King Jack HD RV antenna

[Durhamcutter]

Does anyone have a King Jack antenna on there RV? If so is it really better than the one that comes on the RV (Bat Wing)?

[RollandB]

If you park and drive where there are low hanging branches the Jack is better at getting knocked off. I can attest from the school of hard knocks. It's design of the mast need improvement.

[SCVJeff]

Campfire Time wrote:
Short answer to the OP is that yes, the Jack is better than the basic batwing. If all you have is the batwing right now, the Sensar add-on is $20 cheaper on Amazon, and that alone is a good reason to buy it. I don't think you'd be unhappy with either the Jack or the Sensar add-on though.

SoundGuy wrote:

Actually one can, the common misunderstanding being that if one receives more stations with the Jack antenna than the Sensar IV then it obviously must be "better".

True the numbers don't lie. And yet at the end of the day, that's all that really matters to most RVers is more channels, isn't it? I see no reason to replace an existing Jack unless TV is REALLY important to you. And yes, I realize that to some folks it is. On the flip side, if one doesn't have either, the Sensar is certainly the better buy.

But realistically if someone has a Jack that isn't picking up more stations than the basic batwing, then there is another issue that needs to be fixed first.

The Basic Batwing still performs better than the Jack, and if you remove the Wingman, while it may be closer in performance to the Jack, the VHF performance is still WAY better than the Jack. Look at the test above..

People are going to come back and argue that all stations have moved to UHF anyway, but thats simply not true. Additionally, there is another FCC auction/ repacking coming soon, and without going into all the details, ONE of the incentives is to move existing UHF stations BACK down to VHF where feasible, and THAT completely changes the game for the Jack whose performance is significantly poorer on VHF. There is a reason that the Winegard has that big 'ol "Batwing" attached to it. That's its VHF elements.

[Campfire_Time]

Short answer to the OP is that yes, the Jack is better than the basic batwing. If all you have is the batwing right now, the Sensar add-on is $20 cheaper on Amazon, and that alone is a good reason to buy it. I don't think you'd be unhappy with either the Jack or the Sensar add-on though.

SoundGuy wrote:

Actually one can, the common misunderstanding being that if one receives more stations with the Jack antenna than the Sensar IV then it obviously must be "better".

True the numbers don't lie. And yet at the end of the day, that's all that really matters to most RVers is more channels, isn't it? I see no reason to replace an existing Jack unless TV is REALLY important to you. And yes, I realize that to some folks it is. On the flip side, if one doesn't have either, the Sensar is certainly the better buy.

But realistically if someone has a Jack that isn't picking up more stations than the basic batwing, then there is another issue that needs to be fixed first.

[SCVJeff]

SoundGuy wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:
That question is probably good for another few pages of debate, but at the end of the Day, NO, the Jack is not a better antenna on either UHF or especially VHF. It's only advantage is that it's got a smaller footprint on the roof.

Unfortunately Jeff, you're fighting a losing battle here against manufacturer advertising, internet word of mouth, and misunderstanding of the facts and no amount of technical substantiation to the contrary will convince people otherwise. People will believe what they want to believe, in this case that the King Controls Jack TV antenna is superior in performance to the venerable Winegard Sensar IV, which as you've proven with your own exhaustive tests with lab equipment designed for the purpose remains the best of the best when it comes to an antenna small enough to be mounted on an uRV. It's just the way the world works. :S

Thats OK, regardless of what anyone here thinks, electronics is a pure game of math, and the numbers simply don't lie. So rather than wasting time with the same naysayers over and over again, I suggest the OP read the following threads:

Jack vs. Batwing

New Antenna

TV Antenna

This is a VERY small sampling on what's a never ending debate, but as I said, the numbers simply don't lie. If you have mechanical restrictions, or airflow issues over the RV that it's banging from the wind, that's a different issue. Electrically, read the 1st link because it's the only meaningful side by side test between the two antennas. And one more time: The numbers don't lie.

As for defective O-Rings, I've been around and owned RV's a very long time, and have never once heard anyone complain about repeated defective O-Rings. Something else is clearly wrong.

[Chris_Bryant]

It may well be the quality control on the Jack is so poor that those of us who have had them side by side just got bad ones. If so- I've run across a several of them, and have yet to find a really good one.
They're cheaper to stock, with more profit, so *I* would like it if I could recommend them with good conscious. I do recommend them on price, however.

The all in one Jack, with the plastic base, is another matter.

[ScottG]

I added the stand alone Jack and abandoned my Battwing. We camp at the same dozen or so CG's every year (some very remote) and the Jack always perform as well or in some cases, much better than the BW.
And by "better" I mean it gets more stations.

