GPX TV-524 5 in. Portable TV

What can you say about a complete "personal entertainment system" for just $20? That's what I thought when I saw this GPX TV/Radio combo at a local store.

As a kid, I'd always wanted a combo unit like this, thinking of how cool it'd be to have a TV you can take camping, fishing, or just to use outside in the garage or on the porch. But units like this sold for well over $100 back then, so I never did get one. That's one reason I went ahead and bought this GPX combo unit when I saw it. The other reason I got it is I had to see whether it'd really be possible to get a decent quality TV/Radio combo for a price this low.

As it turns out, you get quite a bit for your money with this little unit. It's nicely styled, with a two-tone grey cabinet. It's also light and easy to carry around, with an integral carry handle built into the top. Also, you get an AC adapter and a 12 volt car cord with it, so you can plug it right into either standard household power, or your car's cigarette lighter socket or "power point." You can also run it on 10 "C" batteries (not included) which can be inserted into the bottom of the unit. There are even audio and video input jacks so you can hook up a VCR, DVD player, or game system if you want, and also an earphone jack to let you listen without disturbing others.

After I got the unit unboxed and plugged in, I was eager to see how well it worked. I live about 50 - 60 miles from the nearest TV stations, so using a portable set with a built in antenna is often not easy. Some little sets bring in such snowy pictures that watching them is nearly impossible. So I pulled up the tilt and swivel telescoping antenna on the top of the GPX and hoped for the best.

I was pleasantly surprised. Using the radio-type tuning dial on the GPX, I was able to get very clear pictures on all of the VHF network affiliates, as well as four UHF independent and PBS stations. On a few of the channels the video was a little lower quality than what you'd get on a set that's hooked to a big outside antenna or cable TV, but all channels were at least "good" quality, and very watchable.

The GPX does have an external antenna connection, so you can hook it to cable TV or an outside antenna if you want, and if you did that it would obviously bring in many more channels. But to me the value of a small set is that you can take it anywhere; if you hook it to an external antenna or cable system, that portability is lost. That's why the good performance of this set with just its built-in antenna was so nice to see: You really can take this little TV just about anywhere you go and actually get viewable TV pictures.

The brightness and contrast controls on the rear of the unit allow you to adjust the picture to suit your preferences, as well as adjust it for different lighting conditions. I found the GPX's picture to be easy to view even in bright outside lighting, as long as the brightness was turned up fairly high. You have trouble seeing the picture only if direct sunlight is hitting the screen, but I think that would be an issue with any TV. Even the picture on the Sony in my living room is hard to see if direct sunlight is beaming in a window right at the screen.

Finding the TV to work well, I moved on the AM and FM radio. On FM, the radio picked up many stations in my local area as well as nearby cities within a 50 or so mile radius. Its performance is similar to that of most portable radios in this regard. There is some tendency for stations to "drift" after they have been tuned in for a while, especially if the unit has not been turned on for very long when you tune the station in. All that's necessary is to move the tuning control slightly to re-tune the station for the best signal. Usually you only have to do this once.

AM reception is decent; you can pick up local and regional stations during the day, and more distant ones at night. Since the AM antenna is an internal "ferrite bar," it's sometimes necessary to turn the unit to the left or right to get the best AM reception. The telescopic antenna which is used for FM and TV does not function when the radio is in the AM mode.

Audio quality on a small unit like this is never going to be as good as on a larger TV or radio with a bigger speaker, or more than one speaker. Yet even with its small speaker, one very nice feature of this unit is that it gets quite loud before any distortion is noted in the audio. This is very nice for outdoor use, since you need the sound to be much louder to hear it well outdoors than you do when using the TV inside a building. Volume is controlled with a large knob on the right side of the unit, so it's easy to adjust.

This little GPX combo unit is a very worthwhile product. Not only does it give you the ability to watch TV anywhere, you also have the convenience of a built-in radio. While you can get bigger sets that offer built-in VCRs or DVD players and a color picture, those sets can't be run on batteries, they cost a lot more than $20, and they're nowhere near as portable as this one. Plus, color TVs need a better signal in order to produce a viewable picture than what black and white sets need, so if you really want something that you can use anywhere, this small set may actually be more suitable than a color model.

I've discovered that there are many uses for this little set. When I don't have it outside or in the garage, I set it on top of the refrigerator and leave it on at night. The light from the picture makes a great night light, and the power draw of this small TV is only a few watts, so it may even draw less power than an actual night light. It definitely uses far less power than leaving a regular lamp turned on. Then when I get up to make coffee in the morning, the morning news is already on.

Whether you want a little TV/radio combo to take camping or on other outdoor activities -- or if you just want a small set around the house that you can use anywhere and that you know will work during power failures, or when the cable TV or satellite service goes out, pick up this little GPX set. You get a lot for your $20.