TV: USB dongles/faux outlets?

[Spartanguy]

I have watched YouTube videos and reviewed this forum to exhaustion trying to get my tv to simply be a modern television. Clearly others have challenges here and online guidance seems overly complicated or irrelevant. Can anyone tell me the purpose of these USB dongles near the tv and blue ray player, what purpose do they have?

Also why would Airstream put a faux outlet in the rear near the television? Thought at first it was one of those child safety types, but it doesn’t seem that way.

Going to pull my hair out just trying to set up an Apple TV, lol

[Adventure.AS]

The USB dongle is for playing an iphone, etc. through the radio.

[Adventure.AS]

The outlets have one live receptacle so you don't overload the circuit. You can't use trailer 120 volt circuits like those at home as you only have 30 amps available for the whole trailer.

[Spartanguy]

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

The outlets have one live receptacle so you don't overload the circuit. You can't use trailer 120 volt circuits like those at home as you only have 30 amps available for the whole trailer.

That makes sense. With that, an Apple TV can’t draw that many amps. I just want my Apple TV placed nicely up in the entertainment box rather than my current setup, lol. Would rather have the Apple TV than the DVD player frankly.

[Spartanguy]

I think this guys got it figured out, unfortunately...going to be a job for next weekend. https://youtu.be/RxyyC9nlUEA

[Spartanguy]

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

The USB dongle is for playing an iphone, etc. through the radio.

So audio only? That’s unfortunate.

[rmkrum]

The blanked off part of the outlet can be cleared out.

Kill all power to the trailer including batteries if you have an inverter. Disconnect shore power cables and trip all breakers in the 120v panel for safety.

Use a pointy Exacto knife to clear out the thin plastic in the outlet openings. Verify that the contacts are in there, and a plug fits in properly.

This has been done MANY times on the forums...by many folks.

[pcskier]

It is only the inverter outlets that are blocked out on one side, as mentioned, to avoid overdraw from your inverter, which is only 1000 watts. Open it up as mentioned, by cutting away the protective material, and confirm the outlet is live. (Obviously shut down power and inverter, disconnect battery...first.)



To listen to music on phone, I use the bluetooth connectivity of the head unit. Hook up my phone to a wire? Ain't nobody got time for 'dat!

[Spartanguy]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

The blanked off part of the outlet can be cleared out.

Kill all power to the trailer including batteries if you have an inverter. Disconnect shore power cables and trip all breakers in the 120v panel for safety.

Use a pointy Exacto knife to clear out the thin plastic in the outlet openings. Verify that the contacts are in there, and a plug fits in properly.

This has been done MANY times on the forums...by many folks.

Thanks!

[Spartanguy]

Originally Posted by pcskier

It is only the inverter outlets that are blocked out on one side, as mentioned, to avoid overdraw from your inverter, which is only 1000 watts. Open it up as mentioned, by cutting away the protective material, and confirm the outlet is live. (Obviously shut down power and inverter, disconnect battery...first.)



To listen to music on phone, I use the bluetooth connectivity of the head unit. Hook up my phone to a wire? Ain't nobody got time for 'dat!

Not sure that’s accurate, the inverter and “regular” outlets are both blanked out.

[wulfraat]

I use one of these.... Apple TV, DVD player, hdmi splitter for front / rear TVs, HDMI switch for Apple vs dvd....

[daleyocum]

I’m actually swapping out the TV for a new 32” Samsung that has all the streaming services built in and is supposed to be upgradable to the new software from Samsung that will include Apple TV. You’ll find this thread interesting http://www.airforums.com/forums/f450...tv-195356.html

From post 23 above

Samsung announced that the 5 series TVs (of which the 32” is the smallest) will be upgradable to built in Apple TV. That saves having an external Apple TV hockey puck knocking around.

[pcskier]

Wow not like that on my 2014. Weird!

[BobnGayl]

In my experience, using an Apple TV, Amazon Flash Drive, or "Smart TV" to access streaming content in a commercial location such as an RV park, hotel, or coffee shop is beyond frustrating. Unless the internet provided has excellent bandwidth and speed, which is usually not the case in most commercial locations, streaming video is pretty miserable. The internet provided by these places may be adequate for texting but falls far short of what is needed to stream high quality video. I have DirecTV and wanted to switch to U-Tube TV because the cost was about 1/4 as much. However I quickly learned that streamed video is very difficult to watch with frequent freezes, frame skips, loss of audio, etc. I have the Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV and "Smart Samsung TVs and watch streamed video such as Netflix and Discovery at home, but I have 65 gig download speed there and it works much of the time. But not always. If/when internet provided TV is better I will be very happy, but that's not the case right now, at least IMHO.

