Help with Antenna

[TCI]

OK, we have a sensar III Antenna on our 2015 Montana. Stupid question but we want to know once and for all. One side is wear the cable go in. Other side is flat and has winegard on it. Then we have the wings. One is on the W side of Winegard and the other is on the D side. If I want to point my antenna North, which side is the actual pointer. The wings, the back or the flat front with Winegard on it? Thanks for your patients. We have been using these things for years and always fight with it.

[Bill_Satellite]

Phoenix is one area where the signal strength is so strong you can actually have the signal swamped just by having the Batwing in the air. You will want to ensure that the Sensar Pro is set to 10 or less (10 is zero additional gain, less attenuates the signal and more amplifies the signal). When we were in that area we got the best reception with the antenna stowed for travel to help reduce the strength of the broadcast signal.

[Davidlee64]

I had been having issues with TV reception for the last few weeks after a major windstorm here in Glendale, Az. I got tired of fighting with the junk antenna someone previously had installed, a cheap Wally World $29 special. After doing some research, I found that my RV originally had a Winegard antenna. A Winegard escutcheon plate was on the ceiling, and a Winegard power plate (RV-7042) was on the wall. So I contacted someone to install a new one. I told him I wanted a Sensar IV and a Sensar Pro. I had a few minor issues with the install. The original wall plate had an external coax connector for the TV in the bedroom. The Sensar Pro has no provision on the living space side to connect the TV. I installed a coax pass-through plate, but the connections on the S-Pro are male, and the pass-through is also male on both sides.I used a 12" coax jumper to resolve that problem. It's hidden in the wall, so overall the installation looks factory.
Now to the performance of the antenna. The installer fooled around with testing it. The Sensar Pro design forces you to do a little research. I found the info for the channel numbers, instead of the virtual numbers.It seems the majority of transmitters are in the same area somewhere around 15 to 25 miles as the crow flies. The installer decided to use 26 (45.1 DTV) as a random channel to aim at. The antenna was sort of aiming 90° from the transmitter. The Sensar Pro signal was 69. I tested the TV reception and found some channels I wanted didn't work. I settled with the installer and sent him on his way. I now had the time to fool with it. I chose channel 10 after some research. I visually rotated the antenna to where I thought it should be, directly towards the towers. I turned everything on, and the signal was shown as 70. I figured good enough, and ran a new channel scan on my TV. Lo and behold I had more channels showing on the list. I checked the reception quality on the screen of both TV sets. All the channels I watch, and then some, came in perfectly. I marked the the direction with a majic marker on the ceiling plate so I could repeat the direction if I had to put the antenna facing the direction for lowering it. I am very happy with the results and performance of the Winegard Sensar IV (with Wingman) and the Sensar Pro signal strength meter.

[RJsfishin]

As mentioned, the sensor pro is not completely fool proof, but you can tune in the best signal w/o ever turning the tv on, and then when you turn it on, you WILL have a picture. But I have found that sometimes a blocking out condition can be corrected by tuning slightly off of the sensor pro's best signal.

[wa8yxm]

Thanks for the measured patterns.

I have the wingman so .. And highly recommend it
I also have and highly recommend the Sensar Pro

Since I have the Wingman it points to the towers
Two of the three staions I get here
one is over 25 miles out. one over 45 both rock solid.

[Tom_M1]

wa8yxm wrote:
Ok if you have a SENSAR III without teh Wingman then the pattern is a figure 8, Does not matter if the front or the back is toward the station it works either way.

It does matter for UHF. Here's a photo of the innards:


Here's the radiation pattern for a Sensar III:

[wa8yxm]

Ok if you have a SENSAR III without teh Wingman then the pattern is a figure 8, Does not matter if the front or the back is toward the station it works either way. There is more to this but Ill leave it off now.

IF you add the WINGMAN then the WINGMAN points to the transmission tower, By the way I suggest teh wingman.

Another suggestion is the SENSAR PRO. adds amplification and a host of other features. it will also answer your question for you.

[Johno02]

Best answer is to rotate until you get the strongest signal. Most TVs have an info button that will show signal strength as a bar or bars like a cell phonehas. Depends on the TV and the station. In some cases, the strongest signal is not a direct line to the transmitter site. Bounce off hills and trees may create a difference. The Sensar Pro will hael with this also, s it has a signal strengthmeter built in.

[Johno02]

Tom has it exactly right! Pattern is a figure 8 antenna is at crossover point.

[Tom_M1]

[Dutch_12078]

Since you apparently don't have the add-on "Wingman" to optimize UHF signals, there's little reception difference between the front/logo and the back/cable sides. With weak signals though, having the front/logo side aimed toward the towers may offer some slight improvement. As said for better UHF reception, I also suggest adding the Wingman, and for overall signal improvement, the SensarPro replacment power inserter/amplifier.

[wildtoad]

The flat side with Winegard is the front and where you need to aim. You should invest in the Wingman add on and then reception for many channels will improve and there will be no doubt which way to point. Regardless of what you do, OTA tv reception is and always has been hit or miss.

I can tell you that after trying several, you have about the best there is. Adding the Wingman will help as will the Sensar Pro control box. But again, hit or miss.

[Jim]

Going by this picture, Antenna, the short stubby antenna elements should be aligned at a right angle to the TV transmitting antenna.

Put another way, you'll be pointing the end of the structure that's supporting those short antenna segments (that are parallel to the main wings) towards the transmitting tower.

Usually, towns and cities have all the transmitters for different TV networks all on the same or nearby hills so generally if you're within 25 miles of the towers you only need to point in one direction. I do have to occasionally turn the antenna to improve the signal for a certain network. Where I am in Sioux Falls, I don't even get ABC. Note that TREES play havoc with TV signals (and Wifi signals).