RV antenna question...?

[d3500ram]

(OP here- I am resurrecting this thread to ask in new post #9 below on this page about current RV antenna technology)

For a few reasons, I removed the antenna from my truck camper... I believe it is a fairly common model/ type.

Does this antenna collapse or telescope into itself? It sorta looks like it might, but I do not want to snap or break anything if it doesn't. It seems as if there is some sort of tab where the wings extend from the antenna body. I do not want to break anything trying to try if it is not intended to shrink.

[SoundGuy]

Tom_M wrote:
Seems like everyone has lost sight of what the OP is doing.

You've lost sight of the fact some of us are replying to myredracer who queried westend about his Gray-Hoverman antenna, and not the OP.

[Tom_M1]

Seems like everyone has lost sight of what the OP is doing. He is selling his truck camper and just wants to put the antenna back on. Upgrading would be a waste of money. Just make sure it works properly and repair or replace the bad coax that was mentioned.

[westend]

That Channel Master ought to work well for you, especially if you can get it well up into the air. My antenna (the bottom) is typically about 2' above the TT roof.

With these bowtie antennas, the active element (the bowtie) receives signal directly and reflected by the cross rods. The rods tend to enhance certain frequencies. I have seen on that antenna Forum that some users place either a foil sheet or a fence panel behind the rods and therefore, get even better sensitivity. If your broadcast stations are not all from one direction, that can work against you as stations behind the antenna will be somewhat blocked by the additions.

Good luck with your new antenna!

[myredracer]

westend wrote:

Photo of your antenna? Where/how is it mounted and how well does it work?

The antenna is mounted on a 6' aluminum mast and fits into the stock mast holder that came with the travel trailer. I also have an FM dipole, made from copper pipe, that is held by those spring-style rake holders sold at the harware store.

I like it! 🙂 Interesting design. Also an electronics geek here - going back to late 60s and the vacuum tube era, including antenna stuff. Even took radio wave propagation in college but remember zip (pretty dry & boring stuff).

This is a Channel Master bowtie antenna I just got. Only 20x36" so easy to put in the truck. Will partially collapse too. It looks similar to yours but doesn't have the ends of the angled elements connected together. Will get to try it at a CG this weekend. Will mount it on some 1" EMT conduit for now and see how it compares to the stock Winegard antenna. Will be travelling through WA, OR, ID and MT this summer and am hoping it will pull in more channels than the Winegard in the various CGs we'll be at.

One nice thing about the bowtie style antennas is that they aren't as directional as the yagi types. Haven't delved into the science of how the bowtie antennas work but if it works better than a Winegard, I'll be happy. Now, if I could just figure out how to stash a deep fringe yagi antenna with a 10' boom in the back of the truck...

[westend]

Photo of your antenna? Where/how is it mounted and how well does it work?

The antenna is mounted on a 6' aluminum mast and fits into the stock mast holder that came with the travel trailer. I also have an FM dipole, made from copper pipe, that is held by those spring-style rake holders sold at the harware store.

The TV antenna works very well. The guys that are really into antennas have measured the gain on the antenna and report some of the most sensitivity of any array. The overall reception is from the low UF bands up to the middle of the VHF band, IIRC. I receive all of the broadcast stations in my area. The broadcast towers are all in one location and I am approx. 35 mi. from the towers. This is not a direct line of sight. There are 2 million residents between me and the towers.

There is a lot of information from the Forum website I linked to above. I'm not really an antenna geek, more of an electronics nut. I thought I'd try it out and see what the results were. I'm happy with the outcome. BTW, some builders of this array are using them (mostly a double array) to receive broadcast when far away from broadcast towers. There are also some builders that tweak the design to get more gain or a wider reception.

[SoundGuy]

myredracer wrote:
The Wingman elements are tuned to bring in higher frequency UHF signals/channels while the larger element on the basic antenna is more for lower frequency VHF signals. From what I understand, broadcasters are moving more to the UHF channels so the Wingman is worthwhile.

