Digital TV Antenna Recommendation

BulletOwner1 · 08-29-2019, 09:42 PM

Title kinda says it all. I have a 2007 Cougar with the old style crank up antenna. Understand they don't pickup the digital signals as well as the newer ones. I think the crank mechanism is going to crap out on me in the near future. Anyone recommend a reasonably priced replacement available at Amazon?

Hope this doesn't end up being a Ford/Chevy/Dodge type discussion but I had to try.

Thanks in advance.

ken56 · 08-30-2019, 01:47 AM

What research have you done on this yourself? A quick Google search will give you a host of information on them. Firstly, don't sell your "old crank up" style one short. I assume it's a Winegard and it's rated pretty high. Do you have the "wingman" addition on it? It helps a lot to add it. Not complicated to do either. Does the old antenna have the push button booster on it too? It should. Newer is not always better.

Ddubya · 08-30-2019, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken56

What research have you done on this yourself? A quick Google search will give you a host of information on them. Firstly, don't sell your "old crank up" style one short. I assume it's a Winegard and it's rated pretty high. Do you have the "wingman" addition on it? It helps a lot to add it. Not complicated to do either. Does the old antenna have the push button booster on it too? It should. Newer is not always better.

Agree with ken56 on the Wingard. That said, because of the directional sensitivity with the "Digital" TV platform an Omni directional antenna can sometimes be a better choice if you are not too far from the stations transmitter.

Northofu1 · 08-30-2019, 05:46 AM

What Ken said

travelin texans · 08-30-2019, 08:42 AM

You can get parts for your crank up to repair the crank mechanism or take it apart & lube it up & keep it. Add the wingman piece to it, you'll be much off. The wing man makes it somewhat directional, but you can download Winegards app, enter a zip code or city & it will show all the translaters nearby, aim & scan.Most of the newer are omnidirectional, short & then mounted next to the AC thereby severely reducing it effectiveness.

**chuckster57** · 08-30-2019, 12:04 PM

My ‘97 Jayco had a wineguard crank up antenna and it worked good in 2012 when I sold the trailer.

I’d replace any broken parts but I’m with others, don’t “upgrade” to an omnidirectional one.

RWRiley · 08-30-2019, 02:13 PM

I have a brand new Premier with KeyTV, and it sucks. Works for about 3 hours and then looses all signals. Dealer says problem is with the broadcasters.....Yeah Right.

Ddubya · 08-30-2019, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWRiley

I have a brand new Premier with KeyTV, and it sucks. Works for about 3 hours and then looses all signals. Dealer says problem is with the broadcasters.....Yeah Right.

Contact the antenna manufacturer. Obviously the dealer doesn't have a clue and has no intentions to help you.

wiredgeorge · 08-30-2019, 03:48 PM

As pointed out, directional and omni directional. Omni is the Latin word meaning "no tv signals will be received". I put a King Jack directional on my old 2002 as the Winegard has so many broken pieces, wasn't worth replacing them all. I chose the King Jack because you don't crank it up.... I know it is lower but I have hardly ever remembered to wind a Winegard down before leaving a campground and get sick of people flashing their car lights at me. We have a Dish sat antenna and receiver and hardly use the OTA antenna anyway but the King Jack works as well as a Winegard from my property and gets all the same channels exactly (have had many Winegards in the past and live about 40 miles from San Antonio). Your results may vary.

fjr vfr · 08-30-2019, 06:18 PM

There is no such thing as a digital antenna. That's advertising speak. They all pick up the signal the same way.
I replaced the crank up antenna on our last 2 trailers with the King Jack so I wouldn't have to remember to crank it down...I'm very forgetful.

I basically got the same stations with either antennas. The non crank up ones are just more convenient, that's all.

**JRTJH** · 08-30-2019, 06:44 PM

TV signals won't "penetrate through solid objects"...

