Fix needed for older antenas?

An antenna doesn't know the difference what kind of signal it is receiving. There is no such thing as a 'digital' antenna.

"If you like your old tv, you can keep your old tv"

I just replaced my Batwing with a Jack replacement antenna. The batwing stopped getting 90% of the stations after they abandoned all analog signals. Even in my driveway before they switched to digital I was lucky to get 10 stations after the switch to digital I barely got 2! Now with the jack antenna I pulled in 73 stations! Some of those are substations that I will never watch, but the Jack pulled them in. If you have an old tube TV you will need a converter box. With a new flat panel TV it is already digital and just needs to be plugged into the wall. Very glad I went with the Jack. I ordered it off of Amazon for around $45 plus shipping.

yolo6886 wrote:
I was curious with the digital changeover will the OEM antenna work on the unit as is or will we need an adapter,

I will split this into two parts: Antenna and TV

Will the OEM antenna work: YES
Can it be improved: YES
HOW?
Assuming you have the Winegard "Batwing" (Sensar II) you can add the Wingman, about 30 bucks possibly less, this is a no tools required mod (though a pair of straight pliars may help) go up on the roof with pliars in pocket and Wingman in box. Pull 4 rubber feet out from bottom of antenna (Pliars may help, though I did not need them) hold Wingman in position and insert 4 plastic push pins included in kit. Job done. (There are some warnings about checking to insure wingman does not stick out or hit anyting on roof like an air conditioner).


Second improvement: Inside the RV there is, most likely, a wall plate with a 12 volt outlet, LED, Switch and antenna connection.. This can be replaced with the Winegard Sensar Pro (About 100 bucks)

NOTE Both of these upgrades are optional, but they greatly improve reception and range..


TELEVISION: If the TV is an older, "Sauarish" NTSC type (Like the TV you had in your home back in say 1970) You will need an adapter.

IF it is a modern wide screen ATSC capable... You will not.

I just junked my last CRT TV and put in a new wide screen.. Still doing some of the woodwork related (But it's looking good)

NOTE, WARNING, NOTE: IF the antenna is NOT a winegard.. The wingman won't fit. But the Sensar pro may (or may not) still work.

One other thing you may want to do is replace the exposed portion of the coax.. Normally there is a connector buried in caulk at the roofline, (or just under it) the cable from there to the antenna head may need to be replaced. This cable is not UV proof and does need occasional replacement. I recommend use of RG-6 but this may be a problem with the antenna due to the slightly larger diamater.

Thanks for all the info folks, I have cable in my home now so I have never had to deal with this. Right now I have the standard tube TVs that came with the coach, one in the bedroom and one in the living area. I don't believe they are digital, so yes I would need the digital converter...had a feeling. Well, at least until I replace the TVs.

Be careful of the Wingman. I had one, made some improvement, but not much. The first year it was on it caught on a small tree branch scrapping the roof (antenna in stowed position) and broke the base of the batwing. Too many projections, it's in a junk pile in the garage now.

n7bsn wrote:
There is a lot of misunderstanding about "digital" TV.
If you have an antenna that received "old" analog VHF and UHF TV, your antenna will receive "digital" just fine. No "special" antenna needed.
The only real change, from the Antenna point-of-view, is now more channels are UHF and very few are VHF.

If you have the "bat-wing" antenna, you can improve your UHF reception by adding on the "Wing-man". It simply snaps on to your current antenna

X2

The only thing I would add is that just like your home tv, if you don't have a digital television you will need a digital converter. (But you probably already knew that.) ;)

Doug

nomoney wrote:
last year we went to camping world and purchased a replacement antennae head that is made for the digital signals. ...

I don't mean to be rude but there ain't no such thing. - ignore the double negative, it's just the way us Swamp Yankees talk. :R

There is a lot of misunderstanding about "digital" TV.
If you have an antenna that received "old" analog VHF and UHF TV, your antenna will receive "digital" just fine. No "special" antenna needed.
The only real change, from the Antenna point-of-view, is now more channels are UHF and very few are VHF.

If you have the "bat-wing" antenna, you can improve your UHF reception by adding on the "Wing-man". It simply snaps on to your current antenna

No need for a new one, though they are available. If you have a digital TV you should have no problem.

One issue with the batwing antenna with a digital TV is you need to find the signal and then program the TV. So the batwing has to be pointed in the correct direction before you set the TV to search for stations.

I have found this Sure lock signal finder works well.

Turn it on, rotate batwing to find strongest signal, then use TV to search for channels.