RCA T13082 13-Inch Mobile TV/VCR Combo with AC/DC Operation
Good price, if only!
I bought this model 4 months ago for my kids to watch movies on a 12-hour road trip. I figured that for only a few bucks more than a 9\\" TV/VCR, I would get one that we could actually use at home, too. I had a bit of trouble finding a place for it in my mini-van, but finally squeezed it in between my 5-year-old's and 3-year-old's car seats in the third row. The day of our trip to Grandma's came, and I spent half an hour playing with the plug to get power to the unit. For some reason, the plug just doesn't fit tightly into the cigarette lighter! After finally getting the plug in at an angle that worked, we were off. And soon, so was the TV. Any time we hit a bump (or I hit the plug with my knee) the delicate balance was interupted, and my kids would begin whining until that was restored. Strike one against the unit.<br />While it was playing, my kids were happy. I was happy that they were content. But there is an annoying high-pitched \\"whine\\" from the unit. And while playing a tape, you can hear the motor turning. Strike two.<br />But my kids were actually quiet for most of the trip. We returned home and had the same balance problems with the plug, and the \\"whine\\" noise from the unit. Once home, the TV found its semi-permanant home in the master bedroom.<br />Another car trip to Grandma's last month, and the one time we got the plug \\"balanced\\" in the lighter outlet, we proptly hit a bump and never did find that elusive angle again. Once we go there, my husband tried the lighters in his parents' cars to no avail. This plug was just too small in diameter (we suspect) to stay snug in the lighter. Strike three.<br />No more strikes left, but the VCR is not done yet. In the last week, the player has developed a tracking problem. When we insert a tape the picture now jumps for 5-6 seconds before clearing up. That's fine at the beginning of a tape, but when my kids want to finish a movie it can be annoying to have to rewind it a bit because they insist that they \\"missed thatpart!!\\"<br />   All in all, a decent unit for a fair price. But only a week after receiving this model, I saw a power inverter ..., ... so I could have gotten a better unit for less money (and no shipping) if only I'd held off a bit.