That said, if you look at the roof of your RV, the antenna location is going to be behind something solid in at least one direction on almost all RV rooftops. That was the purpose of the older "crank up Winegard wingman antenna"... It got the antenna "up above the obstructions". It has an electronic amplifier (booster) in the antenna head. The power for that amplifier is provided through the coax cable that runs from "that little green light/switch" up thorough the roof to the antenna head.

If you are having problems with your Winegard wingman, it may be a loose connection, a power problem or the amplifier may have "bit the dust"...

Choosing to replace it with a "low mount antenna" may work well if the "stuff on your roof" is situated so that you can locate the antenna in a place where it's not blocked in any direction... Otherwise, having the ability to "get the antenna above the obstructions" is critical to getting TV reception from a station in that direction if you're camped in a "fringe area"....

Don't sell the "old technology" short. Many (maybe even most) reviews are positive for the "crank up Winegard" The same can't be said for most of the "low mount replacements."

fjr vfr · 08-31-2019, 06:30 PM

My experience with the King Jack has been equal to the crank ups I previously had. My last trailer the new low antenna end tip was about 6" from the ac unit. In the 2 years and cross country trips I never noticed any effect from this proximity. My results were equal.
The antenna on my current trailer is not as close to the ac unit, but it is not above it when in that direction. I had been on the road for 6 months all around the country with this trailer till June. Like the previous trailer I haven't noticed any reception issues I could relate to blockage. Maybe I'm just lucky.
Anyway, as I stated earlier, I only switched so I wouldn't have to remember putting it down. Reception didn't change from one to the other...for me.

Disclaimer: Results may vary. Not all results are the same.

BulletOwner1 · 09-03-2019, 11:36 AM

Thanks guys. Sounds like I just need to upgrade my Winguard and see to fixing the mechanism working better. And maybe upgrading my memory to see that I don't head down the road with it up!!!!!! I'll let you know how that goes, ha ha.

terrythetech · 09-05-2019, 11:34 AM

I added the Wingman option and reception really improved, but its VERY directional. HD and all broadcast signals are UHF, and most RV antenna are VHF (Old school tv) and FM radio. Here is a link to the Wingman option. It just snaps into place.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Winegard-Rv-w...MaAsA2EALw_wcB

dmar · 09-05-2019, 12:58 PM

We have a 2010 Cougar 5th wheel that we keep at home. We're 35 miles from the nearest TV towers and have never been able to get reception on the crank up antenna here at the house, even with the booster turned on. Last week we bought a new TV for the camper and just for grins decided to turn it on and do a channel search. Surprisingly, we picked up lots of channels, including some that are 50 miles away. There was nothing wrong with the old set (flat screen that came with the trailer), we just wanted a bigger screen. I'm wondering if the newer sets are more powerful somehow or boost the signal internally. As cheap as TVs are these days it might be worth trying a new TV before replacing antennas, etc.

wiredgeorge · 09-05-2019, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmar

We have a 2010 Cougar 5th wheel that we keep at home. We're 35 miles from the nearest TV towers and have never been able to get reception on the crank up antenna here at the house, even with the booster turned on. Last week we bought a new TV for the camper and just for grins decided to turn it on and do a channel search. Surprisingly, we picked up lots of channels, including some that are 50 miles away. There was nothing wrong with the old set (flat screen that came with the trailer), we just wanted a bigger screen. I'm wondering if the newer sets are more powerful somehow or boost the signal internally. As cheap as TVs are these days it might be worth trying a new TV before replacing antennas, etc.

I have a 2002 Cougar which came with a really beat up Winegard batwind. I live about 40 miles from the nearest TV transmitter and it picked up more than 40 stations when I could get it pointed properly (involved vice grips to turn the thing). I replaced the thing (it was broken in several ways) with a King Jack directional mainly because I seldom remember to crank down the anternna and the King Jack gets virtually the same number of channels. The interesting thing is that all the transmitters have a bunch of hills between me and them so the TV signals are not just laser beam straight but can be received over the horizon. Nearest hill that obstructs is only 100 feet away and it is about 40' higher elevation than the trailer.

