Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Keep the manual handy, you'll need it to figure out how it works. I don't think it should have to be this complicated. But it works pretty well in my self contained travel trailer with 12 volt solar electric power (so I do not use the C batteries in it) and is small enough to be easily tucked away. It seems to be sturdy (not rugged) and works well for what I want it for......weather reports, news and occasionally TV. I found it on clearance at a Wisconsin Farm & Fleet store for $19.95, so I think it was well worth the price and will be happy if it lasts a couple years.

My unit's battery compartment is one-eighth inch too short for the three rows of three C-batteries to fit inside. Thus I have no battery but the crank-up one, and no TV at all. Nobody else mentioned this problem, so I guess this isn't a design problem--perhaps I got a defectively-manufactured unit.