[tommykelly]

my 2014 Tioga came with the Jack...signal booster inside Jack ant. died under warranty..got it replaced and ..then the 12 volt power that is in a multiple select unit no longer would ( called a Magnadyne video control center) (replaced it) supply 12 volts ..I will install the wall power supply in the future... I did notice that the wall power supply comes with the complete antenna kit but fleetwood decided to use the power from the Magnadyne.

I bought another Magnadyne through Fleetwood but they can be bought on Amazon.

the problem is if there is a loss internally in the 12 volt circuit Megadyne..there is no fuse ...no reset it is a throw away box.

I took it apart it is all a solid circuit board...someone probably could but not me and

Megadyne said no fuse just a "coil" within circuit board. (No useable parts internally"

[wa8yxm]

Many have it..Some swear by it, and under certain conditions yes under others no

Ran a side by side.. Jack got 4 stations, I got 5

I have Batwing + Wingman + Sensar pro

The Jack is a decent UHF antenna, Roughly equal to the Batwing... THe Batwing is better at VHF,, The jack has a wider "Beam Width" so if you have stations all around you (or scattterd in one quadrant)it will do better.

The Batwing WITH WINGMAN has a much narrower beam width,, Thus it can see farther.. (Which is how I rate them, how far can thy see)

The Sensar Pro (Which might work with the Jack as well) adds a host of additional features that are really nice.

A forum member did an indepndent lab side by side of them,, Using very expensive lab hardware to measure the performance.. NOTHING sold for RVs beats the Wingard Sensar IV.

There are better antennas.. but not for RV (Channel Master sells one that I think is over 20 feet long and over 10 feet wide.. Put it on top of a 100 foot mast and that's one heck of an antenna.. Not, however, practical for RV use)

[SoundGuy]

dodge guy wrote:
You can`t argue with results.

Actually one can, the common misunderstanding being that if one receives more stations with the Jack antenna than the Sensar IV then it obviously must be "better". However, sensitivity trumps all and Winegard can demonstrate their Sensar IV is as good as it gets, the downside being increased directionality of the antenna, meaning it's much more critical to have the antenna pointed correctly at the transmitter one is trying to receive. The Jack TV antenna, although less sensitive, has a wider acceptance angle and therefore may appear to the user to be "better" simply because it's not as critical to point it exactly in the direction of the transmitter one wants to receive.

[dodge_guy]

Sorry Jeff. but I want to help out another RV`er.

OP, Why are you wanting to change it out? are you having reception problems? you can try cleaning the coax connections on the roof at the antenna. sometimes they get corrosion which gives bad reception. not the problem for me though.

For me the Jack is far better than the Batwing! even when my trailer was new it only pulled in around 10 stations in my driveway which is 45 miles from Chicago. this was both trailers a new 05 Cherokee and our current 07 Cherokee.

I had to make a change because I could never get more than 5 stations at a campground, some nothing at all. After installing the Jack I now get 70 stations in my driveway and at a campground I could never get a station at I now get 10.

Even my buddy installed a Jack this year and he too was impressed with how well and how many stations he pulled in. I think you will be very happy with the Jack. You can`t argue with results. I know some will tell me my Batwing was broken. well in that case their are a lot of broken batwings out there! because almost everyone that installed one has seen an improvement in reception.

[SoundGuy]

SCVJeff wrote:
That question is probably good for another few pages of debate, but at the end of the Day, NO, the Jack is not a better antenna on either UHF or especially VHF. It's only advantage is that it's got a smaller footprint on the roof.

Unfortunately Jeff, you're fighting a losing battle here against manufacturer advertising, internet word of mouth, and misunderstanding of the facts and no amount of technical substantiation to the contrary will convince people otherwise. People will believe what they want to believe, in this case that the King Controls Jack TV antenna is superior in performance to the venerable Winegard Sensar IV, which as you've proven with your own exhaustive tests with lab equipment designed for the purpose remains the best of the best when it comes to an antenna small enough to be mounted on an RV. It's just the way the world works. :S

[SoundGuy]

deltamaster wrote:
I do not have the extra thing that you can get for them to pick up digital signals.

Whether a television signal is HD or not is irrelevant, that "extra thing" otherwise known as the Winegard Wingman is designed to improve the UHF sensitivity of the Winegard Sensar III antenna which was original designed primarily for VHF band signals.

[JaxDad]

SCVJeff wrote:
It's only advantage is that it's got a smaller footprint on the roof.

Anyone that tells you their Jack works better than a Batwing, has a broken Batwing.

Really? The only advantage?

My Jack works just fine while going down the highway at 70mph, the old batwing made a heck of a racket in that much wind.

[SkiSmuggs]

Given that atmospheric conditions can change reception, I did get one more channel at a campsite that I had been in previously after replacing the bat wing with the Jack. Other than that, it looks cool. :C