Could I please get some input? We have a 2002 rv with an old, analog television.I just bought a new smart tv, which my husband is going to install in the rv.We have some kind on antennae (batwing?) on the roof which we half-heartedly tried once, didn't get any reception, and decided to not worry about. Up to now, we have always just connected to the campground cable.I have been reading up on how to get tv stations with the new tv but have a few questions.Am I right-We will still be able to connect to campground cable, same way as with the old analog television.In order to do anything with an antennae, I would probably have to buy a newer model, If so, could anyone give me some input as to which one?Even though I know we could stream movies, this might me an issue with campground wifi speed/service. Yes?Anything else I should be thinking about?Thank you.

cable, yesantenna, try the old onestreaming, too slowbumpy

Your batwing antenna should work with your new TV. Did the Netflix streaming with my own 4g network but it sucks up data usage. Campground was to sloooooww. Cable should work fine as well.I have ordered a lot of old movies DVD for remote campgrounds that don't have cable or air access. A lot of people use dish or direct sat TV.

All the new HD over the air stations broadcast on what used to be UHF.You can spend about $20 and add a "Wingman" to you old antenna.We get great reception with ours, if we are within about 50 miles of a town with transmitters.No tools involved, and takes about 20 seconds to install.Where we were sitting, we went from 13 channels to over 30, just by adding the wingman.We still keep some dvd's in case we are too far out to get any channels, but it hasn't happened yet.

The BATWING antenna is a great antenna to pick up the DIGITAL TV SIGNALS from the local towns... You will have to point the antenna to the TV Transmitter stations. Your BATWING ANTENNA should look like this google photo.If your BATWING does not have the DIPOLES shown in this photo they can be added in about five minutes and are very easy to mount. This can be purchased from AMAZON. Your BATWING will work without the added dipoles but do so much better if they are added.Your new HDTV sets will have to scan in the digital television HDTV signals before you can can view them. Set your HDTV menu to CABLE for picking up stations from the campground or ANTENNA to pick them up from the BATWING antenna. When using the OTA BATWING antenna you also have to push the button on the antenna panel which sends up 12VDC to the BATWING antenna to power up the internal pre-amplifier (called the Booster) to make the BATWING antenna work.We pick up 6-36 digital HDTV signals from our BATWING just about everywhere we go here on the East side of the US... It does take some getting used to pointing the BATWING crank-up OTA Antenna towards the transmitting HDTV stations before scanning them into the HDTV before viewing. This is not like the old days where you see a snowy picture and you can move the antenna back and forth to get the best view. With Digital HDTV signals it is a very good TV signals or almost nothing at all...Actually the HDTV signals picked up by the OTA BATWING are better than most cable TV signals picked up at the campgrounds. The campgrounds are just now starting to upgrade their TV SIGNALS to the high quality HDTV modes. Roy Ken

Thank you, everyone, for the responses. This will certainly help me get the tv set up. Again, thank you.

a television question | Good Sam Community

25 Replies

cruising_spud
Explorer II
Apr 13, 2015
Well, we took the tv out to the rv yesterday and decided it was just too big. So, I went out and bought a smaller size. Hoping to find the time to install within a few weeks.

Thanks again for all of the responses.
mahaney
Explorer
Apr 13, 2015
It's funny I just found this thread. Last night I installed a tv in my 85 Dolphin and couldn't figure out why I could pick up any channels.....I turned on the switch and went from 1 channel to 26.....Some good, some not. Either way plenty for me especially since I, like most folks grew up on 4...

J
AllegroD
Nomad
Apr 10, 2015
rvten wrote:
You need to turn the power button on for the antenna.

. . . and off for cable, unless they are two complete separate cable runs.
cruising_spud
Explorer II
Apr 10, 2015
Thank you for all of the useful information. I am thinking that the tv installation should work out fine.

Kathy
westend
Explorer
Apr 10, 2015
Does your new Smart TV have a built in camera? That would be a nice accessory if you wish to Skype.
I port my laptop through the TV, at times. Connecting to the internet with a website that shows local signal direction and strength is a good way to aim your antenna. I have a DIY array on a mast that picks up signal well. The HD signal is better than my local cable signal in the house.
rekoj71
Explorer
Apr 10, 2015
To be able to use the smart features (i.e. Skype, Netflix, Hulu) of your new TV you will need to be hooked up to a Wi-Fi signal some how.
Most campgrounds seem to offer Wi-Fi but signal strength and speed are iffy. Also the fact that when too many people are trying to do that then the whole Wi-Fi network just about shuts down so that nobody can use it. Some people tether their smart phone but doing so eats up data even just assuming it's allowed with your cell plan.

You might be able to Skype with a low resolution setting but maybe not. The streaming services like Netflix also have a way to lower the resolution but it would probably still be very choppy while it's buffering constantly.
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Apr 09, 2015
cruising spud wrote:
Thank you for all of the input. We are going to spend this week-end checking out our antennae and setting up the tv.

For the booster switch the others mentioned, look for a switch plate that has a little button on it, which will switch on a small LED in most cases. They often have a cigarette lighter 12v plug in the plate too. It's gotta be "on" for the TV to work.
cruising_spud
Explorer II
Apr 09, 2015
Thank you for all of the input. We are going to spend this week-end checking out our antennae and setting up the tv.
dwayneb236
Explorer
Apr 09, 2015
Amen to that SoundGuy. Spent quite a while wondering why reception was so bad when I first got the trailer.
ddndoug
Explorer
Apr 09, 2015
SoundGuy wrote:
Lynnmor wrote:
The switch does one more thing, it physically switches between the antenna input and the outside cable connection. Some think that it only supplies power. That is why there is virtually no reception when the switch is in the wrong position.

Absolutely true ... thanks for pointing that out. :D

And make sure that if you're trying to use cable make sure the switch is 'off". (don't ask how long I spent troubleshooting a "bad connection" before I figured out the switch was on)

Doug

Forum Discussion

a television question

25 Replies

About DIY Maintenance

Related Content

Television Question

New Television

Replace television

TT television

Amplifier for television?