A while back , I mentioned I'd been having TV problems - to be more accurate, a certain fat arsed ginger person slightly clumsy Capt. scratched a big mark down the middle of the screen with his floaty key ring whilst a little bitt worse for wear. during high-seas. The result being whilst watchable still, it was blooming irritating.
So, I took a deep breath and logged into Amazon to source a replacement. I'd heard about the new generation of Cello 12v tvs that NOW include a built in battery pack - the theory being they charge up during the day from the solar panels/engine running and then can provide between 6-10 hours viewing from the internal battery. This seems a very good idea for a boat.
Having found the closest size model to the existing one (so it would fit in then 2nd generation tv cabinet I made) it was ordered to be delivered to a hub at a local shop... I say local, it's about half a mile a way on foot - far enough away to be a pain in the bum carrying a big box. No matter, it came next day but on opening it, I discovered it appeared to be an already returned item. Not TOO deterred, I began the assembly instructions (which included taking the back off and connecting up the internal battery) - only t find this had already been done.
IT wasn't the end of the world but I did feel a bit irked at being sold a 2nd hand item without a discount... ergo, I got on the phone (well that was the plan but it turned into an online web chat) with Amazon and after a while, they offered a partial refund. FINE .
OR at least I thought it was fine... NEXT evening (after leaving it plugged in all day to charge) I tried it out on the battery... it lasted all of 12 mins before going off.
BACK on line with Amazon I asked for a replacement battery pack - assumingly (wrongly ) that it was faulty... Their reply was far from helpful... "send the telly back" was the only option. BUT they can't collect from a hub only HOME address - very helpful with me in Manchester and that being in Wakefield...
Anyway -I tried charging it again and then spotted the voltage on the battery being 12.8... the charger supplied being only 12v. THEN it clicked... you can't charge a 12.8v battery with a 12 v charger... you need a higher voltage. Having now decided it was the wrong charger, I got on the phone to Cello in Bishop Auckland and they couldn't have been more helpful. The lady explaining it should have been an 18v one... AND she could send me one to the marina here.
Armed with that information, I got BACK on to Amazon to explain I'd like to try and keep the TV once I have the correct charger (having already tested out the theory by bastardizing my jumpstart thing which has outputs from 12 - 22 volts... and finding it worked to charge the battery).
Amazon were not keen to help with the supply/cost of the correct charger - after many different people joining the support chat however, they finally agreed another partial refund and I could keep the tv. IT took 3 hours of circular conversations but we finally got there in the end - AND once Cello had posted the right charger, the TV is now operational. It's not perfect though as despite what the manual says about it having a headphone out socket (to connect to a sound bar) it doesn't have one... I can get around that in due course with a soldering iron and 3.5mm socket when it arrives from ebay. It also doesn't have a dvd player built in (like the old one did) but it does have built in Satellite decoder - although I don't have a dish (or plan having one)... swings and round abouts spring to mind lol.
Moving on from the telly faff, I've been meaning for a while to get around to doing something about some scratches a guest skipper made down the starboard side last year... it's hard to tell from the photos unless you zoom in, but there are quite a few. I'd half a plan just to repaint (it's still on the cards for next year) but thought it worth a go with the scratch remover and polish first.
I've never been afraid of hard work polishing... not so keen however doing it whilst dangling from the gunwales... a couple of close calls but luckily no 'winter bath' on this occasion.
The result isn't bad - I will come to regret using a silicone based polish when I come to repaint (it'll mean having to really rub it down or the new paint won't stick) but it has made a massive difference to appearance . More noticeable when it rains (which btw, it does a lot in Manchester)... you can see how nicely the polished side beads the water compared to the other... I'm almost inspired to have another go at it next time the rain stops for a few hours to build up a better shine.
Of course NOW I need to do the port side too... which is TOTALLY dangling over the water unless I take the boat along side elsewhere to do it... which tbf, I probably will... WHEN this next bit of bad weather is over... it's hammering down now with weather warnings for the next week or so.
In other news, the 10mm ribbed steel bar I'd ordered from Ebay arrived the other week and I did a little sketch of the bends I 'd like in it and asked Mal at the marina if he'd do it (for a fee). Having tried, we decided to modify the design away from a 45 degree at one end and 90 at the other, to 2, 90s. In principle this worked fine... but even when trimmed down, the resultant 'step' was too wobbly to be safely used as a foot rest.
I put my thinking head on and the easiest solution (if a bit crude/Heath-Robinson) was to cut a couple of wooden blocks and attach them to act as stabilizers.
They do the job and whilst a bit crude - given they are screwed on from behind, SHOULD be strong enough to take quite a hammering... I'll have more of a think about a better solution over the summer... we'll see how they pan out. Point is, they are at least usable... and once I tidy up the rear with a few more coats of dark grey they shouldn't stand out TOO Much.
Until next time...
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