Just keep in mind that the world is ever changing and the broadcast television spectrum is being reallocated so more stations will be going back to VHF from UHF - referred to as repacking. That's when an antenna head like the King Jack antenna head will demonstrate it's Achilles Heel - poor sensitivity in the VHF bands - whereas the Winegard Sensar which originally began life as a VHF antenna will continue to shine.

[SoundGuy]

myredracer wrote:
Choosing a good antenna design is pretty difficult as it turns out, because there are no industry standards for performance and many antennas have exaggerated claims. The Winegard Sensar antenna has no performance specs. and there are lots of designs/types/bands that should work much better but it's a case of how to mount one.

In the world of RVs that's the point and the entire reason the Winegard Sensar IV is the best of the bunch - for it's intended purpose. If you're willing to deal with a much larger, higher mounted array then you can do much better - but for most RV owners this isn't a practical solution.

[SoundGuy]

myredracer wrote:
Photo of your antenna?

Just click on that Gray-Hoverman antenna link and you'll have tons of information on how to construct one. Examples are here.

[wa8yxm]

IT does not collasp into itself the desing is a "Folded dipole" which is why the slot down the middle.
As others have said the WINGMAN (about 30-40 bucks) will improve UHF performance (NOTE: NO difference between Digital and Analog from the antenna's point of view. But many Digital stations moved to UHF even if they still have VHF Station ID's like 2 4 7 (Detroit) only 2 is still VHF (They broadcast on channel 7)

Adding a SENSAR pro in place if the indoor Wall Plate will make additional improvement.. How do I know this.. Well that's how I watch TV.

[myredracer]

westend wrote:


FWIW, I made my own antenna for the RV. I used a design I found on the internet-- Gray-Hoverman array. I had everything at hand except a few aluminum rods. It took an afternoon to build and connect. The picture quality is as good as the plasma TV's in the house with a cable feed.

Photo of your antenna? Where/how is it mounted and how well does it work?

I'm just heading out the door to pick up a bowtie type antenna I got off ebay at a price I could not refuse. Going to experiment with it to see how much better it works. Choosing a good antenna design is pretty difficult as it turns out, because there are no industry standards for performance and many antennas have exaggerated claims. The Winegard Sensar antenna has no performance specs. and there are lots of designs/types/bands that should work much better but it's a case of how to mount one.

[westend]

If you are within 40 miles of the broadcast tower and you wish to have reception to show a prospective buyer that the TV is working, I'd suggest to get another antenna. Since you state that you'd much prefer an indoor antenna to an out door one, you could search at Amazon and E Bay for a small antenna that is tuned towards the UHF bands. This can be small in size and fit the bill for what you're after. Heck, a clean piece of wire formed into a 10" circle and run through a balun to the TV may be all that's necessary.

FWIW, I made my own antenna for the RV. I used a design I found on the internet-- Gray-Hoverman array. I had everything at hand except a few aluminum rods. It took an afternoon to build and connect. The picture quality is as good as the plasma TV's in the house with a cable feed.

[myredracer]

The Wingman add-on elements is in photo below. No tools needed, it simply snaps on with the provided fasteners. A Wingman is a pretty locost upgrade and def. worth doing.

The Wingman elements are tuned to bring in higher frequency UHF signals/channels while the larger element on the basic antenna is more for lower frequency VHF signals. From what I understand, broadcasters are moving more to the UHF channels so the Wingman is worthwhile.

[d3500ram]

Jerry- If I understand it, the Wineman needs a host antenna (such as the one I have now)...correct?

I guess what I am trying to ask is this: is there a new tech RV antenna that is wholly internal to the RV such that I can remove and block off the existing Winegard roof penetration?

[jplante4]

d3500ram wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
As long as it's off, stick a Wingman attachment on there. Make it better at pulling in the digital signals.

What is this "Wingman attachment" of which you mention? Will it answer my question above?

video

Forget about those "as seen on TV" flat plastic "HD" antennas. A Wingman and a Sensar Pro booster/signal strength meter is all you need to clean up the digital broadcast.