My 2013 Winnebago Vista comes with a rooftop digital antenna. We have two main problems. 1) when we search for channels some channels will be found the first time, but if we need to search again, a channel may not be found the second time. And 2) some channels pixelate quite a lot. I don't know much about electronics and digital TV service. Are my problems common or am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? ThanksSteve

Not much you can do. Move closer to the signal is all.Just something we all have to live with now. Digital is a weaker signal than the old anolog broadcast.

We watch the digital counter real close when we first start scanning. If it doesn't do much in the first 15% of the scan we swill stop the scan and move the antenna one way or the other a few degrees and then start scanning all over again.You also have to be using the ANTENNA MODE versus the CABLE MODE on the TV scan menu... You also have to scan the digital station at every place you camp at. They all use different channels and ID number etc... The ANTENNA PANEL WALL PLATE unit also has a push-button on it and this needs to be pushed ON. It will turn on a small LED LIGHT when it is working properly sending 12VDC up your RG coax to power up the OTA ANTENNA PRE-AMPLIFIER. When you are connected to the camp groound CABLE this push-button has to be OFF.The DIGITAL CHANNELS are very narrow beam width and you really have to be pointing right at the BROADCAST transmitting station real good.There is a small unit called SURELOCK MDL SL1000 by KINGS which will find digital HDTV station before you scan them. YOu might want to get one of these to help out. It takes some practice to find where the BROADCAST transmitter is located in the local towns... You can get a basic direction on-line and point the BATWING OTA Antenna in that general direction. Sometimes it is just easier to look around the camp ground and see where the other campers are pointing their OTA antennas.If you do get one station then while watching it on your HDTV after you have it all scanned in you can move the OTA Antenna back and forth and get the antenna centered on where you get the best view. In the digital world the best view is a perfect picture without any pixelating. Once you have the antenna centered then do a scan again.We get 6-36 digital high def TV stations just about everywhere we go here on the East side of the US.Roy Ken

Ditto on the 'narrow' reception compared to the analog. You have to move the antenna very slow and then keep rescanning if you are having trouble.*When you pull into the CG look at which way ALL the RV's have their antenna pointed....and point yours in the same direction!!That's half the battle they've done most of the guess work for you. At least you will have a starting point instead of spinning and spinning the antenna when you are in an unfamiliar town and don't know the cities the channels broadcast out of or which direction they are.Make sure your amplifier button is turned on.And if your site has a lot of trees you need to point it 'in between' the trees/branches. Digital doesn't play well with trees and/or CG's that sit low in the area.

rvten wrote:Not much you can do. Move closer to the signal is all.Just something we all have to live with now. Digital is a weaker signal than the old anolog broadcast.:h1. There is plenty you can do. Check your setup and get a better antenna.2. I don't think many of us camp in the city.3. The stations transmit with considerable less power since switching over.It looks like you have given up making the necessary changes and would rather complain and live in the past.HD television is many times better than the past for picture quality, although the speakers supplied are a POS (too small). There are also about 5x more channels for most viewing areas. Of course if you make no effort to improve your situation you will never see them.

Can you rotate the direction of "digital" antenna on your Vista or is it one of the flying saucer shaped stationary so called "omni-directional" antennas? Digital broadcast signals are directional and I have yet to try an "omni-directional" antenna that did not have to be directed toward the signal source. This is why your picture breaks up or is there on one scan and not the next - the direction toward the signals is off. If you can direct the antenna toward the signal you will lock in these signals - with a picture that breaks up just a slight turn in one direction or the other will lock in that signal solid. '

Rooftop digital antenna issues | Good Sam Community

IAMICHABOD
Explorer II
Sep 07, 2014
Tom_M wrote:
slay wrote:
Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I am not doing anything wrong, just have to adjust the antenna more.

What is a "digital" antenna? I'm not sure. My former MH had a long, flat antenna that you used a crank to lift off the roof. This MH has an antenna that looks like a boomerang with a tongue attached to the back. It sits about a foot high and does not elevate.
What you describe sounds like a Jack antenna. If this is the case, the 'tongue' is actually the front of the antenna.

To aim it right,point this part toward the tower

THIS APP makes it really easy to do this.
Tom_M1
Explorer
Sep 07, 2014
slay wrote:
Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I am not doing anything wrong, just have to adjust the antenna more.

What is a "digital" antenna? I'm not sure. My former MH had a long, flat antenna that you used a crank to lift off the roof. This MH has an antenna that looks like a boomerang with a tongue attached to the back. It sits about a foot high and does not elevate.
What you describe sounds like a Jack antenna. If this is the case, the 'tongue' is actually the front of the antenna.
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Sep 04, 2014
slay wrote:
Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I am not doing anything wrong, just have to adjust the antenna more.

What is a "digital" antenna? I'm not sure. My former MH had a long, flat antenna that you used a crank to lift off the roof. This MH has an antenna that looks like a boomerang with a tongue attached to the back. It sits about a foot high and does not elevate.

