How to tell bat wing type

firemedic08 wrote:
I've never had an RV with the crank up antenna. My new to me 5er has one. How can I tell if it is able to get the digital OTA signal? Will I need anything else to make it work with my tv?

there is no such animal as a 'digital' antenna. any antenna engineered for TV reception can receive digital signals. if you have a digital TV you'll get the digital programming. if you have an old analog set you'll need a digital-to-analog converter.

when the FCC mandated the broadcasters make the switch from analog to digital they permitted them to also seek a change in their tranmit frequency. many stations in the lower part of the VHF portion of the band changed to UHF frequencies. your batwing receives both VHF and UHF signals...VHF on the 'wings' and UHF in the center head of the antenna. you can add a low-cost add-on called the 'Wingman' that will improve UHF reception of those stations who made that change. you should also have an amplifier in your 5'er. be sure to use that when using the batwing. have you found that?

many broadcasters have lowered their transmit power. that, coupled with digital tv's characteristic of the signal being there or not, makes reception more problematic than in the old analog days. with analog the farther away you were from the transmitter or if there was something between you and the transmitter such as higher terrain, buildings, etc. or if you were in a wooded area the result would be 'snow' or hash. the hash would get progressively worse until the picture just faded away. with digital the picture is either there or not. instead of hash you're likely to see what many call 'pixelization'...large colored squares instead of a picture. that's an indication of interference. your batwing is also directional so twisting it one way or the other will help draw in a better picture.

hope this helps.