Another issue will be Net Neutrality, or the lack of it with the recent law change. Since internet providers are also often the source for much broadcast content (e.g., AT&T, Charter Spectrum, Xfinity, etc.) and they can now legally throttle bandwidth, I doubt they have an incentive not to. It's a shame because streaming solves so many problems, especially for a mobile population.

P.S. - in my experience the source doesn't matter either, anything streamed is iffy, be it Netflix, Amazon, NBC, CBS, Fox, Discovery or anyone. It all comes down to the quality of the internet. I suppose one could use their phone as a hot spot and access it that way, but data charges would quickly escalate as HD video is very data intensive.

If someone has a solution and I am just missing something, please respond. Thanks.

[wulfraat]

Originally Posted by BobnGayl

If someone has a solution and I am just missing something, please respond. Thanks.

Yes, see this thread, and post #120 in particular. LTE is the way to go for internet access using a 2x2 or 4x4 MIMO antenna. I typically have the bandwidth to stream between 2 and 15 simultaneous HD transmissions. I have tested up through 6 screens simultaneously 2 of which were 4k streaming. I never use campground wi-fi and consume between 100-200Gig of data per month.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f451...-191803-9.html

[Spartanguy]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

I use one of these.... Apple TV, DVD player, hdmi splitter for front / rear TVs, HDMI switch for Apple vs dvd....

Requires two outlets though, right

[Spartanguy]

Originally Posted by BobnGayl

Unless the internet provided has excellent bandwidth and speed, which is usually not the case in most commercial locations, streaming video is pretty miserable. The internet provided by these places may be adequate for texting but falls far short of what is needed to stream high quality video. I have DirecTV and wanted to switch to U-Tube TV because the cost was about 1/4 as much. However I quickly learned that streamed video is very difficult to watch with frequent freezes, frame skips, loss of audio, etc.

BobynGayl, appreciate the response. This was my fear. I have relatively fast Verizon unlimited and the new Apple TV gave me a message yesterday saying something like, “must use residential wi-fi” and wouldn’t even allow me to hotspot. Unfortunate. And, the campground wi-fi is spotty and freezing up as I type this.

[Spartanguy]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

Yes, see this thread, and post #120 in particular. LTE is the way to go for internet access using a 2x2 or 4x4 MIMO antenna. I typically have the bandwidth to stream between 2 and 15 simultaneous HD transmissions. I have tested up through 6 screens simultaneously 2 of which were 4k streaming. I never use campground wi-fi and consume between 100-200Gig of data per month.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f451...-191803-9.html

Was really hoping that linked worked. Will explore the MIMO antenna though.

[wulfraat]

Originally Posted by Spartanguy1

Was really hoping that linked worked. Will explore the MIMO antenna though.

Wired! Let’s try that again.... here is the full Re-post...

——-

In the end I decided not to move forward with the Airstream Connect plan / peplink equipment. The largest attraction by far was the AT&T plan itself - unlimited data, no throttling and no network management. The trifecta unicorn!

The downside was the mandated hardware and installation, and locked out BR1 Mk2. (I really just wanted access to the plan / SIM card so I could deploy hardware of my choosing).

I ended up moving forward with the Verizon Pre-paid plan with unlimited data, no throttling, but has network management at all times. The hardware is the current generation inseego 8800L - manufactured jetpack, a category 18 LTE device with 4x4 internal MIMO antennas and ability to plug into an external 2x2 MIMO antenna. For the exterior antenna I am using a netgear directional 2x2 MIMO based on the recommendations and testing at rvmobileinternet.com (rather than omni-directional roof-mount MIMO) that I can manually aim at the tower and then stick to the window accordingly.

For secure LAN and WIFI-WAN functions I am using my existing pepwave SOHO MKIII router with 3x3 WiFi MIMO antennas which is fixed to the front window of my unit behind the curtain. I can tether the jetpack via USB or use WIFI-WAN to connect, depending on where it is located in the trailer.

This Jetpack is latest generation LTE wireless hardware, supports an incredible range of cellular bands, carrier aggregation, 5Ghz wifi and supports theoretical wireless speeds in excess of 1 Gb/s.

Thus far, I have been very pleased with the throughput and speed, and I have not seen network management come into play as of yet, after 2 weeks of testing. I have used about 30 gigs of data thus far testing, including streaming of 5 simultaneous HD screens.

Total hardware investment was $250 after taxes (not including my SOHO which I already had, and bought used for $120), and the Verizon plan was $65/month.

In the event I cannot get signal via the Jetpack (using internal or external antennas), I have a fixed Weebost in the trailer with omni-directional exterior antenna that can be leveraged if needed.

[wulfraat]

Originally Posted by Spartanguy

Requires two outlets though, right

I want to say I found one at best buy that only needed one outlet....