For all the hi-tech sexy look of these antennas I doubt one is better than the other as long as you get a directional. The omni-directional likely isn't very good.

terrythetech · 09-05-2019, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmar

We have a 2010 Cougar 5th wheel that we keep at home. We're 35 miles from the nearest TV towers and have never been able to get reception on the crank up antenna here at the house, even with the booster turned on. Last week we bought a new TV for the camper and just for grins decided to turn it on and do a channel search. Surprisingly, we picked up lots of channels, including some that are 50 miles away. There was nothing wrong with the old set (flat screen that came with the trailer), we just wanted a bigger screen. I'm wondering if the newer sets are more powerful somehow or boost the signal internally. As cheap as TVs are these days it might be worth trying a new TV before replacing antennas, etc.

I found out that my recently "upgraded" led lights that I installed to replace the 12 volt incandecent bulbs cause my tv to blank out some but not all my channels. also the bathroom exhaust fan does the same thing. You may want to make sure those are off before you scan for channels.
Terry

Farside · 09-05-2019, 06:29 PM

There are many people asking the same question, "What antenna should I get?". One of the posters earlier said that there wasn't any such thing as a digital antenna, and he is partially right. The OTA antennas are tuned for VHF and UHF signals. And, your digital TV signal is coming in on UHF frequencies (kind of redundant since UHF stands for Ultra High Frequency). Also, most people don't really understand that due to the curvature of the earth, any signal from your local broadcasters that are over 62 miles away makes you play the iffy game. These signals that far away are considered fringe stations and the signal that gets to you is either reflecting off the ionosphere or deflecting off a mountain, building, or some other object to get to you. Yes, some signals are blocked by large objects, but if you are close enough to a broadcaster, and the station is powerful enough, you are still going to pick up their station even if you are down in a hole, just not very well. So, with that said, height and a clear path to the signal provider does have an advantage in picking up your stations.

Just last week early one morning sitting 60 miles west of Austin, I couldn't pick up a single channel from Awesome, but with the atmosphere just right instead of Austin I was picking up HOUSTON!!! That's right! It's broadcast towers were almost 250 miles away. But, once the sun started to rise and the temperature changed, the Houston channels disappeared and I was then able to pick up Austin again. There are a few websites that you can look at to find out where your locals towers are within your vicinity. Here is just one of them:

https://www.antennasdirect.com/transmitter-locator.html

I have two antennas for my RV, the old Wingard batwing that I got with the 5th wheel when I bought it. This one we use whenever we are on the road and just stopping here and there for the night. This is also the one that was picking up Houston 250 miles away. To maintain a good signal from it, I periodically go up on the roof and disconnect the connection to the RV. Then I take some fine sandpaper and brush up the connector center wire to ensure I have a good connection to the antenna. For some reason the best sealant on those connectors doesn't last or always work and the connection does get corroded over time.

The other antenna I have mounted on a 25 foot extension pole that I have attached to the ladder on the back of the RV. It is a pingbingding HDTV Antenna with a 360 degree rotation motor on it. I will say the extra elevation does double and sometimes triple the db level of the incoming signals. I guess if I had a 500 ft antenna and pointed it west, I might be able to pick up China. Anyway, don't be fooled by the antenna salesman that says, "This one will pick up channels 150 miles away." Yes, you might pick them up sporadically, but holding the channel constantly is going to be a problem. And yes, the ads for the pingbingding say exactly this, but I knew what I was buying to start with.

RWRiley · 09-06-2019, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ddubya

Contact the antenna manufacturer. Obviously the dealer doesn't have a clue and has no intentions to help you.

Yes - the service manager completely blew me off. But - since I got it back, the antenna is performing great. My only thought is when the tech went through the system he tightened up a loose connection or something ?? Not sure what happened, but I've been watching for 7 hours now, and no problems. So - I'm glad it appears to be fixed, but disappointed in the service department manager's attitude.

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