Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Tech Forums > Keystone Questions
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 09-03-2017, 04:50 AM   #1
Abcd
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Holland
Posts: 26
Antenna SUCKS

I bought this trailer in Feb of this year (hideout 272lhs) with a antenna that you don't wind up. The guy told us this is better than the other one. Well he's totally wrong. What can I do to get better reception with this antenna? Do I need to buy another booster?
Abcd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2017, 04:56 AM   #2
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
Welcome to the forum
The fixed wing antennas aren't the greatest in the world as you found out. Adding a booster isn't going to improve the reception if the booster that came with the trailer is on. You have few options, there are "fixed" antennas made by triple vision that kick butt, or depending on the location of your current antenna, you could replace it with an antenna that rotates. Installing a rotating antenna would involve drilling a hole through the ceiling to attach the rotation control knob and that's why it matters where your current antenna is mounted.
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2017, 02:51 PM   #3
LarrySharon
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Rainier, Oregon but my heart is still in Arizona and my wife's heart is in Oregon.
Posts: 232
I so agree with you. I was so disappointed in this style as well. I debated what to do, I tried a booster but that did not work (Chuckster57 said) So after much thought and investigating I decided to go with the Dish Tailgater. Camping World had them on sale and I got a free receiver to boot. (Good Sam mbr) Haven't gotten it yet so I can't say how that is working out.
__________________

Larry/Sharon Ellison
U.S. Navy Retired
Retired from Armstrong World Industries
Retired Period, But Not From Life
2007 Toyota Tundra
2017 Keystone Hideout 22KBSWE
LarrySharon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2017, 03:55 PM   #4
ncgrl1
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Hudson, N.C.
Posts: 72
I have one of those useless pieces of junk also. They might as well mounted a Frisbee up there. You could at least play with it...
__________________
2018 Ram 1500 Limited
2018 Cougar Half-Ton 24RBS
ncgrl1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2017, 04:08 PM   #5
Abcd
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Holland
Posts: 26
Went to the camping store down the road to see what they have.There is no easy fix obivisouly. They only had 2 options Available. They had the crank style And the roof style. Both Styles required work to the camper. So going to wait tell next year
Abcd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-03-2017, 04:09 PM   #6
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
They are considered "omnidirectional" but I have found they are very dependent on "heading" and physical location on the roof. It seems that the AC unit can block the signal, and replacement choices are very limited.

Since we have had Directv since about 2002, we use a receiver from a bedroom and a wineguard carry out. Being a tech and seeing/testing many different brands of antennas, I like the king Jack and the "wingman" both not an option for the OP.
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2017, 02:04 AM   #7
notanlines
Senior Member
 
notanlines's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Germantown, TN
Posts: 6,308
ABCD, we use the Wingman recommended by Chuckster. If you and your "friend" are handy at all this is a job for a short afternoon.
__________________
Jim in Memphis, Wife of 51 years is Brenda
2019 F450 6.7 Powerstroke
2018 Mobile Suites 40RSSA
2021 40' Jayco Eagle
2001 Road king w/matching Harley sidecar
2021 Yamaha X2 Wolverine 1000
notanlines is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2017, 04:10 AM   #8
vantage32fls
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Naselle
Posts: 31
I seen one at antenna deals.com that had good reviews anyone ever try one? Thinking about one for us.
__________________

Tom & Sue
Keystone Vantage 32fls
2019 RAM CC 8' bed SRW 4x4 6.7 HO w/Aisin
15k Curt Tru-Trac Trunnion
vantage32fls is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2017, 05:11 AM   #9
ken56
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Dandridge TN
Posts: 260
I have one also on my new rig. My old unit had the Sensar with the Wing man and I was able to get 32 channels. This one I can get all of 6......maybe. Short of a total replacement or going satellite I am not as yet willing to put out the money for either.
ken56 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2017, 07:12 AM   #10
madmaxmutt
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 409
I think this is weird because, I get more channels with the flying saucer than my Sensar wingman ever got and I don' have to turn it around.
madmaxmutt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 03:29 AM   #11
Tinner12002
Senior Member
 
