smart” TV’s for sure… 12volt is important as well taking advantage of the existing wiring and space.

Majestic makes a 12v 22" smartTV that runs LG WebOS. I replaced both older 22" majestic tvs on my boat with these. They work flawlessly and have bluetooth built in to connect to the fusion stereo.

 

[AGLyme]

Dave, thank you...

Earlier today, I ordered a 24" Sylvox w/Blue Tooth (for the Fusion & Headphones, etc.).
I studied the newer (than my 11 year old model) Majestic and countless other "12 Volt" RV TV's...

The Majestic I believe is the best Boat TV out there given their experience with voltage fluctuations, etc... I ended up going with a single Sylvox to try it out, if it works well, I will replace the 2nd Majestic... the Sylvox TV screen is bigger and I did not want a DVD player - making for a slightly thinner, lighter TV.

I get the unit in about 5 days, will report back for future buyers of outdated Majestics and add to the TugNuts knowlede base.

PS, I removed the 11 year old Tracvision "Dome" antenna from the mast today. The goal is to replace with a cell Booster antenna... with the hope that I can re-use the existing old Dome cabling. I noted that there was an antenna fuse (1 amp) in the "fuse box" behind the helm, in line with the 2 "TV" fuses... there must be power that goes to the Dome via the existing cable... I don't get it honestly, but will soon find out. If anyone has some intel on the antenna cable mystery, I'd be grateful.

 

[AGLyme]

Moreover, the Sylvox has 2 USB ports as well... this will come in handy for a cell phone and wireless headset.

 

[AGLyme]

“Installing” the weboost antennae on the mast.
Presently stumped and the boat is taken apart, there goes our 4th.

Tied the weboost cable to the RG6 cable, tried pulling it through the outside thru hole below the mast into the salon. RG6 cable broke. Trying everything to snake into the salon ceiling from the outside wiring hole… the fish tape doesn’t work, nothing works… the fish tape merely gets absorbed in the cavity… looks like the most straight forward task on earth….

Any tricks to snaking a cable through this cavity ?

Thanks

 

[AGLyme]

For posterity… for the next guy who has issues with what should be an easy task.
I called the Bat Phone and my pal who knows everything about boats rushed over to my Marina.

He tried everything I did: fish tape @ a million angles, ditto a length of RG6 cable… nuthin. There is for some reason on my 31cb a weird angle(s) between where the wire/cables go into the cavity on the bridge — to the exposed wire run area above the helm (which was exposed after removing wood trim and curtains).

My pal suggested we use the wire/cables bundle itself as a starter, so we taped the Weboost cable to the “bundle”, lubed it with dishwater soap and viola’ it worked.

I planned on a 3 hours job, took me 12… all because of that one feed issue.

The Weboost works great, whej turned on, the cell phone jumped from 2 bars (5G) to 4…

Once the new 12 Volt TV arrives and installed, I will provide an update of the epic switch from the sat antenna to an internet one.

 

[AGLyme]

For posterity… for the next guy who has issues with what should be an easy task.
I called the Bat Phone and my pal who knows everything about boats rushed over to my Marina.

He tried everything I did: fish tape @ a million angles, ditto a length of RG6 cable… nuthin. There is for some reason on my 31cb a weird angle(s) between where the wire/cables go into the cavity on the bridge — to the exposed wire run area above the helm (which was exposed after removing wood trim and curtains).

My pal suggested we use the wire/cables bundle itself as a starter, so we taped the Weboost cable to the “bundle”, lubed it with dishwater soap and viola’ it worked.

I planned on a 3 hours job, took me 12… all because of that one feed issue.

The Weboost works great, whej turned on, the cell phone jumped from 2 bars (5G) to 4…

Once the new 12 Volt TV arrives and installed, I will provide an update of the epic switch from the sat antenna to an internet one.

Update: new Sylvox 24” TV installed.
Initially had difficulty pairing with my iPhone, which would have been terrible given all the work performed installing the Weboost.
So I paired with the Marina’s free WiFi which has a weak signal. Nonethless, got the Google TV going, which accepted all my Netflix, Amazon, etc passwords… worked well.

I called Sylvox customer service, left a message, and to my good surprise, they called back.

My goal was to pair the TV with my iPhone… and utilize the Weboost, which boosted the iPhone reception to 4 bars, from 2, after installation.

I got it working:
1) the TV picked up on all the available internet connections around the boat, except my iPhone (hotspot). Sylvox guy taught me that no cell phone connections are shown intentionally but the phone connections are lingering in the background. So, i “added” my iPhone to the list manually… EXACTLY as it is identified in the iPhone itself. So, my phone identifier is “my name iPhone (2)”

It is case sensitive, so I had to capitalize the “P” in iPhone for example. Worked.

2) Paired the TV with the Fusion… very cool sound now.

The WeBoost was worth it. I have zero monthly $ costs as I tie into my home Netflix, etc charges. The Sylvox picture quality is superb, and, the new TV’s wall mounting fixture aligned perfectly with the old plates, and, the existing 12v power cable plugged right in.

 

[Kgcmflyer]

Update: new Sylvox 24” TV installed.
Initially had difficulty pairing with my iPhone, which would have been terrible given all the work performed installing the Weboost.
So I paired with the Marina’s free WiFi which has a weak signal. Nonethless, got the Google TV going, which accepted all my Netflix, Amazon, etc passwords… worked well.

