antenna

The batwing with the wingman addon is about as good as it gets. Since I could not add the wingman I swapped for a Jack and then swapped it for the new Rayzar Air which works good too. They are all directional.

Have you notice a real difference in using the Razor antenna over the Jack?

You can get a Jack that will easily mount to your existing post. Just remove the batwing and swap it out. Never had the battering add on, so can't say if it's better, but the Jack seems to pull channels pretty well.

I have the Jack and replaced the Batwing. it is hands down the best antenna. I pick up way more stations with it than I did with the Batwing. my buddy has the Batwing with the Wingman and it gets no where near the stations mine does. we used my antenna for Columbus day to pick up the Bears game, because he couldn`t even get a decent signal.

Then his is as broken as yours was..

I like my Jack antenna. A lot of people on here like the Batwing. I have broken two of them when the wind caught it and bent it up and off. Both times they were completely lowered. I don't see that happening with the Jack and to me the reception is OK. JMO

inky wrote:
Have you notice a real difference in using the Razor antenna over the Jack?

Yes the Rayzar being Multi-Directional seems to do better than the Jack
I had a clearance problem with the Wingman

So I opted to put a Jack on

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.

The bat wing with upgrade to wingman did a wonderful job of flying off of my roof enroot home from my fist ever trip. I get decent reception so far in NC and SC.

BTPO1 wrote:
I like my Jack antenna. A lot of people on here like the Batwing. I have broken two of them when the wind caught it and bent it up and off. Both times they were completely lowered. I don't see that happening with the Jack and to me the reception is OK. JMO

And thats the problem with the Batwing, they're way easier to break than a Jack or Razair because of size. But... The Jacks performance across the board doesn't match up to the Batwing with or without a Wingman, and is especially poor on VHF which is what the 'wing's' on the Batwing are there for.

Its all a compromise.

kdk wrote:
Is there a better over the air antenna than the crank up bat wing? Thinking about a replacement and wondering if any body has better luck with something different that is not directional.
Thanks in advance;kdk

There are two types of replies you can get: I read lab reports (prepared by another forum member) and others will tell you what they feel.. Problem is there are in fact two answers

Antennas come in basically 3 types
First: to properly understand what I am about to type you need either a smart phone app (Antenna Helper Free) or a web page (Antenna pointer pages) and in the latter your precise location (lat and long gps style)

Antenna types:
Omin-directional.. It is possible to park so that the Antenna apps/pages show the towers in a circle around you Say you are "Wally Docking" at the Tel-12 mall in Southfield, MI., that would be such a place. Of course when you are that close to the towers a paper clip might well do the job. (used to live 5 miles from there)

Otherwise I consider these fluing saucer jobs to be JUNK.

The Jack (from king controls) this is a wide beam antenna, if the stations are covering say a 45 degree arc, (Still fairly close in) this might well be better.

Winegard Batwing, un-modified (Sensar II or III) this is a very good VHF antenna, roughly 50-60 mile rated. Not so good on UHF (perhaps half that).

Winegard Batwing (Sensar II or III) with Wingman (or Sensar IV which comes with the Wingman) this fixes the UHF problem, so it's not 50-60 mile rated on all bands (There are 3 bands). This is the best RV TV antenna if you are some distanc from teh tower.. But it is a tight beam (meaning if towers are all about you you have to re-aim a lot.

Now: To improve that even more....

On the standard Sensar line (All 3 of the ones listed above 2,3 and 4) the indoor module is normally a wall plate with a switch, light, 12 volt outlet and antenna connection (3 more connections plus 12 volt connections on the back) many call this "The booster". it is not, it is the power supply for the booster which is in the antenna where it belongs (I do know why but .. Well, lots of typing).

The alternate indoor module is a Box of Many buttons (matrix switch) which they no longer make.

These devices provide power to the antenna's built in booster, they also select between park cable (or one other source) and OTA.

Winegard makes an alternate wall plate. The SENSAR PRO (I have one), this 100 dollar upgrade made a BIG and I mean BIG difference in the number of stations I can pick up in one of my favorite campgrounds,, Did not do bad in a few others.

Recommendation: Sensar IV with Sensar Pro for best long distance results, Be sure to read the instructions on the Sensar pro.