Antenna upgrade

Added the Wingman to my antenna the other day. After fixing the loose connection helping it immensely the wingman stabilized a few of the weaker signals so now everything is great. Its a Sensar III. Good worthwhile addition if you don't have one on your antenna.

BFL13 wrote:
ISTR I was putting the coax amplifier (on inverter power same as the TV) on the coax into the TV set, with the antenna head amplifier already powered.

You can leave the amp in this position but if you are close to the transmitter site it may be too much amplification.

The Winegard SensarPro is a good option. It replaces the wall plate and can work with any antenna. I'm using it with both a Winegard Sensar IV and a Jack antenna.

BFL13 wrote:
Another thing is if you have one of those coax amplifiers, you can't use it with the antenna amplifier and amp the amp. Doesn't work at all. Your antenna amp is all you can get.

Tom_M wrote:
You can not place an amp between the antenna and the power injector (usually the wall plate). It can be placed after the power injector. Just be aware that too much amplification can cause problems. If you are close to the transmitter sites you can overload the tuner in the TV. This will not harm the TV, but you may not be able watch some channels.

Anyone with a Sensar IV head array looking for greater control over signal strength would be best served by investing in a Winegard SensarPro which is capable of +/- 10 db signal amplification / attenuation. As mentioned, a too strong signal is just as bad as a too weak signal ... when the SensarPro is set to "10" it's neither amplifying or attenuating the signal ... lower that "10" and it's attenuating, above "10" it's amplifying. I installed one in our rig and along with adding a Wingman for improved UHF reception signal sensitivity is about as good as it's going to get short of mounting a long distance array designed for permanent installation on a tower and which can be rotated by motor control ... obviously not a practical solution for RVrs, ergo the reason a Sensar IV with a SensarPro is about as good as it's going to get.

Tom_M wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
Another thing is if you have one of those coax amplifiers, you can't use it with the antenna amplifier and amp the amp. Doesn't work at all. Your antenna amp is all you can get.

You can not place an amp between the antenna and the power injector (usually the wall plate). It can be placed after the power injector. Just be aware that too much amplification can cause problems. If you are close to the transmitter sites you can overload the tuner in the TV. This will not harm the TV, but you may not be able watch some channels.

Thanks. I would like to try that again only doing it right.(Or at least with a chance for it to work "depending") Can you please clarify how to place things? The above is a bit confusing (to me)

ISTR I was putting the coax amplifier (on inverter power same as the TV) on the coax into the TV set, with the antenna head amplifier already powered.

In the stick house on cable, this coax amplifier I have does amplify (after too many splitters) with analog when we had that. It seems to cut off signal with digital using a newer cable box. Not sure just what is the trouble there.

Of course I want to try the double amplification in the trailer with digital OTA. (Which the Jack does ok, but I would like to get stations farther away--60 to 70 miles)

--Merry Christmas everybody!

BFL13 wrote:
Another thing is if you have one of those coax amplifiers, you can't use it with the antenna amplifier and amp the amp. Doesn't work at all. Your antenna amp is all you can get.

You can not place an amp between the antenna and the power injector (usually the wall plate). It can be placed after the power injector. Just be aware that too much amplification can cause problems. If you are close to the transmitter sites you can overload the tuner in the TV. This will not harm the TV, but you may not be able watch some channels.

My Batwing amp died, so I swapped that head for a Jack, since it was on sale. Works fine. No issues with roof obstructions either.

I can't say for sure if the Wingman gets longer range, but a neighbour with one was getting some stations that I was not, one time I checked. (But this is not science with lots of data) Within range of the Jack , got lots of stations, no problem. Somewhere over 50 miles and it gets tricky it seems. Some stations are stronger so you still get those.

If you are in trees, nothing can help much. Luck of the draw what you can get.

One thing is whether you have to use the wall wart that comes with the alternative antenna amp, or if you can use your rig's old Winegard "12v" to the antenna. It turns out you can just use the rig's 12v and not have to use the wall wart on inverter. The amplifier is not fussy about the exact amount of "12v"

Another thing is if you have one of those coax amplifiers, you can't use it with the antenna amplifier and amp the amp. Doesn't work at all. Your antenna amp is all you can get.

Well then, get the Wingman add-on. It will be even better. It is super simple to install.

If the face of the antenna head is teardrop shaped, it's at least a Sensar III. Our older one's face is symmetrical when you look at it head on. Wingman will help either. Sensar IV includes wingman. I thought they brought one out that worked like wingman but didn't have the visible attachment but I didn't see it.

Ken,

Winegard site has pix of the various generations of the batwing. Early versions really benefit from WingMan like ours did. At a certain point in their evolution, the capability the wingman adds, was built into the antenna head.

If you have one of the earlier Winegard Batwings it WILL benefit from WingMan. Weird, it attaches with push pins into the bottom of the antenna head. No tools (maybe a pocket knife) and no wiring connections. But it does something to affect the wave pattern and you magically get more of the high band digital stations.

It attaches to the bottom of the head and extends away from the side opposite the arm attachments. Be sure you have clearance beside that head to let it fold down onto the roof.

Ed_Gee wrote:
If you have the budget for it, the new Winegard Rayzer antenna would be a good replacement for an old Bat wing.

Where as I feel the Rayzer is a waste of money just so you know and I have the creds to read the spec sheets.

To the person who suggested running a direct coax from the switch box/power supply to the antenna... EXCELLENT SUGGESTION. In fact the last one I had to check that the next to the last one I had to diagnose that is what we ended up doing.. His problem, like mine, was the roof connector.