Eagle Cap's NEW Digital HD Concealed interior mount antenna

We use a digital antenna at our cabin and inside the house with a short cable performs much better than high, outside but with a longer cable. Signal loss in the cable and number of connections seems to be the biggest deal with a digital antenna.

There are better omni directional antennas than the RV Jensen model and some can capture enough signal strength that would allow mounting inside an RV, but line of sight and less obstructions will always win. Directional antennas will pick up a signal better than omni but require adjustment when switching between stations broadcasting from different azimuths. In my home, I have an omni in the attic with a booster/amplifier that feeds the top floor. One floor lower, the television has second smaller booster to condition the line loss of the longer antenna run. It takes a little calculation to figure out line and connector losses, optimum amplifier inputs and amplifier output gains but works well.

RV manufacturers could do the same as I did above, but I think few have RF backgrounds and they just throw together some off the shelf parts that makes a hit or miss system.

BTW: I read some misconceptions about frequencies above. VHF is a lower frequency than UHF. Lower frequencies typically can travel farther because they will bounce off objects instead of getting absorbed into them like the higher frequencies. Because more of the digital stations are in the UHF band they are harder to receive than the analog stations that mostly occupied the VHF band. The higher the frequency, the more information it can carry in the same amount of bandwidth. This allows for closer channel spacing in the higher frequencies allowing for more channels or less bandwidth for that application.

SCVJeff wrote:

billtex wrote:
Actually TC mag's review said it was the BEST antenna they ever tested. Period.

And you believe that?

I would believe it if it was the ONLY antenna they have ever tested. :)

SCVJeff wrote:
There is no substitute for height and a clear unobstructed shot.. Period.

Don't know what this antenna is or what it looks like, but the above statement is the rule of physics. It was designed by a bunch of RV designers, not anyone that knows radio.

So it's up to you.. Do you want something that works as well as anything out there once you're out if the city, or a stealthy antenna because it looks cool?

Your signature shows a 34 motor home.
And clears up why you would post such a thing in the Truck Camper forum.

UHF penetrates into buildings and can successfully bounce off buildings and through canyons better than VHF. But apples to apples, VHF performs considerably better at unobstructed distance than UHF. Either way as I noted above, there is no substitution for height. And that's true for either band

That's an interesting antenna, but I don't have a big enough reason to replace the current one.

On another note, I ditched my cable a month or so ago. Based on what I've read, UHF doesn't work like VHF. VHF is more impacted by a clear path although signals can bounce. If you are interested, do some searches of the internet for over the air. Most of the digital channels in my area are above 13 or UHF, in other words.

That being said, it doesn't matter that much to me. When I'm boondocking, it's usually up in the mountains out of range of any tv except satellite. For campgrounds, that's usually going to be cable. If I just want to watch a movie, I use a dvd player or stream. But, I'm boondocking to get away from civilization. :)

Mike@Asheville wrote:
I have one in my new Adventurer. It works great. Sitting in my driveway in the NC mountains I can get numerous channels. The local station looks as good in HD as it does on my cable TV inside.

Off air HD is always going to look better than cable.
Looking at the Eagle Cap, that's likely a Razair antenna, or worse, some omni. While it seems to be a good performer, it's still a bi-directional antenna and has lots of limitations. Nothing will beat a Batwing, but if there's no roof space... I always thought you TC guys were the ones that get out there in the boonies? For TV, that takes a real antenna.

I have one in my new Adventurer. It works great. Sitting in my driveway in the NC mountains I can get numerous channels. The local station looks as good in HD as it does on my cable TV inside.

SCVJeff wrote:

billtex wrote:
Actually TC mag's review said it was the BEST antenna they ever tested. Period.

And you believe that?

Yeah...that whole internet probably won't catch on either...

billtex wrote:
Actually TC mag's review said it was the BEST antenna they ever tested. Period.

And you believe that?