Tuning in OTA signals

HERE is what you need.

THe Winegard Sensar Pro then is what you want, 100 bucks (Rounded) one time, it goes between the box of many buttons and the antenna, it eats 12 volt..

NOTE: if you have a DVR (Stand alone like a TiVo) you can feed it's #2 output to the DVR, then you can feed your Sat Receiver (if you have one) to the DVR via A/V or HDMI leads.. That way you can record OTA as well as Sat shows.

I have TWO DVR's here, one on each out of the Sensar Pro.

The Sensar Pro also gives you an adjustable gain 2ndary pre-amp. Makes a big difference in the number of stations I can get. Fits in a standard house type outlet box.

The Sensar Pro doesnt necessarilly replace the switchbox IF you use it for routing different things to the rear TV, etc.. In this case the SensarPro goes between the antenna and the switchbox.

Even if you had a smartphone app, that tells you whats supposed to be there, not what you can really receive, and for that reason I would recommend the SensarPro regardless. You wont be dissapointed.

I do not have a "Smart Phone" or internet on the phone or anything like that. My cellular telephone is just that, a telephone and the cost per month is already high enough. Company wants ANOTHER $25.00 or so per month to activate the internet part of the phone. I refuse to do it, especially after the one month free turned out so bad.

I tried to use it but the display was so small that even with my glasses and a magnifying glass I could not read the web pages on it.

Yes, the King Controls thing looks similar to what I saw once but the device I saw had a LED bar display that was similar to a cell phone where the bar would get longer as the signal strength increased.

I do not have one of those singe switch things that is mounted in the wall. I have an actual switch box that will work for two televisions and VCR and such. It also includes the button to activate the antenna booster which must be shut off if cable TV is connected from the camp ground.

It appears that the Sensar Pro would take the place of this switch box???

The procedure that someone mentioned about moving the antenna and continually scanning is what I am currently doing but this becomes tedious and time consuming.

I mentioned the TV is new but it is actually a little over a year old and I have been using it all that time. I guess I just wanted everyone to know that it does have a digital tuner and not one of those converter box things. I am familiar with switching the input.

What I would like to have is some sort of device that does not require a mart phone that will locate the signal direction so I can point the antenna in the direction of the strongest signal so that I do not have to keep scanning the channels with the tuner every time I turn the antenna until I find the proper direction to point it.

If you have a smart phone there is TV Antenna Helper as mentioned above and iPhone has a similar app but you will have to do some searching. www.tvfool.com will allow you to enter a zip code and find the local TV towers as well. My favorite device is the Winegard Sensar Pro (also mentioned above). The Sensar Pro generally just replaces the Winegard wall plate with the on/off button/switch. You don't have to worry about a TV signal meter (since so many don't have one anyway) but instead just turn on the Sensar Pro, raise the antenna and rotate until you find the strongest signal. It takes about 10 seconds.
The thing you remember seeing with the LED lights is the King Control's Jack antenna which is a complete replacement for the Winegard Batwing and not a replacement for the handle.

How I do it.. First make sure the antenna is "Active" (Selected and teh switch box power switch is on).. Then crank her up and scan for stations with the TV.

Turn about a quarter turn and scan again, and again, and again..

Pick the quarter with best results and go back, Scan and then pick a station, I like to pick one of the weaker ones as indicated by the television, TURN slowly while watching the TV signal strength meter to peak...

Page 2: Upgrades and improvements.

If you have a basic batwing... The WINGMAN.. THe WINGMAN is technically a UHF Director Array. It makes the antenna more directional (The signals are **NOT** directional, the antenna is). and in so doing increases the range. If you wish I can give you a graphic demonstartion.

Second: Winegard SENSAR PRO.. Normally I would say NOTHING goes between the switch box and the antenna (I assume by the switch box you have a box of many buttons, not one, See end of this post if you have only one button).

This is a 2nd pre-amp, signal strength meter and switch, Many functions, very handy and makes a big difference.

With the Sensar pro it does the scanning and automatically displays the strongest CARRIER channel (not necessarily the same as the TV channel, they no longer need to be the same) I can also pre-set it to a specific carrier channel and peak on that.. (Works great usually) if I know the chan to peak on).

NOW, in my case I generally park in a limited number of places and know where to start "Shooting" for a signal.. But I'm going to snag that android app if I can.

Earlier I said if you have a switch plate with just one switch on it for your ant/cable switch.. The sensar Pro in this case replaces said plate. No other change needed.

You mentioned a new TV. Is this your first digital TV?

Read the manual to learn how to use the TV. The TV needs to be set to "antenna" and a search done to locate OTA signals.

Connect the TV to the TV output coaxial cable. Raise the antenna and just point at the nearest metro area within about 50 miles. Turn on the amplifier. An LED should light up when on. Search for the signals.

If you can't read a map to know where you are, just aim the antenna in the same directions as others camped near you.

If you have an android phone, there's a great app called TV Antenna Helper which will give you the direction and distance to the various stations in your area, as well as the signal strengths.

You are probably looking for a hardware solution. But anyway, I use a phone app called TV Antenna Helper, and a compass. Then, I just found out here that I was 90º off in my orientation of my antenna, lol!!! And yet we always got signals from good distances. I can't wait to get it right on our next trip.

One tip about the phone app. It helps to plan ahead, if you know where you will be. Sometimes we get there and don't have the cell data signal needed for the app.

A few website to get direction to aim antenna......

Antenna Point

DTV Reception

Antenna Web

Signal Strength Meter........LINK