Omni-directional antenna

[buzzcop63]

Omni directional antenna has not had positive results that I have found, the old type seems to work best: As you can see we like our TV, morning news and evening shows.

Our Travel Trailer came with the Winegard Sensar IV HD Antenna, which you crank up and then can turn to tune in stations. We added the Wingman to increase signal strength. Next I installed the Winegard Sensarpro TV Signal Meter, which replaced the standard power supply and acts as a signal strength indicator, adjustable amplifier and wall plate power supply, it added specific search modes, eliminating guesswork. Also found a foam rubber clock, like the one you might use to train your kids how to tell time. I cut out the center with the hands and placed it over the ceiling crank so that once stations are found you can mark down their location then when you wish to change the direction of the antenna for a specific station or group of stations you know exactly where to turn the crank to align the antenna. Also the following web sights will allow you to put in the zip code of the location you are going to camp at and it will show the RF number and stations that can be viewed by your antenna and the strength of their signal and location to give you a better chance of locking on. And last I found that once the Sensarpro TV Signal Meter locates the most stations I let the TV search and lock in those stations, the TV seems to pull in more then I get by just selecting the channel. Be aware that not all stations are the common ones you are used to, many have an RF number like 45 and will represent channels 6,8, etc on the signal meter.
http://antennaweb.org/Address.aspx
https://www.tvfool.com/modeling/
Original posted 7/30/2017

[BamaRam]

My omni-directional Frisbee is floppy on the pole. Is that something to be worried about?


It worked very well first trip out. Second trip not so much. Picture kept freezing.

[durhamcutter]

We bought a King Jack antenna and put it on and the reception has been great.

[geeman]

This could be the source of many problems. Old analog signals did not rely much on tightness but Digital/HD....oh yeah. those fittings must be tight or the channel will tile or not come in at all!
Work at a cable company so know this first hand. Second is the crappy splitters and coax they use but not a lot can be done about that.
Have not heard much good at all about the "discs" except the one guy that replied here.

[geeman]

Originally Posted by buzzcop63

Omni directional antenna has not had positive results that I have found, the old type seems to work best: As you can see we like our TV, morning news and evening shows.

Our Travel Trailer came with the Winegard Sensar IV HD Antenna, which you crank up and then can turn to tune in stations. We added the Wingman to increase signal strength. Next I installed the Winegard Sensarpro TV Signal Meter, which replaced the standard power supply and acts as a signal strength indicator, adjustable amplifier and wall plate power supply, it added specific search modes, eliminating guesswork. Also found a foam rubber clock, like the one you might use to train your kids how to tell time. I cut out the center with the hands and placed it over the ceiling crank so that once stations are found you can mark down their location then when you wish to change the direction of the antenna for a specific station or group of stations you know exactly where to turn the crank to align the antenna. Also the following web sights will allow you to put in the zip code of the location you are going to camp at and it will show the RF number and stations that can be viewed by your antenna and the strength of their signal and location to give you a better chance of locking on. And last I found that once the Sensarpro TV Signal Meter locates the most stations I let the TV search and lock in those stations, the TV seems to pull in more then I get by just selecting the channel. Be aware that not all stations are the common ones you are used to, many have an RF number like 45 and will represent channels 6,8, etc on the signal meter.
http://antennaweb.org/Address.aspx
https://www.tvfool.com/modeling/
Original posted 7/30/2017

Try the App too for your phone..... DTV Antennas.
Works pretty good and will point the direction and give approx miles. Doesnt rely on static info.

[Robert.Dodge]

I have a 2016 Sprinter 5th wheel with the same problem. I got up in the roof took off the antenna and tightened the connection. Now I get 1 or 2 channels. Not much better but something. The longer I own this trailer the less I like it. Looking for an new one as we speak. It won't be a Keystone, and this is just one of many problems I have had with this trailer. Sick of the company and dealerships telling me I'm crazy. Ready to pull the trailer to Keystone's front door and get my money back. The word lemon comes to mind?


QUOTE=IHnutz;290843]We have a 2016 Sprinter 5th-wheel with the fixed "omni-directional" TV antenna. The TV itself is "Contin-US" brand. Not to be rude BUT! the reception with this combination totally "sucks swamp water"!!!! Our previous travel trailers - Springdales and Nomads - have all had the fold-up, rotatable, Wingard antennas. While not perfect they provided at least acceptable viewing with the ability to fine tune the signal by rotating the antenna. We typically receive 1/3 to 1/2 the available channels other campers receive with the Wingard antenna and the TV frequently "pixilates" and/or drops out completely whenever a car, truck, or bird goes by!!



I have complained and complained and complained to the dealer about it and have always been given the same answer -"Everybody that has those complains about that. There is nothing we can do, the "factory" won't fix it."



