OTA television while traveling?

While you are waiting try searching this Forum for `antenna' then search the results for `digital' and read on or just search for `digital antenna' but there will be fewer responses.

We probably receive OTA TV 85% or more of the time. It's enough that we haven't bothered to upgrade our satellite TV receiver or want to pay the monthly fees.

Bill

Trackrig wrote:
We probably receive OTA TV 85% or more of the time. It's enough that we haven't bothered to upgrade our satellite TV receiver or want to pay the monthly fees.

Bill

Us too. Often anywhere from 12 to 70 stations depending on location.
Works for us!

Winegard Sensar IV head with Wingman(comes with the IV. Winegard Sensar control panel and booster inside. We use OTA about 90% of the time, but when we were fixed for about a 4 month run, we did buy a auto satellite dome and a wally to go with it, on DISH network. Pay on a month-to-month basis, so we only pay when we use it. With our OTA system, I have received up to 70 miles away over flat land. Usually 50 or so is max

We use OTA television the majority of the time. We will sometimes hook up to cable, but often times the OTA reception is a better quality.

Thanks Everyone!

It looks like OTA is a good way to go when traveling.

OTA antennas have changed very little since we went to digital TV (properly called ATSC). The signal coming in is still electromagnetic waves. The big difference is that the frequency range has been drastically cut. This is a bonus, because they got rid of the VHF-Lo band (the old channels 2-6) which required a large antenna for best reception.

Even though they kept VHF-Hi (the old channels 7-13). Most (but not all) broadcasting is done on UHF (only the old channels 14-36)

In short this means that more compact antennas work quite well ! There are several video on YouTube about DIY antennas for very little money.

One thing that has not changed, the higher you ca get your antenna, the better the signal will be.

I also did not want the expense and the added setup needed for satellite so we will watch OTA when we can and it has worked out quite well.

If you have existing hardware you can mount the newest type antenna.

When I bought my RV it had a Winegard Batwing that was not working, I cleaned up all connections and tested to see if it was broken, it was,so I replaced it with a new bat wing then ran a Channel Scan I was not impressed with the amount of channels that I got. This was done in my driveway here in the south bay of So Calif about 30 miles from the transmitters, using my SensarPro.

I then went out and got a Wingman add on, that put my channel scan up to 85,but I had a clearance problem with the Wingman


So I opted to put a Jack Antenna on and my channel scan went up to 174





Cheaper too than the Winegard

I always get beat up by the techies, The debate will go on and on, but I know what works best for me,in the real world.

We do have Dish. But for quick overnight stops we typically watch OTA for news and weather.

Has your 5er’s antenna been removed? For simplicity get a good portable antenna and hook direct to your TV. Good for 30-40 miles over relatively flat terrain. We have a portable hooked to our TV at home so we can still have TV when storms are blocking satellite, or during satellite contract disputes.

OTA exclusively for me when camping. I like the local stations.