Antenna

[mirwin]

Hello,

Other than the antenna that came with your RV, has anyone tried the antenna's from Walmart, etc (indoors/outdoors)? If so, what have found to be the best? Pro's & con's please.

Thank you,

[mike-s]

It all depends on how far/strong the stations are. Any antenna can only do so much. If you camp at urban Walmarts, a cheap panel antenna may work for you. If you camp in the boonies, you might need one of those below on a 30' mast. The common Winegard batwing is the best compromise for an RV, IMHO.

[bartlettj]

A general comment... digital "channels" don't necessarily map to a specific frequency any more. Therefore, what you thought was channel 2 may be a higher UHF channel, and those are more directional. So, you'll have to select an antenna with good gain and directionality across the whole TV frequency spectrum.

[Dave2001]

I have the RCA Outdoor Omni-Directional Flat Digital TV Antenna (ANT800Z) mounted to a removable PVC pole attached to my roof ladder. I can rotate the pole to get the best reception/most channels. It is omni directional but can be sensitive to direction it is pointed. It picks up stations really well. Good for about 60 miles.

[westend]

I made an array antenna similar to what Old-Biscuit has. I have it mounted on a 5' mast that is clamped on the side of my trailer. It will pick up all channels within 40 miles. It has far better antenna gain than any of the typical RV antennas. I don't use a signal amplifier.

[beemerphile1]

Our Aliner did not come with a tv or antenna. I mounted a flat panel antenna on the inside of a wall at the highest point possible. The antenna was about 10" x 10" x .75" and had a power booster. It worked great.

I do not recall the brand, I read reviews on Amazon and purchased one for around $30. Make sure whichever one you buy has a power booster. The one I bought operated on 12vdc so I cut the adapter off and hardwired it into the 12v system.

[WolverineState]

The omnidirectional antenna that came with our trailer was useless in rural areas. I mounted a short pvc pipe near the front hitch to use as a flagpole mount. The pvc is permanently attached with u-bolts to the trailer frame. I bought this $30 motorized antenna from Walmart mounted it to the top of a flagpole and get more channels than I need. We went from no channels in Ludington State Park in Michigan to 40 channels (including several Wisconsin stations) depending on time of day. I still am able to fly Old Glory on the flagpole. It's my one modification I get a lot of positive comments on when camping.
The flagpole and antenna is stored for travel obviously, but only take a few minutes to set back up.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ematic-HD-TV-Motorized-Outdoor-Antenna-with-150-Mile-Range/46998188

[Old-Biscuit]

Majority of time the Winegard Batwing crank up antenna is the BEST RV antenna for OTA signals.

On occasion due to distance to TV Transponder Tower we could only get a couple of channels ------so I bought a simple array antenna at ACE Hardware. ($30)
Mounted it on a 5' piece of pipe and then would stick in a couple of 'flag pole' mounts on ladder. Hookup coax cable to 'cable' connection on rear of FW
Would then be able to pickup 12 or more channels.

When NOT needed I just placed it in basement compartment.


After we stopped FTng I took that same antenna and now use it for TV in S&B.
Pulls in 25+ channels.

[Bill_Satellite]

The small flat panel antennas are junk. You need an antenna with metal elements (enclosed or exposed) and the more height the better.

[SoundGuy]

RV antennas are designed the way they are because they're mounted on a vehicle that moves. Home antennas are not and unless removed before travel are unlikely to survive. Not a solution I would choose.