Jack TV antenna head and SureLock signal finder.

LaPlaya wrote:
I am in Ontario Canada far from home.. my present location is between Cornwall and Montreal right on the St Lawrence River.. 25 km from Cornwall 90 Km from Montreal and then Ottawa is 125 KM to the North.. Without local knowledge I have no idea were the TV transmitter sites are located but I can try pointing at those locations. To the South of me across the river is Quebec and the USA.

It appears that you are near Lancaster, Ontario. Here's a link to TVFool.com that lists TV stations near you:
TVFool.com for Lancaster, ON.

It may also just depend on where you are located. If you really are out in the deep fringe boonies, it's entirely possible that the Jack isn't the antenna you need. While it's a good antenna, it's not a batwing and doesn't have the gain of the Batwing on any band. If there are any other Jack antennas in the CG, ask how they perform and make sure it's pointed where the rest are.

X2 on just using the existing RG cable and 12VDC that was feeding the existing BATWING antenna. Hook all of that back up to the antenna wall box and push the button in to send the 12VDC up to the JACK. You will not have to use the JACK Antenna DC VOLTAGE injector adapter. The ANTENNA PANEL will provide the power up to the new JACK ANTENNA. You should see the RED light next to the COAX connection light up on the bottom of the JACK antenna. The JACK antenna in this photo is pointing towards the transmitting antenna to the right of the photo.


I also have this SURELOCK SL1000 made by Kings and I use it inside my trailer connected to the antenna panel first and then hook my HDTV to the TV jack on the SURLOCK. The SURELOCK is not an preamplifier or antenna booster - The SURELOCK is only a field strength meter to tell which direction to point the antenna to find the HDTV signals Now I can rotate my BATWING antenna that I use and can keep reducing the signal strength with SURELOCK ADJ knob until I peak the display. This is now pointing to a HD TV signal from the local town using my BATWING OTA antenna... Once I find the direction of the DTV transmitter site I usually remove my SURELOCK and just connect the HDTV to the Antenna Panel JACK.


I will now have to run my TV MENU setup for ANTENNA and log in all of the digital signals it finds in this direction before I can view any of them...

We usually get 6-36 digital stations using our BATWING Antenna using the UHF DIPOLE add-on when camping here on the East side of the US.

I played with the JACK ANTENNA SOME and I might say it may be just a TAD better picking up digital signals but what I found was you really had to point more directly at the Transmitter location then you did with the BATWING antenna. Here in northern VA we are some 50 miles away from WASHINTON DC NATL BROADCAST transmitters which are position on both side of WASHINTON DC. With the JACK I had to move the Antenna to receive both sides of the the town for best best results. I did not have to do this with the BATWING antenna and still got good reception. I'm guessing the larger DIPOLES lengths give the BATWING antenna more antenna BEAM width than the JACK which is smaller????

ALot of folks gives outstandling reports using the JACK antenna however...

Roy Ken

I disconnected and removed the existing power wingard switch, as per the instructions that came with the Jack antenna. It is disabled... I am using the power supply that came in the box with the Jack Antenna.

I am in Ontario Canada far from home.. my present location is between Cornwall and Montreal right on the St Lawrence River.. 25 km from Cornwall 90 Km from Montreal and then Ottawa is 125 KM to the North.. Without local knowledge I have no idea were the TV transmitter sites are located but I can try pointing at those locations. To the South of me across the river is Quebec and the USA.

Tom_M wrote:
The Jack is a direct replacement for the batwing head. You do not need the "Jack booster". It is not a "booster" but a power injector. Put all the wiring back the same as it was for the batwing. Remove the SureLock. Make sure the LED is lit on the Winegard wall plate. The Jack has an LED on the bottom side that indicates that it is getting power but is difficult to see in daylight. Now point the Jack toward the TV transmitter sites. The flat part of the Jack is the front of the antenna not the pointed end. Do a scan on your TV. If all is good, you can now reinstall the SureLock.

Correct. The little power supply that comes with the Jack is for use only when you have no power to the existing mast. All you need to do is use the existing coax cable that screws into the batwing, screw that into the Jack and you'll be good to go.

I am going to have to wait till dark to know if the red light on the Jack Antenna is on... the sun is just too bright to tell right now.

Stay tuned.

The Jack is a direct replacement for the batwing head. You do not need the "Jack booster". It is not a "booster" but a power injector. Put all the wiring back the same as it was for the batwing. Remove the SureLock. Make sure the LED is lit on the Winegard wall plate. The Jack has an LED on the bottom side that indicates that it is getting power but is difficult to see in daylight. Now point the Jack toward the TV transmitter sites. The flat part of the Jack is the front of the antenna not the pointed end. Do a scan on your TV. If all is good, you can now reinstall the SureLock.

Is the red light on the Jack head itself on?