Antenna Upgrade

I have done it. When I bought my RV it had a Batwing that was not working, I cleaned up all connections and tested to see if it was broken, it was,so I replaced it with a new bat wing then ran a Channel Scan I was not impressed with the amount of channels that I got. This was done in my driveway here in the south bay of So Calif using my SensarPro.

I then went out and got a Wingman add on, that put my channel scan up to 47,but I had a clearance problem with the Wingman

So I opted to put a Jack on and my channel scan went up to 60

I then went with the Rayzar as you can see it fits in the same space.
I opted not to put it on the supplied 13 In. arm. I kept one arm of the Winegard mast and mounted it that way,there are instructions in the kit,it is very easy to do. This way I had it in the same space and got the maximum height when deployed.

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The Bi-Directional feature is great and easier to use than the Jack and I get a few more stations.

I have run both from the same crank-up assembly. The difference for me was minimal... The BATWING for me had a wider beam pattern meaning I didn't have to zero-in as close as I did with the King antenna.

They both performed well...

I would say it would be a install situation where perhaps the BATWING being the larger footprint might be interfered with by the radio shadow of the roof mounted Air Conditioner.

I am back to using the BATWING Antenna which has the UHF DIPOLES added to it. My BATWING is of the older ones which looks like this one shown here on google images... The newer BATWING has a different shaped main body area...


google image

The KINGS antenna is a very simple swap out using the standard RV crank-up assembly. Takes just a few minutes to do and uses the same RG CABLE hookup and 12VDC Amplifier control signal from the older Antenna Panel in my case. I found the KINGS JACK antenna had to be more precisely pointed to the transmittiing tower...


For me it would not be worth the money to replace the original BATWING setup... I have no experience with the newer so called HD BATWING antennas and there fancy control panels. There is no such as a HD antenna. You just need to use a UHF Antenna to match up with what the HDTV Transmitter towers are transmitting now.

I am also currently using the same BATWING Antenna mounted on a easy mounted pole on the side of my OFF-ROAD POPUP using LOWES five-foot antenna pipe sections and a PVC PIPE manual rotating method antenna on my OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer. Works like a champ for me picking up the local UHF Digital NATL BROADCAST channels from the local towns which are transmitted free to the public in full blown HDTV format.


I tried the KINGS JACK antenna on this same portable setup on the OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer with no significant gain in performance... I originally used a $90 LOWES large YAGI antenna on this portable setup and it was the best antenna ever for me. However I ended up destroying it a short season by taking it up and down for travel and that is when I changed over the BATWING antenna. I prefer the BATWING for my use.

Right now I am experimenting with the Eight BOW TIE DIPOLE Array which is very good long distance antenna array and currently pointing to the Washington DC antenna Towers some 50 miles plus away from here in Northern Neck Virginia. This is currently mounted at the peak of my house (15-feet high) and with the two halfs being adjustable I can get some 80 digital channels from the three main towers on the East and West side of Washington DC. This antenna has to be pointed toward the transmitter towers with accuracy. Just a few degrees off the direction and you get nothing at at. This BOW TIE array panel is around $60 from Solid Signal... I also have a RCA PRE-AMPLIFIER unit mounted on the bottom of this array which is powered by a DC VOLTAGE coming up the RG COAX like the BATWING and KINGS JACK requires. These two panels of four BOW TIE dipoles has alot more gain then the BATWING and JACK antenna has and also has a large front-to-back gain in the direction it is being pointed at. Not sure if all of this will help my over the BATWING antenna in the woods or not... makes a great CLEAR ANTENNA here at the house that is free to the public and picks up around 80 digital HDTV channels coming out of Washington DC over 50 miles away from me... Makes for a great BACK-UP system...



We ham radio guys always playing with something...

Roy Ken

King controls Id' say no.. Winegard's new antenna I am not sure.

I run a Batwing (Sensar II or III) with Wingman (Sensar IV would work too, Wingman included, if I ever replace that will be the replacement)

A Sensar Pro indoor module (MAN was that an upgrade,, in performance, was rather easy to install but man was it a performance upgrade. Also the signal meter on teh S-Pro beats the LED's off the Jack Sure Lock device)

I get more stations than a Jack 20 yards away.. That's about all I can say.

Independent lab tests by another forum member showed the Batwing with wingman outperformed all compentation at the time of the test.. Winegard's new offering was not yet offered so was not tested.

I've been thinking about this too and I'm probably near to you.
I'm making this reply mostly so that other new posts get flagged to me.