Razar

I didn't see this mentioned,.....worth its weight in gold !http://www.ebay.com/itm/Winegard-RFL-342-Sensar-Pro-TV-Signal-Meter-White-RV-Parts-/251686113301?hash=item3a99a95015:g:BI0AAOSwu4BV540Z&vxp=mtr

SCVJeff wrote:
That's not gold, it's copper over steel. The better stuff is solid copper, but there is not and never has been gold in any RG/6 coax.

For the antenna; as mentioned, the winning antenna by far is a Batwing/ Wingman, or the new combo. The Razar or Jack simply do not perform as well.

One thing I'm also trying to point out in these antenna threads is the FCC is about to "repack" the entire television spectrum with the intent of retiring off the air, as many stations as possible, and/ or moving them BACK to VHF. Haven't looked at the Razor, but the Jack is a particularly poor performing antenna on VHF. The Batwing is BY FAR a better antenna on VHF

I will second SCVJeff. He builds OTA HDTV systems that broadcast OTA TV signals in major markets here in the Western USA. He has actually measured S/N ratios on most of the brands of TV antenna's out there, because he was curious, and had the tools to measure signal strength also, a rarity these days.

As for the Batwing, I had disbelievers come in to my TT parked up on Plomosa Road in Quartzsite, AZ, the middle of nowhere, with the batwing pointed 54 miles away to a mountain that serves Yuma, AZ TV market. I was pulling in 5 stations while everyone else struggled pointing north to Lake Havasu to get signal. 4 different couples were just dumbfounded why my antenna was pointed in the direction it was, everyone else had theirs pointing north.

Jeff recommended the "TV Antenna Helper" app for my smart phone.

All I can say is that in my travels all over the western USA, UT, ID, MT, WA, OR, CA, NV and AZ, it's a godsend for finding signals and giving you guidance in which way to point your batwing before scanning for TV channels.
FWIW, my TV is a little 24" Samsung 1080p unit that runs on a 14.4V brick that I picked up a couple of years ago at Costco for $165. Very, very happy with the quality of the picture and quality of the tuner in this TV.

Another note...if your signal is not the strongest... cloud cover between you and the antenna can really wipe out a good signal, as can heavy rain between you and the broadcasting antenna. Tune your antenna direction on a clear day if at all possible.

SCVJeff wrote:
That's not gold, it's copper over steel. The better stuff is solid copper, but there is not and never has been gold in any RG/6 coax.

For the antenna; as mentioned, the winning antenna by far is a Batwing/ Wingman, or the new combo. The Razar or Jack simply do not perform as well.

One thing I'm also trying to point out in these antenna threads is the FCC is about to "repack" the entire television spectrum with the intent of retiring off the air, as many stations as possible, and/ or moving them BACK to VHF. Haven't looked at the Razor, but the Jack is a particularly poor performing antenna on VHF. The Batwing is BY FAR a better antenna on VHF

Thanks Jeff, that was my understanding as well. When it comes to Wave Guide I'm in the school of thought that you just don't make hard bends with the coax, nice radiused turns.

I agree on the Batwing as well.

I had not read Tom_M's post and can tell you from experience that the maintenance of the mechanical part of the antenna is an imperative, the electronic side unless disturbed or subject to unusual conditions is seldom a problem.

Got to love Chris' blog and posts. He puts out a lot of really great info for free and at his shop you pay for him applying that info to your RV.

I'll go with SCVJeff, I live near him(down by Rose Bowl) and with my old RV(still in my signature) and two Insignia TVs with built in SSM, I could pull in "150" signals, including Ch. 6, Santa Barbara, Ch. 6 in San Diego and KVCR in Redlands/San Bernardino. Some signals were weak and never produced a picture, some were just broadcasting a For Lease, advertisement. On our shake down cruise to AZ last week, I had problems with the rear TV not pulling in Digital Stations from the campground cable. Turned out that the cable had been pulled out of the "F" connecter and just stuffed back together. Installed new one when we got home and now I have great signal strength. I also use a wrench to snug the connectors when I have to remove them for any reason.

I get so many stations here and across the country that I have never thought of changing antenna. Changing cables, but never changing antennas.

Here's an article addressing TV reception problems:

Tech- Tune up your TV antenna

That's not gold, it's copper over steel. The better stuff is solid copper, but there is not and never has been gold in any RG/6 coax.

For the antenna; as mentioned, the winning antenna by far is a Batwing/ Wingman, or the new combo. The Razar or Jack simply do not perform as well.

One thing I'm also trying to point out in these antenna threads is the FCC is about to "repack" the entire television spectrum with the intent of retiring off the air, as many stations as possible, and/ or moving them BACK to VHF. Haven't looked at the Razor, but the Jack is a particularly poor performing antenna on VHF. The Batwing is BY FAR a better antenna on VHF

j-d wrote:
Be sure when you clean or strip antenna coax, that you don't compromise the very thin gold flash that coats the center core wire. Signal "rides" on the outside of that core. If you "ring" the core, say stripping the cable with a pocket knife, you will seriously degrade that fragile TV signal. So really, a Coax Wire Stripper is a Must-Have tool.

j-d,

That's interesting.

I'm under the thought it is just copper wire without any coating. Can you tell me where I could read up on the subject matter?

Thanks

Be sure when you clean or strip antenna coax, that you don't compromise the very thin gold flash that coats the center core wire. Signal "rides" on the outside of that core. If you "ring" the core, say stripping the cable with a pocket knife, you will seriously degrade that fragile TV signal. So really, a Coax Wire Stripper is a Must-Have tool.

Great. Thanks for the replies. Looks like the only thing I didn't do was clean up the connections. I also have the "box of many buttons" which gave me issues on cable at only one of the parks I stayed at this winter. I bypassed the box and got a good signal, but I think it was more the cable company (Brighthouse) than the box. I may need to research a better solution.