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06-24-2019, 06:57 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 5
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RV antenna
Morning to all.
Curious what everyone's thoughts are on types of RV antennas.
Not interested in a big dish, just want better over the air reception. Have a bat wing on roof.
Does anyone have experience with the King Jack antenna ?
K/J
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06-24-2019, 07:01 AM
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#2
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Site Team
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,236
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King jack is an excellent choice and improvement over the bat wing.
__________________
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.
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06-24-2019, 07:46 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
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All I've ever had was the batwing so can't speak personally for the King Jack, but freinds that have it & would gladly switch back to the batwing.
My last 5er had the Winegard antenna to which I added the little piece to, think it was called Wingman, & that made a big difference, got 50-60 channels about everywhere we parked. But this also made the antenna directional meaning you had to aim it towards the best signal, Winegard has an app & along with the tv signal meter you can do this very easily.
__________________
Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
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06-24-2019, 09:02 AM
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#4
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Site Team
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,236
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The only caveat to all this is depending on how far you are from the towers and the terrain, nothing but satellite will work.
There is a campground that puts us within 40 miles of Sacramento, but it’s tucked behind a mountain so I don’t get very much. Hey me home on flat ground and I get Sacramento and a whole bunch more.
__________________
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.
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06-24-2019, 12:56 PM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Sergeant Bluff IA
Posts: 71
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I had a King Jack installed after bat wing gear broke we like very much good reception no cranking
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06-24-2019, 01:08 PM
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#6
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 67
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external antenna
At home I get plenty of channels on the mounted antenna. However, where we normally go camping it is in a valley about 45 miles from Milwaukee and 50 miles from Madison. So I took three pieces of PVC pipe and some pin clips and created a 16 foot antenna pole that I bungee to the spare tire. I picked up a household antenna from wally world that has a 100 mile range and added a signal amplifier right at the TV. Coax go in the cable hookup and I can get channels from both cities, just have to use an app to aim the antenna.
__________________
2020 Ford F250 Crewcab 4x4 6.2L
2017 Passport Elite 31RE
DW & Me
<+><
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06-24-2019, 01:47 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,286
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I’m just going to throw this out there and I apologize if everyone knows this already. I just recently learned (how embarrassing) that the over the air antenna has a booster you need to turn on in order to get more channels. When I first got the trailer I just thought the antenna wasn’t very good so I never used it. My attention was drawn to the booster via the forum and I was amazed at how well it worked. It’s a little button on the 12v socket near my TV. There is a little LED indicator when it is on.
__________________
Mike
2017 F250 6.7 Powerstroke FX4 crew cab
2016 Hideout 24BHSWE (27 foot TT)
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06-24-2019, 02:26 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Logan X
I’m just going to throw this out there and I apologize if everyone knows this already. I just recently learned (how embarrassing) that the over the air antenna has a booster you need to turn on in order to get more channels. When I first got the trailer I just thought the antenna wasn’t very good so I never used it. My attention was drawn to the booster via the forum and I was amazed at how well it worked. It’s a little button on the 12v socket near my TV. There is a little LED indicator when it is on.
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A couple other tidbits also.
That booster MUST be ON to use the antenna & MUST be OFF if connected to park cable or satellite.
When changing from antenna to cable or changing locations you WILL need to scan the channels each time.
__________________
Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
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06-24-2019, 03:21 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Wickenburg
Posts: 3,271
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My 2019 Cougar is the first trailer I've dealt with that had an "omni" antenna (the Winegard Roadster), and I have to say I'm not a huge fan.
On the positive side, you don't have to aim it, so you never have the chicken/egg problem of determining in what direction the broadcast towers are so that you can first find a working digital channel, which you can then use to fine-tine with the TV's signal meter (forcing you to scan twice). Also, you never have to worry about forgetting to put the antenna down before getting on the road.
On the negative side, you simply cannot aim it for best reception, period, and its sensitivity isn't even close to that of a unidirectional antenna.
At my residence, my RV parking spot is unfortunately on the opposite side of the house from the city, meaning the house eclipses much of the TV signal. With the batwing on my old rig, I could tune directionally and get all the channels anyway (in fact, I could get channels my house couldn't get). With the Roadster, I get maybe only 20% of the channels, and even some of those pixelate out. Since I occasionally use my rig to accommodate houseguests, it's a bit of a concern. I'm toying with the idea of running a hard cable out to the power pedestal to carry my house antenna feed, but I don't look forward to all the digging and conduit work just to get TV.
__________________
2019 Cougar 26RBSWE
2019 Ford F-250
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06-24-2019, 07:49 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Rockett, TX
Posts: 480
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On previous trailers we always had the Winegard with the Wingman add on, now have the KingJack. As a comparison sitting on a site where we used to receive at least 30 channels, we received about 5 with the Kingjack (yes I had the booster on and tried several antenna positions). POS in my opinion and I would love to replace it with the batwing but there is not enough space for one where the Kingjack is located. I have received satisfactory reception at places when we are very close to a city but it's no good in fringe areas where the batwing would pick up stations.
