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Old 11-04-2019, 02:33 PM   #1
Todd 423
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King antenna with Key system

Has anyone added an aftermarket TV antenna to a RV that has the Key system? I have a 2020 Raptor and the TV reception from the factory omni-directional Furrion antenna is less than desirable.
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Old 11-07-2019, 11:50 AM   #2
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Been looking at some options myself. We have satellite, but when I need a local ABC, CBS, etc for football games, I gotta use HDTV broadcast.

I don't even know our antenna brand but it's a fixed unit.
Nice to hear some feedback
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Old 11-08-2019, 04:08 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Todd 423 View Post
Has anyone added an aftermarket TV antenna to a RV that has the Key system? I have a 2020 Raptor and the TV reception from the factory omni-directional Furrion antenna is less than desirable.
Intersting on antenna.
My name tis also Todd and I have a Raptor 423 with same inadequate antenna reception. If you get any ideas i would appreciate any advise you can give me. I contacted Keystone, they just said contact Lippert. Lippert said antennae is best they have available with nothing better available.
Maybe a chat with Winnegard would help. Good luck to us. [email protected]
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Old 11-08-2019, 02:05 PM   #4
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Intersting on antenna.
My name tis also Todd and I have a Raptor 423 with same inadequate antenna reception. If you get any ideas i would appreciate any advise you can give me. I contacted Keystone, they just said contact Lippert. Lippert said antennae is best they have available with nothing better available.
Maybe a chat with Winnegard would help. Good luck to us. [email protected]
I had a King directional on my old trailer and it worked great. My buddy is parked right next to me and has a King directional and he is able to get several more channels than I can in my new Raptor with the Furrion omni-directional that came OEM on the RV. The problem with installing a new antenna is that the FM and I believe Wifi and bluetooth use the OEM antenna as well as the OTA TV
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Old 11-29-2019, 06:59 PM   #5
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I'm thinking about bolting a light weight aluminium ring onto each end of my 360 omni low profile 55 mile range antenna. I dont know if its worth the troubles.
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Old 12-02-2019, 11:25 AM   #6
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I'm thinking about bolting a light weight aluminium ring onto each end of my 360 omni low profile 55 mile range antenna. I dont know if its worth the troubles.
My antenna theory is a little rusty, how and why do the aluminum rings work?
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Old 12-02-2019, 03:35 PM   #7
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My antenna theory is a little rusty, how and why do the aluminum rings work?
You have to write "Pringles" on them, or they don't work.
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Old 11-30-2019, 08:51 AM   #8
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I had a King directional on my old trailer and it worked great. My buddy is parked right next to me and has a King directional and he is able to get several more channels than I can in my new Raptor with the Furrion omni-directional that came OEM on the RV. The problem with installing a new antenna is that the FM and I believe Wifi and bluetooth use the OEM antenna as well as the OTA TV
WiFi and Bluetooth do not use that antenna. Think about it, you have both those antennas in your phone. Antenna size is related to frequency and the TV freq's are in the .5 GHz range while Bluetooth is 2.45 GHz and WiFi is from about 1 to 6 plus 60 GHz. Antenna size is proportional.
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Old 11-30-2019, 09:28 AM   #9
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Maybe you should wait until your fabulous (junk) Furrion omni directional antenna blows off the roof of your trailer and Keystone tells you it's not covered by warranty because nobody else is having issues with them! Then you can go out and get something better to cover the hole in your roof.
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Old 11-30-2019, 03:10 PM   #10
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Maybe you should wait until your fabulous (junk) Furrion omni directional antenna blows off the roof of your trailer and Keystone tells you it's not covered by warranty because nobody else is having issues with them! Then you can go out and get something better to cover the hole in your roof.
So if I add a King directional, can I unhook the coax from the OEM antenna and attach it to the King? Where do I put the amplifier for the King, or can I use the factory installed Key system?
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Old 11-30-2019, 03:46 PM   #11
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Maybe you should wait until your fabulous (junk) Furrion omni directional antenna blows off the roof of your trailer and Keystone tells you it's not covered by warranty because nobody else is having issues with them! Then you can go out and get something better to cover the hole in your roof.
There not junk they do work just not as good as some antenna. I would like to have factory installed crank up antenna. There isn't much information about replacement of the 360 omni low profile antenna. Im assuming yours was made in canida on Wednesday and you're very happy with the reception.
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Old 11-08-2019, 04:24 AM   #12
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I tried a Walmart $12 booster last weekend. Had a inline box that's supposed to go outside (or inside) inline on the pole and also had a inline powered filter looking peice that had a power plug. Unfortunately I didn't have a extra cable for the inline box, so just used the peice with the plug.
Before I would get a pixel and freezing pic with delays. The rest of the game I had no issues.
I don't think it's gonna work very well but helped me in a pinch.

