RV antenna

[JCMack]

I have a King antenna that is at least 10 years old. Reception is not great. Would there be much improvement if I purchased a newer model, the King OA8300

[RLS7201]

No King Controls antenna ever out performed a properly functioning Winegard Batwing.

Batwing ver Jack

Richard

[pusherpilot]

I got one of the first King antennas to replace the bat wings (2) that had been folded in the wind while stowed and on the road. It worked better than the batwing until last year.
the coax was rotted, the connectors were shot and the case is showing sign of sun damage so I replaced the bad cable and connectors with a fair improvement. if I decide to replace it I'll get another one.
OBTW there is a compass app for your smart phone that is good for telling you which way to aim.

[wa8yxm]

YES. reception was never that great

A winegard Sensar IV, and scrap the Sure lock signal strength indicator and prelace the wall plate with a Sensar Pro. Best RV TV antenna set up made for US markets
Where I am now I have 3 stations. One is 25 minles out the othes 40-50 all 3 rock solid all 3 UHF.

[K_Charles]

DutchmenSport wrote:


Punch in your current address, or partial address, or zip code and a map pops up showing where the singles are coming from. Work like a champ. The only problem is, you need to carry a compass with you so you know where North is. So, we carry a simple Boy Scout type compass in the camper all the time. Got it from Dick's Sporting Good's I think, years ago.

I do the same thing but my compuss is left over from Boy Scouts.

[folivier]

Before you spend the time and money for a new antenna try this: get a new coax cable and connect it to the antenna connection on the roof and run it through a window or door directly to your tv. If the reception improves it is either the existing coax cable, coax connector, or any other component in between. If the reception is weak then connect the new coax to the antenna booster (amplifier).
After 10 years being in the sun and rain, etc. it is possible that the cable is the problem. Sometimes there is oxidation built up on the connector itself and you could clean it with a product like Deoxit.

[DutchmenSport]

Your call, but I've got no problems with the old-style batwing antenna on my RV. Yes, it's a bit "directional" and if you are in a new location it takes some time to figure out which is the best position to point it, but they last forever, never fail and work well.

I keep bookmarked on my cell phone (Google) the web site (OK you can probably get an app for it too), I just prefer the web site version:

https://www.antennasdirect.com/transmitter-locator.html

Punch in your current address, or partial address, or zip code and a map pops up showing where the singles are coming from. Work like a champ. The only problem is, you need to carry a compass with you so you know where North is. So, we carry a simple Boy Scout type compass in the camper all the time. Got it from Dick's Sporting Good's I think, years ago.

[Dutch_12078]

As suggested, the best reception would be seen by installing a Winegard Sensar 4 and a SensarPro power injector/amplifier. With many stations moving from UHF channels down to the high and low VHF channels under the FCC repack rules, the Sensar VHF performance is much better than the King.

[jplante4]

I had pretty good reception (50 miles over flat land) with the old Winegard with the Wingman add-on and a Sensar Pro booster. The new Winegards have the Wingman attached.