Home Entertainment Center
Even with the extension to the credenza, the computer must
serve double duty. With the addition of a DVD player and a graphics
card that includes an internal TV tuner, the 18" Flat Panel Monitor
became the center of my home entertainment center. I had replaced the
standard AM-FM Cassette radio that is included with Airstreams with an
Alpine AM-FM/CD unit. The stereo speakers in the living room and
bedroom are mounted in the walls behind the drapes. While this unit
provides decent sound, the DVD player begged for a Digital Dolby sound
system. With size and weight being at a premium in trailers, I
originally installed the Cambridge Digital Dolby 5.1 SoundWorks
system. This system included a very small control unit with decoders
for Dolby ProLogic and Digital Dolby as was well as matrix five channel
sound from stereo sources. The five matching cube speakers were
secured with Velcro and the subwoofer fit on the shelf with the ink jet
printer under the credenza. The Cambridge system came with a sound
card with digital and analog outputs to the control unit. Although the
volume would be limited for a large area, it is quite adequate for an
area the size of the Airstream. The system provides a good compliment
to the DVD player in the computer and the 18.1" monitor in playing DVD
movies. However, being somewhat of a hi-fi nut, I quickly determined
that the small 3" cube speakers and a 5" subwoofer were not
sonically up to my desires. I purchased a set of Energy Take 5
speakers (comprised of one Take 1 center speaker and four Take 2 speakers)
and an Energy ES-8 subwoofer www.energy-speakers.com.
While these speakers are several times as large as the Cambridge speakers,
they are still manageable and sound great. I purchased four Omnimount
stands made especially for the Take 2 speakers. I mounted the front
speakers to the credenza on either side of the monitor pointed slightly
up. I mounted the rear speakers beneath the front overhead cabinet,
above the couch. I mounted the center channel Take 1 speaker to the
cabinet above the computer monitor using a mounting kit from Bose. The
ES-8 subwoofer barely fits under the credenza. I also replaced the
decoder card included with the Cambridge system with an ATI Radeon
All-In-Wonder card. This AGP video card includes a TV tuner, a DVD
player, digital video output for flat-screen monitors (LCD's) and Dolby 5.1
decoding. The sonic improvement is amazing. Music CD's sound
better than any sound system I have heard in an RV. The 100-watt
subwoofer can easily keep up with the demands of DVD's.
Lighting
To improve the interior lighting, I have replace most of the
incandescent lights with fluorescent light fixtures. When the bedroom
vent unit was removed to install the second roof air conditioner, the
bedroom light fixture had to be replaced. Since the air conditioner
took up much of the ceiling, I had fluorescent valence lights installed and
wired into the existing ceiling switch.
Window Tinting
An Airstream can really pick up the heat during the
summer. To reduce the interior heat loading and add privacy, I applied
5% Limousine tint film to all the windows except the front three windows
that are covered by the dark tint stone guard.
Flooring
Our Airstream had carpet throughout. I replaced
the carpet in the entry, kitchen and hall with Pergo Red Oak. The new
floor looks great. I used red oak 1/2 x 3/4 corner molding to finish
off the job. Although it took about a week, the result is worth the
expense and the effort.
More
Photos of our Airstream
page updated 02/21/10