Has anyone had the same complaint and did you find an acceptable solution? I hate to think that we paid that kind of money for a travel trailer and had to pay again to "fix" the entertainment system. [/QUOTE]

[Mecanto]

Re: OTA, We had the poor reception issue with the Batwing with the finnear attachment, the rig is 2006. We got the omni directional antenna and we are hsppy. I ran a new coax connection with the installation and it's great. I'm not sure but I think the old coax is the culprit. Too much age and corrosion.....Try cleaning and snugging the connectors up.
We sure don't miss turning it all the time searching for stations. Good luck

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Robert.Dodge

I have a 2016 Sprinter 5th wheel with the same problem. I got up in the roof took off the antenna and tightened the connection. Now I get 1 or 2 channels. Not much better but something. The longer I own this trailer the less I like it. Looking for an new one as we speak. It won't be a Keystone, and this is just one of many problems I have had with this trailer. Sick of the company and dealerships telling me I'm crazy. Ready to pull the trailer to Keystone's front door and get my money back. The word lemon comes to mind?


QUOTE=IHnutz;290843]We have a 2016 Sprinter 5th-wheel with the fixed "omni-directional" TV antenna. The TV itself is "Contin-US" brand. Not to be rude BUT! the reception with this combination totally "sucks swamp water"!!!! Our previous travel trailers - Springdales and Nomads - have all had the fold-up, rotatable, Wingard antennas. While not perfect they provided at least acceptable viewing with the ability to fine tune the signal by rotating the antenna. We typically receive 1/3 to 1/2 the available channels other campers receive with the Wingard antenna and the TV frequently "pixilates" and/or drops out completely whenever a car, truck, or bird goes by!!



I have complained and complained and complained to the dealer about it and have always been given the same answer -"Everybody that has those complains about that. There is nothing we can do, the "factory" won't fix it."



Has anyone had the same complaint and did you find an acceptable solution? I hate to think that we paid that kind of money for a travel trailer and had to pay again to "fix" the entertainment system.

[/QUOTE]

Welcome to rv ownership! Yes we've paid for the rv & keep paying to make it work & keep it going.
If your tv reception is your ONLY issue you should consider yourself lucky, you got one of the better ones. You could replace the current antenna for the Winegard batwing for a couple hundred bucks +/-, if your handy you can do it yourself.
As far as some other brand of rv, which brand are you looking at? Thor owns Keystone along with 80-85% of the rvs, of any brand, you see on the highway & not one of those is built any different than the one you have.
I agree there's room for a LOT of improvement as to QC at the factory & the majority of dealers service centers are overwhelmed due to that, but am also sure it ain't. gonna be changing my lifetime.

[mhbell]

Originally Posted by IHnutz

We have a 2016 Sprinter 5th-wheel with the fixed "omni-directional" TV antenna. The TV itself is "Contin-US" brand. Not to be rude BUT! the reception with this combination totally "sucks swamp water"!!!! Our previous travel trailers - Springdales and Nomads - have all had the fold-up, rotatable, Wingard antennas. While not perfect they provided at least acceptable viewing with the ability to fine tune the signal by rotating the antenna. We typically receive 1/3 to 1/2 the available channels other campers receive with the Wingard antenna and the TV frequently "pixilates" and/or drops out completely whenever a car, truck, or bird goes by!!



I have complained and complained and complained to the dealer about it and have always been given the same answer -"Everybody that has those complains about that. There is nothing we can do, the "factory" won't fix it."



Has anyone had the same complaint and did you find an acceptable solution? I hate to think that we paid that kind of money for a travel trailer and had to pay again to "fix" the entertainment system.

I've got the same type antenna and have not had that problem, but my Television is a Visio HDTV 40 inch No problem getting many channels. Comes in better than my old Wingard on another RV that I use to have.

[Laredo240MK2015]

I am thinking of buying one of the cheap amplified antennas from Home Depot, putting either on a small tripod or mast and connecting it to the outdoor antenna connection. It has to be better than the junk antenna used on the trailers now. Much easier than installing a crank up on as well.

[Bttravel]

2016 Sprinter 319MKS TT. Same original omni antenna. Poor reception. Replaced with King Jack directional with signal strength meter and much better. The only drawback to them is like the omni, low profile. If it would raise up a couple or three feet it would be awesome. I know of a couple of folks that had a weird off brand tv that they replaced with brand name, Samsung, Visio, etc and that made a difference in number of channels. Much better receivers in them. And found most splitters they use are about as cheap as you can get. Must have good splitters, tight connections and good cable. Was unable to use the satellite input on mine as the cable or a splitter somewhere is bad. Used a signal tracer on it and it would just barely register. Too weak for unit to process. Had to add a new input on the entertainment slide to bring sat signal to the box. With the coax bring run in the ceiling there is not much you can do to repair except maybe run new cable underneath. Remember the feeds go to the booster first and then back to the outlets. My previous trailer had them hooked up wrong at the booster. Must be rocket science!!!!
With the King Jack at a decent location (not is some valley or behind a big hill) we get up to 30 or so channels depending on where we are. And then I just take out my Dish unit and watch a whole bunch of channels!!

