weak antenna signal

bucky wrote:
Digital TV is mostly on UHF frequencies. I use a $35 antenna and an app on my phone for directions to point it and usually get 20 or more channels unless we are really in the sticks. There is an external TV jack on our RV so no need to crack a window.
I spent an hour taking my roof antenna apart to install the Winegard UHF addition before discovering the coax was broken inside the square tube that raises and lowers. Chose the easy way.

Not so much now days, MANY TV stations HAVE or WILL be moving back to VHF LOW AND HIGH.

FCC is requiring many TV stations to move to free up the now auctioned off frequencies of the UHF band. This move may require stations to go back to VHF making your UHF only antenna pretty much null and void in some or a lot of areas.

Per https://www.tvanswers.org/

"Frequently Asked Questions

What is happening?
By law, nearly 1,000 TV stations must move to new frequencies to make room for wireless services.

Why is this happening?
Congress authorized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – the agency that governs the public airwaves – to auction off broadcast TV frequencies (or airwaves) to make more channels available for wireless services. The auction has concluded and now nearly 1,000 TV stations are required by the FCC to move frequencies to make room for wireless companies that purchased the broadcast airwaves.

Do I need to buy a new antenna?
Probably not, but in a few cases, your local station may have moved from broadcasting in ultra-high frequency (UHF) to broadcasting in very high frequency (VHF). In these few instances, you may need to either adjust your antenna manually or purchase a new antenna in order to receive the signal. Our partners at AntennaWeb.org may be able to provide you with more precise information regarding signal strength and what type of antenna may work for you.

"

Because some TV markets may be saturated in what little is left of the TV UHF band after all the moves, FCC has reopened the VHF LOW band for TV use (former 2-6 analog frequencies).

This means you REALLY want to keep any existing VHF/UHF antennas and you will need to periodically rescan your TVs to get your channels that have moved back. This is being done in stages which are planned to last through spring of 2020.

Found another forum which has some pretty good details on all of the stations and the impact of this changes are..

HERE

To clarify this a bit, the government recently auctioned off the 600 Mhz TV band leaving only channels 14 thru 34 in the UHF band. Nothing changed with the VHF band. Back in the old days of analog you could not have adjacent channels in the same market. For instance, you could not have channels 2 and 3. But wait, you say there are channels 4 and 5 or 6 and 7 in your city. Turns out there is a frequency gap between these channels. This basically cuts the number of channels available in half. Now with the advent of digital, adjacent channels are allowed, so the impact of the frequency auctions are not as drastic as appears. Most of these channel reassignments are within the UHF band, so most of the TV broadcasts will remain UHF. Before the repack about 25% of TV stations were broadcasting on the VHF band. I don't know what the percentage will be after the final repack.