__________________
Jerry & Debbie
with Fur Babies Sasha & Sam
2018 Alpine 3401RS
2019 Ford F350 SRW
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07-19-2019, 12:21 PM
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#11
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Mussey
Posts: 10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelin texans
A couple other tidbits also.
That booster MUST be ON to use the antenna & MUST be OFF if connected to park cable or satellite.
When changing from antenna to cable or changing locations you WILL need to scan the channels each time.
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on my cougar 29RLI 2016 model the only way to get outside cable to work is hook directly to the tv. I have tried every connection possible to no avail. any ideas??
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07-19-2019, 12:38 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Wickenburg
Posts: 3,271
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The two obvious questions: 1. Have you located your antenna booster switch? 2. Are you sure it's off?
It's trivial for someone with a "toner" or VOM to trace out the connection to your "park cable" port and determine whether or not it is operational.
__________________
2019 Cougar 26RBSWE
2019 Ford F-250
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07-19-2019, 03:54 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
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If you have the new TV system without the booster then someone else will have to chime in, don't have any idea how it works.
From our experience with most park cable systems across the country the antenna had as many channels & better quality picture.
__________________
Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
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07-19-2019, 04:35 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Home, Idaho
Posts: 2,977
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The new system “KeyTV” actually does boost the OTA antenna signal. However... it is not the “booster” ...
It merely sends 12vdc to the amplified OTA antenna to power the antenna gain amplifier.
If a coax is inserted into the “cable connection” on the KeyTV box it will override ... or is supposed to... the OTA antenna
It’s a good idea because the KeyTV has separate coax runs for each TV set outlet. Whether the quality of the RG6 used and F connectors used is good would potentially be an issue.
It since each run is color coded trying to trace an issue should be easier
__________________
2007 GMC Classic club cab 4x4 Duramax LBZ
2014 Alpine 3010 RE. 34 foot fifth wheel
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07-19-2019, 04:38 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Home, Idaho
Posts: 2,977
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All this said the King Jack digital antenna is a directional gain antenna. With new design components incorporated it should out perform the old batwing style antennas ... should have better noise rejection and be less prone to certain types of man made in reference
__________________
2007 GMC Classic club cab 4x4 Duramax LBZ
2014 Alpine 3010 RE. 34 foot fifth wheel
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07-19-2019, 06:10 PM
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#16
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Mussey
Posts: 10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LHaven
The two obvious questions: 1. Have you located your antenna booster switch? 2. Are you sure it's off?
It's trivial for someone with a "toner" or VOM to trace out the connection to your "park cable" port and determine whether or not it is operational.
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1 yes
2 yes
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07-19-2019, 08:46 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Wickenburg
Posts: 3,271
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OK, if you have a booster switch you don't have a KeyTV. I would throw a toner on the park cable jack after disconnecting every other inside jack for the TV, and see where tone comes out. Of course, I realize not everybody has a toner, in which case one would have to ohm out the port with a VOM.
__________________
2019 Cougar 26RBSWE
2019 Ford F-250
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07-20-2019, 02:58 PM
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#18
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: North Port
Posts: 32
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I have a 2018 3501rl Alpine and I too couldnt get the cable to work. But then I hooked it up to the Satelite coax rather than the cable and it now works. I suspect they are labeled incorrectly
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07-20-2019, 05:43 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Wells County, Indiana
Posts: 112
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dblanch57
At home I get plenty of channels on the mounted antenna. However, where we normally go camping it is in a valley about 45 miles from Milwaukee and 50 miles from Madison. So I took three pieces of PVC pipe and some pin clips and created a 16 foot antenna pole that I bungee to the spare tire. I picked up a household antenna from wally world that has a 100 mile range and added a signal amplifier right at the TV. Coax go in the cable hookup and I can get channels from both cities, just have to use an app to aim the antenna.
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I love this idea. I have KeyTV, and it is horrible for local reception...evidently nobody at Keystone tested KeyTV out in real life situations.
If I get what you are saying....I can put up a regular Home Off-air antenna (off the bumper or spare tire or something to get it up in the air), and use the cable input on the side of the trailer to carry the signal into the TV, even though it's not really cable. I have an extra outlet next to the TV that I can use to power the amplifier. I bet this would work wonderfully, although it might look a little strange.
I guess my only question would be if KeyTV would do something strange to the signal. I'm not sure how it handles different inputs and amplified signals.
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07-21-2019, 08:11 AM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vermont
Posts: 367
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The Winegard bat wing with the Wingman addition is the best RV antenna available. The Wingman helps pick up the high VHF stations (7-13).
__________________
2015 Ford F-350 XLT Ruby Red 6.7L Powerstroke, 4x4, Short Bed, Andersen Ultimate Hitch
Cougar High Country 299RKS, Mor/Ryde pin box, 200w solar
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