[patyacht]

Placement of the TV Omni Directional antenna is critical. Keystone in their desire to save a nickle over customer satisfaction places the antenna right next to the AC unit. That placement masks the reception and allows for potential electrical interference. So dumb a 5th grader would know better. I finally went the Direct TV route and don't have to worry about it anymore.

[dblanch57]

I have the Omni antenna on my 2017 Passport and it gets good reception at home but at the campgrounds channels are non-existent. I looked up the antenna and it is rated a 30-mile antenna. So, since I always carry a step ladder, I cut a hole in the paint tray and put a flagpole of sorts made of PVC pipe of different sizes and an antenna from Wally world that is rated to 100-miles. Just point it in the desired direction and I get numerous channels where I used to get none.

[Mrchipz]

We have a 2017 Sprinter with the same antenna and get great reception. ( as long as the booster is on!)

[D&L]

I would call Winegard and ask if they have any suggestions before you give up. They have been really helpful with several questions I have had and some of it was not their fault. We have the Winegard Connect 2.0 for example and I was ready to choke someone at Verizon when the product manager from Winegard called me and helped a lot.

[BamaRam]

Does any know how to tighten the head of the antenna on the pole? I can see four tiny cavities in the bottom but I can’t see what type fastener is used. It must be an Allen or Torx. Can’t see it with a light and mirror. Any ideas?

It’s a black frisbee on a short pole.


Never mind, I found the manual. It is mounted with a snap ring. http://www.winegard.com/help/images/d/db/2452249.pdf

[RAC]

I have a 2017 Sprinter with the Omni directional antenna with the same poor reception. I went to Walmart TV area and looked at antennas for in house use. I found an RCA model with in-line amplifier that promised 60 mile reception. I installed the amplifier in the antenna line going to the TV without using the included antenna and plugged in the power supply provided. I rescanned for channels and got several additional channels not available with just the Omni antenna. It was a good improvement. Make sure all connections are tight.

[MattE303]

Originally Posted by CamperDave

I had a very similar issue that raised my curiosity to find a solution, at least an attempt at a solution. Wound up replacing the stock antenna with a King Omnidirectional, same results as the stock original (yes, I turned the boost switch on). I wound up purchasing a winegard auto satellite antenna and Wally receiver to add to my existing home account. That still has its own challenges with trees blocking signal but at least works most of the time.



Bottom line, there was no real fix for me as of yet. I really don't want to make holes where they didn't come factory just to install a rotatable antenna. The Jayco I had did have a Winegard antenna which worked very well due to the ability to fine tune by rotating. Oh well, during football season when Oklahoma State is televised, I can get ESPN with satellite.

yup, that is the best solution....a few hundred for the equipment, and another $7/month on the satellite bill, well worth it!

[Bisjoe]

I think the TV makes a difference. We are about 30 miles from the nearest transmitters in Seattle, with lots of trees. Our 7 year old home TV is on cable, but when I tried a flat antenna got 3 channels. Our Vizeo smart TV that we bought in September and put in the trailer with Omni got 14 with booster on. I just bought another for the bedroom, same make and size but next year version and it gets 57 channels.

[SkiSmuggs]

There are 4 components to good TV reception:
1) The antenna and I can't help but think directional is going to be better than omni if it is pointed correctly.
2) Location which includes where you are in relation to broadcast towers, what is between the antenna and the towers, etc. If there is a big tree between you and the towers, you need to offset to catch signal coming around the tree.
3) Coax and its components like shielding and connectors, splitters, etc.
4) The TV tuner itself. All unknown brands are suspect as are brands like Jensen. Vizio, LG and Samsung all use good tuners.

Here is a link to antenna comparisons for your home. http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html

As for RV antennas, the Winegard bat wing with the Wingman attachment is likely the best with the King Jack directionals a close second. While clunky and cumbersome, the Winegard crank up gets the antenna up high enough to see over the AC and vents, so it is my preference. I also liked the King Jack head that replaced the bat wing for the same reason. The fixed rotating King Jack is third because it is not as high.

The DTV Antennas app is useful for finding direction, but use carefully as the arrows depend on the accuracy of your phones' compass function. I carry a real compass and use the app reported direction because I've had the arrows be as much as 180 degrees off with my Moto G5.

If you are not comfortable replacing the omni with a directional, consider using a mobile tech instead of a dealer as the price should be much cheaper. My dealer charges $150/hr.