AH.. That explains it...

The long flat (mostly) antenna, two aluminum wings with some plastic in the middle was most likely a Winegard Sensar, this is a very good VHF antanna and a fair UHF antenna.

Now Winegard came out with an add on for it called the WINGMAN, not a "Tail" but a nose. this improves UHF performance greatly (Doubles it basically) and by my standards there is no better RV antenna. though one more upgrade is possible More on that later.

You described the JACK antenna. It very simply does not have the range of the Winegard Sensar IV (Or older Sensar with wingman) now, it does have a wider field of vision, which in some cases makes it the better antenna, but I NEED RANGE more often than not.

You may wish to consider an upgrade to a Winegard Sensar IV.

One more upgrade that helps....

I have one park where I stay where if I coudl get one station in this new digital age I was lucky.. Then I added the wingman and got about half the stations I wanted.. Then I added teh SENSAR PRO.. If you have the old wall plate with the switch, light, outlet and antenna connection this repalces it, IF you have a box of many buttons it is the only device I recommend for putting between the antenna and the box.

IT provides power to the antenna, it also contains a signal strength meter, a scanner, and an additional pre-amp (Booster) which is adjustable.. it also contains a "Beeper" (you have perhaps heard folks annoying half the campground listenign to the signal strength beeper on their sat receivers.. Yup, same beeper only inside the MH so not as annoying) Im a good 60 miles from transmitters where I am and they are all sharp and clear. In fact cable is not as good on some channels. (MY DVRs choose based on the channel number)
hotpepperkid
Explorer
Sep 04, 2014
Use this site and you wont have to guess as to where to point your antenna. That old thing of looking where everyone else is pointed doesn't really work. I find people have them pointed everywhere. Most of the time I don't even raise my antenna and it does just fine
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Sep 03, 2014
If a station is weak then you may find it one time but not the next

Fine tuning the direction of the antenna may help

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DIGITAL ANTENNA

All antennas are Radio Antennas, Television, both analog and digital is a sub set (The very same sub set in fact) of Radio.
MNtundraRet
Navigator
Sep 03, 2014
slay wrote:
Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I am not doing anything wrong, just have to adjust the antenna more.

What is a "digital" antenna? I'm not sure. My former MH had a long, flat antenna that you used a crank to lift off the roof. This MH has an antenna that looks like a boomerang with a tongue attached to the back. It sits about a foot high and does not elevate.

From your description your former MH had a Winegard Antenna. The best type for use today if the Wingman attachment was added to update it. Your new MH's antenna is a POS. Useless for any stations over around 25 miles away.
rockhillmanor
Explorer
Sep 03, 2014
slay wrote:
Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I am not doing anything wrong, just have to adjust the antenna more.

What is a "digital" antenna? I'm not sure. My former MH had a long, flat antenna that you used a crank to lift off the roof. This MH has an antenna that looks like a boomerang with a tongue attached to the back. It sits about a foot high and does not elevate.

You have a new digital 'TV'. You don't need a special digital antenna! :B

The 'batwing' antenna on all RV's will accept the signal for a digital TV. The newer RV's have a different style that's all.

Albeit I have heard that the old Batwing works better than the new style ones.!:W
slay
Explorer II
Sep 03, 2014
Thanks for the responses. It sounds like I am not doing anything wrong, just have to adjust the antenna more.

What is a "digital" antenna? I'm not sure. My former MH had a long, flat antenna that you used a crank to lift off the roof. This MH has an antenna that looks like a boomerang with a tongue attached to the back. It sits about a foot high and does not elevate.
nomad297
Explorer
Sep 03, 2014
robsouth wrote:
What is a "digital" antenna?

X2
rockhillmanor
Explorer
Sep 03, 2014
rvten wrote:

Not complaining.
Added the little signal meter shown in one post.
Added the Jack. Helped some.
Picture is great when you can get one. Hard to keep from loosing it. Seams it always goes pixel or disappears at the best part of a program.

it can be the TV.

I found out purely by accident that every flat screen TV has different capabilities of reception.

I bought a second smaller flat screen for the MH. I splurged and bought an expensive brand name one on the second go around.

The first TV I fought and fought the reception in the MH thinking this is what switching to digital was going to be all about.:(

I turned the new second TV on in my SAME MH, parked in the SAME CG spot.....voila, perfect reception and 20 more channels.

So it can be the TV itself.

Talking with other campers in the CG I was at we started interchanging TV's to see if in fact the TV itself could be the problem and we found it did.

When I gave my new little Vizio to my camping neighbors that were having problems once plugged into their MH they immediately got good reception and tons of channels. Where their TV could not.

And more so with the off brands. Which is why when I saw a giant jumbo flat screen on sale at Walmart today with a name I couldn't even pronounce I walked right on by it! :B

IMHO these flat screen TV's are produced using a coax circuit board based on the fact that 99% of the buyers are going to be using cable. NOT an antenna like we do in our RV's.