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Jack antenna head

Bob_Vaughn
Explorer
Explorer
I am wondering is the Jack antenna head will fit in place of the bat wing on my Antenna Tek antenna?
23 REPLIES 23

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
On my phone is an APP. TV Antenna Helper.

I activate it and it shows me a map, in the center of the map is my GPS determined location.. Radiating out from my RV are lines.. Many lines in many directions.. Different color lines (Colors indicate anticipated signal strength) these go to the transmitter location as registered with the FCC.

Sometimes I need to "Adjust" a bit to get the station I want the most. or to peak a secondary station I want at this time.

What I'd like.. Is two antennas.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
Kenwood TS-2000, ICOM ID-5100, ID-51A+2, ID-880 REF030C most times

SCVJeff
Explorer
Explorer
jdog wrote:
Why would you want to move the direction of the antenna searching for an unknown channel when you are receiving in the present location?
transmitters are not necessarilly all in the same direction.
Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350

jdog
Explorer
Explorer
Why would you want to move the direction of the antenna searching for an unknown channel when you are receiving in the present location?

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Explorer II
The missing channels might have appeared had the Batwing been properly pointed. There's really no way to know but that's the plus and the minus of the Batwing. It is highly directional and if not pointed properly it will not get all the channels. However, if it is properly pointed it will generally get more channels at a longer distance.
What I post is my 2 cents and nothing more. Please don't read anything into my post that's not there. If you disagree, that's OK.
Can't we all just get along?

JohnG3
Explorer II
Explorer II
I replaced our Batwing with a Jack. Before making the switch I did a simple test. I cranked up the Batwing and did a channel search with the booster on. Got 8 channels.

I changed out the batwing to the Jack. Same test, same position on the mast, ONLY change was the antenna. Channel search showed 23 channels.

This was done in Morro Bay, CA in an area where the local NBC channel is very difficult to get because of the hills. NBC signal was very good after the Jack was installed, not on the list with the Batwing.
John and Elaine. Furry ones, Bubba, Buddy, Barney and Miss Chevious
2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40 SP
Know guns, know safety, know peace. No guns, no safety, no peace.

B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Explorer II
My Jack antenna works great. I picked up a couple channels right away after it was installed in a campground. Best of all, no more rattles when the wind blows. Even with it folded down my old one made noise. I bolted it right on to my mast without any problems. I happy with it.

B.O.
Former Ram/Cummins owner
2015 Silverado 3500 D/A DRW
Yup I'm a fanboy!
2016 Cedar Creek 36CKTS

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Explorer II
There are areas of the Country where the TV channels come from multiple towers spread quite a distance apart. When this happens (and you happen to be close enough to the towers) the Jack can outperform the Sensar on a one-and-done scan since the Jack is not as directional as the Sensar.
What I post is my 2 cents and nothing more. Please don't read anything into my post that's not there. If you disagree, that's OK.
Can't we all just get along?

SCVJeff
Explorer
Explorer
Dutch_12078 wrote:
SCVJeff wrote:
There are two reasons to switch to a Jack:
- It points in the same direction as the pointer in the cab

About 10 seconds work with a Sharpie took care of the pointer confusion on my Sensar III dial. :B
Ditto..
Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350

SCVJeff
Explorer
Explorer
ScottG wrote:
SCVJeff wrote:
There are two reasons to switch to a Jack:
- It points in the same direction as the pointer in the cab
- It fits in a footprint that the batwing can't.

But performance wise it cannot match that of a working Batwing. Between the two, the Jack lacks performance arcoss the entire band


This has been argued to death around here and it's just not that cut and dry.
I suggest the OP do some research on the subject if he's not already convinced.
But FWIW, In my own case I get twice the number of stations with my Jack here at home.
Next season I will run both so I can compare them side by side.
It is that cut and dry and I beat you to it. Read This.

As I said in that post: If that Jack gets you more channels than your Batwing, the Batwing was broken, period. That's not an opinion, its a result and the numbers back that up.
Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350

Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Explorer II
SCVJeff wrote:
There are two reasons to switch to a Jack:
- It points in the same direction as the pointer in the cab

About 10 seconds work with a Sharpie took care of the pointer confusion on my Sensar III dial. :B
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

ScottG
Nomad
Nomad
SCVJeff wrote:
There are two reasons to switch to a Jack:
- It points in the same direction as the pointer in the cab
- It fits in a footprint that the batwing can't.

But performance wise it cannot match that of a working Batwing. Between the two, the Jack lacks performance arcoss the entire band


This has been argued to death around here and it's just not that cut and dry.
I suggest the OP do some research on the subject if he's not already convinced.
But FWIW, In my own case I get twice the number of stations with my Jack here at home.
Next season I will run both so I can compare them side by side.

SCVJeff
Explorer
Explorer
There are two reasons to switch to a Jack:
- It points in the same direction as the pointer in the cab
- It fits in a footprint that the batwing can't.

But performance wise it cannot match that of a working Batwing. Between the two, the Jack lacks performance arcoss the entire band
Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350

ScottG
Nomad
Nomad
If not then Jack sells a plastic piece that covers the old footprint and gives a nice finished look.
Link

HappyKayakers
Explorer
Explorer
Bob Vaughn wrote:
I am wondering is the Jack antenna head will fit in place of the bat wing on my Antenna Tek antenna?

Yes, I did the exact replacement a couple of years ago after a hailstorm in TX. Only took a few minutes.
Joe, Mary and Dakota, the wacko cat
Fulltiming since 2006
2006 Dodge 3500 QC CTD SRW Jacobs Exhaust brake
2017 Open Range 3X388RKS, side porch