antenna TV question total newbie

[AlmostBoatless]

Thanks again for your help. We are in a rustic CG in Tamworth, NH for the summer, no cable TV. We only have our new Winegard batwing for antenna TV and we ONLY get one channel (ABC network). WE have tried moving the antenna, nothing more. We would love to watch NBC (for the Olympics) in August.

We understand just enough to be dangerous about TV reception and antennas and are definitely not tech savvy, so any advice would be appreciated. I went onto local Craigslist and typed in satellite tv and found one result advertising this: Trackvision R6 In Motion Satellite Dome $395 within a few miles of us. We don't want to spend $500 on a satellite dish on TV for 3 months as we will not be in the camper this winter.

Does anyone have Direct TV only for 3 or 4 months and how does it work? either that, or beg our neighbor to watch their TV or go to the local pub which would entail many calories I need to avoid! haha!

Yes, we are not tech savvy at all and need much advice so thank you all again!

[Old-Biscuit]

rk911 wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
You have to know which direction are the TV Transponder Towers, how far away they are and IF you can get the channels.........

This will help you find that info......LINK

Or this one........LINK

Enter the CG information (address/zip code etc)
Move pointer to your exact location for better info
Then 'AIM' the front (HEAD) of antenna in direction indicated
Then SCAN for channels

if you're going to go to all that trouble remember that the broad side of the batwing antenna is where the signals are captured...not the ends. for example, if the transmitters are north of your location you would point the batwing so the arms point east and west.

but, it's a lot faster and easier to either point your batwing antenna the same way as your neighbors in the CG OR orient the antenna wings north/south and scan for channels. then re-orient them east/west and re-scan to see which produces the better result.

That is why you point the HEAD towards the towers


A full 90* swing does NOT bring in signals ....signals are very directional and moving antenna just a few degrees will get/loose signals

Checking the websites only takes a few minutes and gives one a compass heading to aim antenna.....neighbors aren't always around or have antenna aimed correctly.

7 yrs of FT traveling weekly found the websites to be quick and easy especially when one has no clue what is available or which direction

You -------your way'
Me ----my way. Ah such is life!

[AlmostBoatless]

Wow, so much good information here, thank you so much! We did not know about any of this and will definitely try all of this great advice and links. The little bit I can understand - yes, we have a new coax cable and will try the next steps.

Again, thank you all so much! will report back as we take the next steps.

[Johno02]

Use AntennaPoint to find out what channels should be available.

[rk911]

dockmasterdave wrote:
I believe typical broadcast range is about 60 miles, from the transmitter.

and that assumes flat terrain with no obstacles between the receiving and transmitting antennas. TV is line-of-sight so the higher the receiving antenna the greater the reception range. coax does have a useful life. constant exposure to UV will deteriorate the jacket. the single best thing one can do to improve reception on an older RV/TV antenna is to change the length of coax (RG-6 recommended) between the antenna and the rooftop connector.

[rockhillmanor]

BB_TX wrote:
If you are in the mountains and/or more than 50 miles or so from the nearest city with multiple OTA stations available, you are probably out of luck with your bat wing antenna.

X2 on where you are located.

That said. I full-time and I have never had less than 10 channels.

1. Look outside and see what direction everyone else's antenna is pointed.

2. Turn your antenna to match the same direction as everyone else as a starting point.

3. Scan for channels.

4. 'Each' time you tweak/turn the antenna to bring in more channels you have to hit rescan channels on your TV menu.

5. Turn antenna very slow and a little at a time. The digital ota channels are not like the old analog days where you gave the antenna a spin and you were done. You have to inch it.

The only other problem I ever had was a bad coax cable. We take those on and off a million times when Rv'ing and they get tired. Digital channel reception does not play well with a tired or cracked inside old coax cable.

And trees, digital reception does not like trees. If your antenna is pointed in the right direction and there are big trees you still might have problems. Inching up the RV to get a shot out between trees sometimes helps.

[BB_TX]

If you are in the mountains and/or more than 50 miles or so from the nearest city with multiple OTA stations available, you are probably out of luck with your bat wing antenna.

[dockmasterdave]

I believe typical broadcast range is about 60 miles, from the transmitter.

[jcpainter]

Direct TV will not allow you to subscribe only for a few months. If you want that flexibility, you will need to contact the RV division of Dish. I'm sure someone on the forum has that info.

There are several things you can do to improve your over the air antenna reception. Go to www.antennapoint.com and it will tell you exactly which way to point your antenna to get the best reception for a specific network. Sometimes CBS is to the East and ABC is to the West, etc.

It will also show you how far away the station you want is from your current location. If the station you want is marginal, you can add some things to your antenna to help bring it in. If you're beyond broadcasting range, satellite is probably your only option.

[rk911]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
You have to know which direction are the TV Transponder Towers, how far away they are and IF you can get the channels.........

This will help you find that info......LINK

Or this one........LINK

Enter the CG information (address/zip code etc)
Move pointer to your exact location for better info
Then 'AIM' the front (HEAD) of antenna in direction indicated
Then SCAN for channels

if you're going to go to all that trouble remember that the broad side of the batwing antenna is where the signals are captured...not the ends. for example, if the transmitters are north of your location you would point the batwing so the arms point east and west.

but, it's a lot faster and easier to either point your batwing antenna the same way as your neighbors in the CG OR orient the antenna wings north/south and scan for channels. then re-orient them east/west and re-scan to see which produces the better result.

[Old-Biscuit]

You have to know which direction are the TV Transponder Towers, how far away they are and IF you can get the channels.........

This will help you find that info......LINK

Or this one........LINK

Enter the CG information (address/zip code etc)
Move pointer to your exact location for better info
Then 'AIM' the front (HEAD) of antenna in direction indicated
Then SCAN for channels

[dockmasterdave]

Do you have the wingman uhf antenna added to you batwing? It makes a big difference and is cheap.
we use orrs and check antennapoint.com.
It gives me the best heading to point my antenna to, and identifies channel, distance and direction to transmitter.
Just enter the zipcode where you are.
I've done it by location and found no transmitters, did the same scan with zipcode and found I could get 10.
Worst I've had was about 6 channels, best so far is 46, all in HD.

[rk911]

Bucky Badger wrote:
After you rotate your antenna are you rescanning channels?

good question. and is your neighbor getting his TV from a batwing or from satellite? if he's getting TV from a batwing that tells me that you can get more than one OTA (over the air) station. is your batwing power turned on? if yes try turning the batwing to the same position as your neighbor's and then rescan.

you can get DISH Network satellite TV on a pay-as-you-go basis but you may find the receiver/antenna costs not worth the bother.

[dmck413]

try antenna pointer to find stations and directions in your area

[Bucky_Badger]

After you rotate your antenna are you rescanning channels?

[sremsing]

If you are in a remote and rustic area and batwing only picking up one channel, then about your only other option is satellite. Winegard G2 or tailgater.