Tinner12002's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Lafayette
Posts: 1,068
Not sure whats on mine but until I found the booster button mine got hardly no channels. After I found booster button it gets 47 out of 67 channels scanned! I thought it was doing good!
__________________
2015 Ram,3500,Dually,B&W,4.10s,Aisin,Limited,Silver
2018 Raptor,428SP w/full body paint
2012 Harley, Ultra Limited
Tinner12002 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 04:06 AM   #12
briyoung
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Erie
Posts: 25
Just curious, do all of these types of antennas have a booster button? We get almost zero channels no matter where we are.
__________________
NWPA
2018 Passport 2670BH
briyoung is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 04:19 AM   #13
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
Quote:
Originally Posted by briyoung View Post
Just curious, do all of these types of antennas have a booster button? We get almost zero channels no matter where we are.
Yes there should be a booster button on all RV antennas. It should be on one of the plates where the coax connects.
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 05:05 AM   #14
briyoung
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Erie
Posts: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckster57 View Post
Yes there should be a booster button on all RV antennas. It should be on one of the plates where the coax connects.
Thank you, that would explain no channels then lol. We were never shown that during the walk through.
__________________
NWPA
2018 Passport 2670BH
briyoung is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 05:31 AM   #15
PARAPTOR
Site Team | Emeritus
 
PARAPTOR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Western PA
Posts: 2,732
Just as a reminder, when you are connected to campsite cable turn that booster off
__________________
2013 RAPTOR 300MP w/Rear Patio Deck NO Folding Side Ladder
2013 Silverado 3500HD LTZ CC LB 4X4 DRW
Duramax 6.6L Turbo Diesel; Allison Trans
Reese 20K; Carlisle Radial Trail RH/HD; TPMS (12 Tires)

Veteran


PSU (GO LIONS)
PARAPTOR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 08:44 AM   #16
madmaxmutt
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 409
Quote:
Originally Posted by PARAPTOR View Post
Just as a reminder, when you are connected to campsite cable turn that booster off
And... When you are not using it when not connected to shore power.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
madmaxmutt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 08:54 AM   #17
Desert185
Senior Member
 
Desert185's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Nevada
Posts: 2,695
The Wingman on my crankup antenna made a big difference...FWIW to those who have the similar antenna.

We also bought a Blu Ray WIFI DVD player from Costco for ~$50. We don't go to movies much anymore, so we buy new release DVD's and pop our own popcorn for movie night in the boonies. If near a good WIFI, Netflix is available, too. That's enough TV for us when not at home.
__________________
Desert185 🇺🇸 (Retired Chemtrail vendor)
-Ram 2500 QC, LB, 4x4, Cummins HO/exhaust brake, 6-speed stick.
-Andersen Ultimate 24K 5er Hitch.
-2014 Cougar 326SRX, Maxxis tires w/TPMS, wet bolts, two 6v batts.
-Four Wheel 8' Popup Camper.
Desert185 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 09:08 AM   #18
CamperDave
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Okmulgee
Posts: 51
The fixed wing antennas are horrible unless you are really close to a tower that just happens to be inline with the signal path the wing is tuning to. I scrapped mine and replaced with a King OmniPro Omnidirectional antenna. My first experience with it was just as bad as the wing antenna. There was nothing in front of it and the towers were about 50-60 miles away. We went to a campsite a mile down the road and the reception was decent (Cartoon channel for the kiddos), about 10 channels total without pixelation. It all depends where you are but is definitely an improvement over the stock (no name) wing Keystone provides.

When two TV's are on at the same time (on different channels), one TV will pixelate, so the signal going out to the TV's are pretty weak (splitters in between also reduce the signal). To eliminate this, I installed a small in-line 10db power booster to the TV farthest away. This solved the low signal issue.

I have even worse luck finding an opening without trees in the South West sky for my dish (missed many ball games as a result). Location, Location, Location.
__________________
-Dave

TV - 2013 Toyota Tundra TSS 4x4 5.7L
TT - 2017 Keystone Outback Ultra Lite 293UBH
CamperDave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 11:00 AM   #19
Tinner12002
Senior Member
 
Tinner12002's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Lafayette
Posts: 1,068
Quote:
Originally Posted by briyoung View Post
Thank you, that would explain no channels then lol. We were never shown that during the walk through.
Don't feel bad as we weren't shown were ours was either...I had to go on a search for it and found it were I never would have thought it to be, in the ceiling above our heads while laying in bed, staring at the red indicator light...what a stupid place for one!!!!!!
__________________
2015 Ram,3500,Dually,B&W,4.10s,Aisin,Limited,Silver
2018 Raptor,428SP w/full body paint
2012 Harley, Ultra Limited
Tinner12002 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-23-2017, 11:03 AM   #20
MarcS
Senior Member
 
MarcS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Howell
Posts: 581
I didn't know we had an antenna booster, until I read this thread. Found it behind the television. It has always been on. I asked my DW if she knew we had one, she did not.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
__________________
2016 Passport 3350BH
2017 F350 SRW Gasser
MarcS is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
antenna

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 09:04 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.