Search
Widescreen LCD TV Installation
Adding a 22" HD LCD adds value & increases enjoyment
6/13/2006
When the original TV cabinet was designed for the C36, the largest tv imagined going in the box was a 13" with a VCR. Since then we've seen the advent of DVD players, satellite dishes, 16:9 widescreen, High Definition, plasma and LCD televisions...
Panasonic TC22-LH1 widescreen
& HD-ready
(also note the DVD player/receiver on top)
We bought our boat a couple of years ago. At the time some of the other models had LCD TV options, but I don't think the C36 did.
I began to wonder what new technology can we fit in the existing C36 tv cabinet. After taking measurements and check out the market, I found I was just able fit a Panasonic 22" widescreen HD-ready TV. It's a TC22-LH1 model (which has already been superceded(, but the advantages of this one are that the speakers are on the bottom, so I could get more screen width into the space. This model has a very low rise above its base. It didn't fit straight into the cabinet; I had to tilt it and slip it in across the diagonal of the opening. What you can fit through the diagonal of the opening will depend on how wide and deep the TV is.
We have a powered masthead antenna, and the HD stations are really nice, although where we're located now, we only get 1+ channels. The manufacturers are change television models rapidly today, but I'm sure you could find these smaller LCD TVs with HD tuners already built in, if that appeals to you.
I used a very robust, articulating bracket made by Sanus, their
VM3 model, which I bolted onto the forward bulkhead, with nuts and
fender washers inside the forecabin clothes locker. This is a nice
mount, because it comes with either thumbscrews, or allen-head
locking screws for tightening the articulating joints, and it has
tapered hinges which develop more friction as you tighten down on
them. I used the allen-head locking screws, and tightened the hell
out of them, to make sure they don't get loose. The way I positioned
the mount, you have leeway to move the TV side-to-side in the
cabinet opening, and also front-to-back. I also placed it at a
height that tends to force the TV down onto its base, to keep it
from jumping around in the vertical direction. You can find it
at: htttp://www.sanus.com/cgi-bin/
web_store.cgi?page=products/wallmount/visionmount/VM.html&cart_id=9193802_4493
There are a few gotchas I can think of. You need to take care in where you bolt the mount's "base" on the forward bulkhead. It needs to be at the correct height to match your TV, and far enough inboard so you can reach the locking screws after you position the TV. And once the TV's placed where you want it, you'll need someone with fairly small/thin arms to reach in around the side of the TV to tighten those screws.
I think I bought the mount at Circuit City or perhaps Best Buy. Finally, I drilled the forward, outboard corner of top of the cabinet to pass the cabling through to the HD receiver/DVD player, which I mounted above.
The top photo shows how the tv fits/looks from the cabinet. In the shot of the TV, the other item, on the shelf above, is an LG (brand name) combination DVD player and HDTV receiver. The TV is only HD-capable; it doesn't have a built-in HD receiver.
The photo below shows all the equipment and wiring inside the cabinet. That one was taken before I had routed the cables to the HD/DVD player through the hole in the back of the cabinet. Ohhh... the TV's power-supply (brick) is mounted onto black velcro strips, which you can see on the floor of the cabinet, and the power supply for the antenna is on the forward wall. I made the cover for the terminal block out of plexiglass, and the 12VDC input wiring is sized to accommodate power leads to a small inverter, if I ever want to run a dedicated one for the TV and DVD player. Many of these LCD TVs run on something very close to 13VDC, and I suspect you could wire them directly to the boat's DC supply if you wanted to.
Inside the cabinet
In the shot of the wiring underneath the TV cabinet, I was checking everything for fit. This was before I attached the receptacle for the TV-antenna coax cable, which places a female connector for the coax facing down into this space. It was also before I protected the DC wiring where it passes through the base of the TV cabinet. The antenna coax is a little difficult to see, but it passes through the shelf in the outboard, forward corner.
How is it working? A 22" widescreen HD television in a C36 is incredible -- probably equivalent to a 60" tv in a home. It's bigger, better, hi-tech, and it raises the value of my C36. Life is good.
- Jerry