I'm gonna try a better powered booster next.

After that, it's replacement roof antenna time. It's just I don't currently use it that much and would like to spend the $$ elsewhere
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Old 12-03-2019, 09:12 AM   #13
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Pretty simple really, at least the way I understand antennas. An "omni directional" without an amplifier will have zero db gain as the signal will be relatively equal in all directions. A "directional" antenna will have an inherent gain in one direction, sometimes two directions (180 deg apart).

If the antenna cannot "pick up" the signal than the amplifier will amplify nothing. (simple math, 2db gain times zero = zero.)
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Old 12-03-2019, 10:18 AM   #14
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That's technically true but ignores the way the industry uses the term Omnidirectional. That really means it broadcasts/receives 360° in a generally flat plate, as opposed to a globular pattern. The power that it doesn't waste in the up and down directions is extra gain for that antenna. A common gain for an Omnidirectional antenna is 7dB.
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Old 12-03-2019, 03:39 PM   #15
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The directional antenna will.. in most cases out perform any Omni directional antenna on the market.. both are “active” antennas with preamps.. they are turned to cover a wide band of VHF/UHF spectrum...

With a directional antenna such as the King Jack, or even older directional Winegards the selectivity is always gonna be better than any Omni directional antenna ever built.

Being able to rotate the antenna and direct the “gain” of the antenna more or less at the “line of sight” direction will result in a much stronger received signal within the passband of the active amplifier

YMMV
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Old 12-03-2019, 05:57 PM   #16
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That's technically true but ignores the way the industry uses the term Omnidirectional. That really means it broadcasts/receives 360° in a generally flat plate, as opposed to a globular pattern. The power that it doesn't waste in the up and down directions is extra gain for that antenna. A common gain for an Omnidirectional antenna is 7dB.
By definition:

https://www.sciencedirect.com › topics › computer-science › omnidirectional...
Antenna gain is the same during receive and transmit modes. For example, if antenna gain is +3 dBi in the direction that the signal is received, the received signal power is 3 dB stronger compared to an omnidirectional antenna.
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Old 12-03-2019, 06:30 PM   #17
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Right. That's another classic difference between science and engineering ("industry"). Science considers an "omnidirectional" antenna to be a point source radiating in all directions (isotropic). Industry realizes that an antenna with that radiation pattern has next to zero practical use, so they use the same term to mean that it merely radiates in all compass directions. It's the reduction (redirection) of the power otherwise wasted in vertical signal that produces the antenna's gain.
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Old 12-03-2019, 06:39 PM   #18
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Right. That's another classic difference between science and engineering ("industry"). Science considers an "omnidirectional" antenna to be a point source radiating in all directions (isotropic). Industry realizes that an antenna with that radiation pattern has next to zero practical use, so they use the same term to mean that it merely radiates in all compass directions. It's the reduction (redirection) of the power otherwise wasted in vertical signal that produces the antenna's gain.
I was taught that engineering is a science. Can you tell me your source for the 7 dB gain for the omni directional antenna that you cited earlier? I was referencing the antenna itself, being non amplified and not an antenna/amplifier package.
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Old 12-03-2019, 09:56 PM   #19
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Maybe the wineguard “RAZR” is an option?
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Old 12-03-2019, 10:04 PM   #20
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That looks like a pretty responsive product.

Personally, I'm not sure I watch $400 worth of TV on the road.

The other issue is that unlike my old $90 manual Winegard, which cleared every other obstruction on my roof when deployed, this unit looks like it would be seriously inconvenienced by its designated location immediately behind my air conditioner.
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