TV reception in the van is a bit hit and miss. We have a satellite receiver and TV so can receive heaps of rubbish channels from all over the place as long as we have a direct line of sight to the satellite orbiting overhead. Most of the campsites we have used have been well wooded to provide shelter from the heat of the sun. Consequently we have been unable to receive satellite TV or radio channels for a fair proportion of the time we have spent in the van.
We have been able to receive 3G mobile phone and mobile internet signals though and have seldom been outside of mobile network coverage.
The EU recently has forced mobile phone operators to remove roaming charges throughout the EU and most of Europe which means that internet data is now much cheaper to use while abroad in the EU.
I recently bought a ChromeCast device from Currys, where the price had been discounted from £30 to £19 for one day only, and connected the Chromecast to the AV input of the van’s satellite receiver.
The chromecast is a media streaming device which can be controlled from a mobile phone. Video and audio channels (Youtube, iPlayer) are streamed from the mobile internet to the phone then ‘cast’ to the Chromecast device which outputs video and audio to the TV.
The Chromecast has a HDMI output port to connect to a TV and uses a USB connection to provide its power. We have the HDMI plugged into the satellite receivers ‘pass through’ HDMI input to provide the video and audio signal, and use one of the satellite receivers two USB ports to provide power.
I also bought an unlocked 4G LTE mobile broadband modem to replace my ageing 3G MiFi, which is locked to Three.
The TP-Link 7350 can use a SIM from Three, Orange or others to provide network access at 4G speeds.
The idea is to use a French Orange prepay SIM when we go to France next and avoid the back-haul through the Three network to the internet. The TP-Link provides the local WiFi network in the van that allows our mobile phones, tablets and Mac to connect to the internet as normal as well as to control video and audio streams to the Chromecast.
We tried this set-up out on our recent camping expedition to East Sussex and were able to stream BBC TV programs using the iPlayer video, BBC radio channels as well as Youtube videos to the van’s TV.
Brilliant.