I called Sylvox customer service, left a message, and to my good surprise, they called back.

My goal was to pair the TV with my iPhone… and utilize the Weboost, which boosted the iPhone reception to 4 bars, from 2, after installation.

I got it working:
1) the TV picked up on all the available internet connections around the boat, except my iPhone (hotspot). Sylvox guy taught me that no cell phone connections are shown intentionally but the phone connections are lingering in the background. So, i “added” my iPhone to the list manually… EXACTLY as it is identified in the iPhone itself. So, my phone identifier is “my name iPhone (2)”

It is case sensitive, so I had to capitalize the “P” in iPhone for example. Worked.

2) Paired the TV with the Fusion… very cool sound now.

The WeBoost was worth it. I have zero monthly $ costs as I tie into my home Netflix, etc charges. The Sylvox picture quality is superb, and, the new TV’s wall mounting fixture aligned perfectly with the old plates, and, the existing 12v power cable plugged right in.

Thank you for the detailed follow up. We are looking at doing a TV upgrade too and this helped a lot!
Mark

 

[AGLyme]

Mark, it is worth it.
I do not know what kind of Ranger you have... if you have a 31cb... the ONLY difficult thing in the process is getting the cable through the wires/cable bundle... If I had to do it all over again, I would have purchased a borescope FIRST (I have one on order now). And determine the obstructions first. Other than that, the end product is A+. I linked the TV and my iPad for Navionics to my cell phone's Hotspot. The Hotspot's connectivity with the internet is enhanced dramatically with the Weboost.
Note, I removed the salon TV. I placed the Weboost receiver in that spot. If you want photos of anything, just ask.
Good luck... my cell # is 401-474-9871 if you need any more info.

PS, the Sylvox reviews were only down on one thing and that is the sound. it's true, the sound is kind of "tinny", but, now that the Sylvox is linked up withe Fusion stereo, that one and only negative is now moot.

 

[dexmot74]

Update: new Sylvox 24” TV installed.
Initially had difficulty pairing with my iPhone, which would have been terrible given all the work performed installing the Weboost.
So I paired with the Marina’s free WiFi which has a weak signal. Nonethless, got the Google TV going, which accepted all my Netflix, Amazon, etc passwords… worked well.

I called Sylvox customer service, left a message, and to my good surprise, they called back.

My goal was to pair the TV with my iPhone… and utilize the Weboost, which boosted the iPhone reception to 4 bars, from 2, after installation.

I got it working:
1) the TV picked up on all the available internet connections around the boat, except my iPhone (hotspot). Sylvox guy taught me that no cell phone connections are shown intentionally but the phone connections are lingering in the background. So, i “added” my iPhone to the list manually… EXACTLY as it is identified in the iPhone itself. So, my phone identifier is “my name iPhone (2)”

It is case sensitive, so I had to capitalize the “P” in iPhone for example. Worked.

2) Paired the TV with the Fusion… very cool sound now.

The WeBoost was worth it. I have zero monthly $ costs as I tie into my home Netflix, etc charges. The Sylvox picture quality is superb, and, the new TV’s wall mounting fixture aligned perfectly with the old plates, and, the existing 12v power cable plugged right in.

Did you buy the mount with the tv they offer?

 

[Brian John]

Can the Sylvox be connected with HDMI to the Garmin for mirroring the Garmin display? Did the new Sylvox mount with the existing TV mount and how is the fit?

 

[AGLyme]

Did you buy the mount with the tv they offer?

No. The old TV mount worked perfectly.

 

[AGLyme]

Can the Sylvox be connected with HDMI to the Garmin for mirroring the Garmin display? Did the new Sylvox mount with the existing TV mount and how is the fit?

Not sure. It does have an HDMI connection however. I removed the salon TV for good.
Having a Garmin link in the forward berth would be helpful for anchor tracking. Will tee up this project soon.
I have an older (2013 era) Garmin system.

 

[AGLyme]

No. The old TV mount worked perfectly.

In other words, when you remove the old Majestic, there is a metal plate attached fastened with 4 machined screws. Remove the metal plate and attach to the new TV. It fits. Slide the new TV with the plate attached onto affixed (to the wall) TV stand. East.

 

[dexmot74]

I ordered the 24" Sylvox without the DVD. I use Starlink so the GoogleTV functionality is key. Will post some pics once installed next week.

 

[AGLyme]

Just spent 3 nights on the boat…
Love the TV, the Fusion stereo Bluetooth link, and the Weboost (4 bars) link to my iPhone hotspot. No monthly $$& fees, and using my Netflix & Prime home subs. No brainer.

 

[dexmot74]

In other words, when you remove the old Majestic, there is a metal plate attached fastened with 4 machined screws. Remove the metal plate and attach to the new TV. It fits. Slide the new TV with the plate attached onto affixed (to the wall) TV stand. East.

Did you have to run a new power cable or change fuse? Or did existing one work?

 

[AGLyme]

No.
Amps are same.

In Stateroom where new TV was installed, plugged in old Majestic 12V “plug”. Zero add’l work.

I removed the Majestic in the salon, no replacement.
Re-used the salon’s old Majestic 12V power for the WeBoost power pack, which sits in the starboard glovebox above helm. plug and play. Again, same amperage.