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Old 12-03-2019, 06:30 PM   #21
LHaven
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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   #22
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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, 07:17 PM   #23
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Sure. Here's another very common 7dB omni.

Note that I wasn't implying that a common gain for an omnidirectional TV antenna is 7dB, only that the phrases "gain" and "omnidirectional" (as the latter term is used by broadcast engineers and marketers) are not mutually exclusive.

(Trust me, engineering is science leavened with a heaping helping of art.)
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Old 12-03-2019, 08:58 PM   #24
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Sure. Here's another very common 7dB omni.

Note that I wasn't implying that a common gain for an omnidirectional TV antenna is 7dB, only that the phrases "gain" and "omnidirectional" (as the latter term is used by broadcast engineers and marketers) are not mutually exclusive.

(Trust me, engineering is science leavened with a heaping helping of art.)
I'm not trying to split hairs just get a clear understanding. Thank you for the 2 references for the wifi antennas that broadcast and receive and the gains are dbi which is loosely equivalent to db. The referencing gains by "The compression of the vertical signal" is relative to the broadcasting of the signal. This discussion was about a television antenna that receives signals only. Think about this, what is the 7 dbi gain referencing? Gain over what? Oh, the gain is over a "no loss omni directional antenna" which is theoretical and far beyond this discussion.

The entire point is that a directional television antenna will provide a better signal than an omnidirectional one. I don't think we need to expand this into theorems and doctoral dissertations to prove anyone's knowledge as I'm pretty sure the folks reading this could care less.
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Old 12-03-2019, 09:54 PM   #25
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No, no, I absolutely agree with this. I think my new rig's newfangled omni is an abomination, given the channels I can no longer obtain from its customary parking spot (which is unfortunately directly behind my house from the broadcast city), compared to the old-fashioned wing antenna on my old rig, which could get everything my house antenna gets. I'd consider replacing it if weren't located such that the indoor crank would materialize inside a wall.

As you wrote earlier, "Antenna gain is the same during receive and transmit modes." An antenna with 10dBi transmit gain (which of course isn't an RV function, but you can measure the antenna that way to characterize it) will have the corresponding receive advantage. This is precisely why the directional RV antennas are better at fetching signal than the omnis in fringe situations.

I think one of the links I sourced observed that 20dBi was a typical "high gain" directional antenna spec. This gives you a factor of 100x gain in broadcast power or receive sensitivity, compared to only a 5x factor for a typical 7dBi omni. Now, Winegards probably won't approach that, but what looks like even a minor additional increase in dBi can give you a serious performance multiple.

I admire the manufacturers' enthusiasm to provide newbies with an antenna that you no longer have to aim before you can watch any TV, but given that more RVing is done in the back of beyond than in metropolitan areas, I think they made a seriously bad tradeoff.
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Old 12-03-2019, 09:56 PM   #26
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Maybe the wineguard “RAZR” is an option?
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Old 12-03-2019, 10:04 PM   #27
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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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Old 12-04-2019, 04:10 AM   #28
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They are standard equipment on the pleasureway Class B’s. Sit close to the AC and seem to do very well.
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Old 12-04-2019, 06:41 AM   #29
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The OP has asked about the Furion Omni and isn’t getting as many received channels.. the Furion is a wide banded active antenna with a 17 dB preamp.. so their website states..

It is also a multi band including LTE cell phone frequency range...

Hs current antenna will not ever be as good as any directional antenna currently available


The Rayzor automatic antenna is an automatic directional antenna that would also work much better then his current Furion...

Being able to AIM the forward to backward gain of an antenna will always result in better received signal within the passband of the receiver, preamp, and antenna

OP.. if you want better OTA TV reception yank the junk Furion off and put either a directional gain RV antenna and you will be happy..

If you want LTE then buy a dedicated LTE antenna and you’ll have better results for your cell receive
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