Vector VEC135 / VEC-135 / VEC-135 TV/AM/FM Tough Brite Storm Tracker

by Vector

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• ASIN: B000BO4RMC
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,099 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 16, 2005

Product Description

TV/Radio/Lantern with weather alert radio

Rechargeable with the hand crank

5 in solid state UHF/VHF black and white television

AUTOMATIC STORM ALERT warning alarm

7 channel NOAA weather frequencies warn of dangerous weather conditions and emergency information

Powerful halogen spotlight and a fluorescent tube lantern

The built in hand crank provides backup power for all radio functions and LED area light

Approximately 2 crank minutes provides up to 15 minutes of runtime for the radio or LED light

Weatherband stations & AM/FM radio

Spotlight & rear LED area light

Dynamo Power Crank for emergency use if all batteries fail

Corded, cordless, rechargeable, &/or uses batteries

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sturdy and Works Well, March 14, 2006

By 

pinxet "pinxet" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vector VEC135 / VEC-135 / VEC-135 TV/AM/FM Tough Brite Storm Tracker (Electronics)

A good solid emergency television/AM/FM/Weather radio, two lamps, and few faults.

I'm able to pick up all of my local VHF and UHF stations on it without problem or interference -- it works neither better nor worse than any other television I own which receives signals on a built-in antenna.
The controls are slightly over-complicated. To use the television, one need 1) turn on power to the entire unit, 2) flick a switch to select UHF, or low channel VHF stations, or high channel VHF stations, and then 3) twist a dial to actually find the station -- The dial doesn't "click" onto the TV frequency as one is normally accustomed to on a regular television set, though the fine tuning knob is a good plus. The printed station numbers are a bit too small and unaligned to the twist dial to be easilly useful.

All three radios work well. A plus for the weather radio is that instead of twisting a dial, the user pushes a scanner button which quickly finds the local NOAA frequency.

Two lamps, one on the front of the unit and an 6 bulb LED array at the rear complete the set. Both lamps -- especially the front one -- seem less light giving than I would have expected for a unit of this size and price. A $15 hand crank LED pocket flashlight I own does the job better.

Backup emergency power for the unit is a non-accessible NiMH 3.6v/600mAh battery which is charged by either an external power source -- a "wall wart" or automobile cigarette lighter adaptor (both included)-- or by using the unit's hand crank.

Not surprisingly because of the power needed -- this is a bit ambiguous from the Amazon product description -- the television *cannot* be powered from the NiMH backup battery charged from the hand crank or external power sources.
To use the television, it must either be plugged-in to a wall or car socket, or powered from nine C size batteries. The same is true for the front lamp.
Only the radios and rear LED lamp can be powered by the hand crank.
I've not yet had opportunity to test the life of C cell batteries when running the television, but will amend this review once I've done so.

The unit I purchased does not have, and does not picture on the box, a provision for an external antenna. A shame, as this would have been a nice additional feature. Jacks on the rear of the unit are: 1/8" headphone, 1/8" AV Out, DC In. Also on the rear of the unit are a replaceable fuse, and twist knobs for the television's contrast, brightness, and vertical hold.

The unit as a whole has a very solid feel to it without being unduly heavy. A thoughtful touch in the construction are two metal roll bars protecting the main control panal on one side, and another set of bars protecting the speaker and hand crank on the other. Were it my own product design, I would have included a cover for the television screen.
I would describe the unit more as "solid and sturdy" than "rugged" -- it's the kind of thing I would feel confident bringing to a picnic, camping ground, or stowing in the trunk of a car; I wouldn't include it in a list of creature comforts for a week in a foxhole during army basic training.

As mentioned by a previous reviewer, the unit is significantly cheaper from Home Depot, which shipped mine quickly and was received within a week. That said, even the Amazon price is reasonable for a product of this type and quality -- If Home Depot didn't have it cheaper, I would have purchased it here and not felt ripped-off.

Were the controls a bit simpler, if the front lamp could be powered by the hand crank, if the lamps were a touch brighter, and if there were a cover for the TV screen, I'd give this product 5 stars without reservation. Even without these picked nits, this is a good purchase worth any price under $90 or so. It's solid and it works.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JDBgn, November 19, 2005

By 

James D. Bartlett "jdbgn" (Whittier, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vector VEC135 / VEC-135 / VEC-135 TV/AM/FM Tough Brite Storm Tracker (Electronics)

If you read the instructions this item works very well.
You need to charge the internal batteries for 12 hours and then install 9 "C" batteries before the TV will work without external power.
The antenna is no more flimsey then any on a portable unit.
I am very satisfied with this unit. It does exactly what it is supposed to.
Cheaper at Home Depot.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Out of Date by Law, June 28, 2009

By 

Stephanie Stahl "DancingTigerBait" (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vector VEC135 / VEC-135 / VEC-135 TV/AM/FM Tough Brite Storm Tracker (Electronics)

Black & Decker VEC135 Storm Tracker TV/Radio This was a fabulous item. Ut was dependable, the automatic tuning to weather on radio always worked, the flaghlight AND lantern worked well and the TV worked great. The hand crank with multiple energy backup systems--outlet plugin or internal battery or batteries stored--worked nicley. There is even an solid, albeit relatively short, antenna to sharpen images and sound clarity. In addition to adjustiung the antenna for the TV, there were options for UHF, VHF-H and VHF-L. Being able to watch a weather station during severe weather, such as a tornado, was comforting for its informative value, so you could actually see someone mapping the storm or see video if someone was outside. Moreover, all functions worked well after the storm tracker had been sitting dormant, unused, for a sustained period. Unfortuately, now that all TV has been switched to digital, the TV no longer seems to work. The unit is reduced to a good transiter radio with a couple of lighting features.