Tv antenna

[99x]

I am looking to update the tv antenna on the camper,it has a Jensen omni direct antenna and does not work very well,had better reception with our old camper and bat wing antenna. Looking for input. Thanks

[99x]

The problem we have is the state channels come in fine its the local channels thats the problem when you get away from the metro area. We do alot of camping up north of Sioux Falls. Its more for the wx than anything.

[MFL]

99x wrote:
Does anyone know if the radio will work with a different antenna? Thanks

This is one of the reasons that I left my Omni intact, as I don't think the Jack would work for the radio. Not sure about the batwing.

I stayed at Big Sioux rec area by Sioux Falls about 10 days ago. I did not need my Jack antenna, the Omni worked great in your area.

Jerry

[99x]

Does anyone know if the radio will work with a different antenna? Thanks

[egregg57]

When transmission went digital, I went out and bought from Radio Shack, a plug in 10DB amplifier. Without the amplifier, in my driveway. I got 5 channels at best. I put the amplifier in and I recieved (I have not checked for a while, there may be more now) 19 channels.

The amplifier is about 35 dollars. You don't need to buy adapters, change your antenna out put some crazy apparatus up instead of what you have.

Just checked price went up about 2 bucks.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3780245

[Imaroadrunnr]

On my last adventure I parked under a tree at a campground and when let the antenna down a branch got caught in the works and naturally I really cranked on the handle and broke the gear in two pieces and rounded off the aluminum shaft. Didn't God make vice grips for people like me. Anyway I got all the new parts including a new worm gear and shaft and handle and the aluminum rods that attach to the bat wing. The antenna cable is in poor condition and I was wondering if any of you good people have replaced this cable from the antenna all the way down to the connection next to the TV? Maybe it's time for duct tape.
Stan

[dmeck]

I use a batwing but leave it down cause my handle to raise it is broke. I just push the button to turn on the booster and it seems to work great. Had 9 channels this past weekend in a very wooded campground thats 50+ miles from the tv stations. But we usually only watch the news or my son likes to watch cartoons while we cook breakfast.

[SCVJeff]

Its likely that came from multi-path issues with the smaller capture area on the Jack. When I did those original tests, I lowered the mast a tad and also moved the RV back and forth to make sure I wasn't getting bad measurments, but that same thing happens at the house on the very few stations I can see OTA.. 😞

BTW- I have never seen mfgr. specs on either antenna, nor was I able to get any information whatsoever from either Winegard or King. That makes ir easy to claim whatever you want but reference it to nothing.

[RoyB]

SCFJEFF - you are probably correct on the specs - never looked up the specs. Just reporting what I found with my setups... I had to point the JACK more precise towards the HDTV digital transmitting stations to get good reception. Both the JACK and BATWING got great reception of my 50 mile away HDTV transmitter stations but I really had to point the JACK 'right-on' to make it work. Wrong assumption on my part I guess as to what the problem was. Less gain would be a good answer maybe verse BEAM WIDTH...

The BATWING picked up all the HDTV transmitter stations 50 miles away with a single pointing position where the JACK had to be moved several degrees to one side to pick up the other group of HDTV transmitter signals...

Oh well... I will mod my report or maybe I should just remove the whole thing...

Thanks for the report...

Roy Ken

[rockhillmanor]

I'll just add that I had great reception with the ole bat wing....until they went digital. And what I finally found out is it was NOT the antenna.

I bought a new flat screen when they went digital. Way less channels than the old analog TV. Thought that was what was to be expected w/digital.

Then I bought a second flat screen for the RV. THAT TV got 10 more channels than the other one. :? Parked in the same spot each TV got different reception.

Talked to fellow campers and different brand TV's have different circuit boards for the antenna, i.e. different reception.

The second TV I bought is a real small Vizio and it gets 10 more channels sitting inside the same RV as the other one.

[SCVJeff]

tegu69 wrote:
Take that Omni apart. The top of it is more effective as a frisbie than it ever was as an antenna.

Good one !

Roy: your comment on the Jack having more gain and tighter to point than a Batwing is backwards. The Jack has less gain and is much wider

[tegu69]

Take that Omni apart. The top of it is more effective as a frisbie than it ever was as an antenna.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

.

I saw the "Clear Stream 2" at Costco a few years ago - it was about $65.

Looks like a BBQ grill with a figure 8 in the middle.

Thought what the heck - let's see what it will do.
If it's no good back it will go.

This was at my S&B.
Same place since 1987 - all the super whammy over-the-air antennas never worked very well - poor reception, not all the avail chanels. Had to have cable or sat.
Maybe that could be chalked off to analog?

So....Didn't bother with a roof mount (figured it wouldn't do much anyway) - It's mounted about 15' off the ground on the facia.

Awesome!
I'm about 50-60 miles away from the LA (CA) network channels - gets them all just fine!

I've since seen the same antenna mounted at the top of RV ladders.

Nope - haven't tried one on the RV (yet) but this thread was a good reminder.

Be simple to put up & down -or- make a DIY fold-down..:C

~

[n7bsn]

ScottG wrote:
I have the short Jack on my TT. My buddy was parked right next to me and has an Omni on his new AF. I could get 7 channels when he could only get two (both were Spanish network channels). :B

For 2014 Fox junked the Jensen, for an equally bad antenna.

[Mile_High]

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