Best antenna for TV

[Oregonconversion]

I am looking for a good antenna I can find for the free airwaves. I am not too picky, I just want a good one. I plan on stayin in one place for a long period of time if that helps any. I do not spending a little more for one that is less hassle or maintainance.

I saw the one at camping world, and the guy that worked there said "this is the one that EVERYONE has".
But I don't think that's true... Or there would not be options. Not sure what brand it was, but it was around $300.

Anything good on fleebay?


Thanks,
Jim

[JackConrad]

  If you are staying in one place for quite a while, we found an antenna at WalMart that is made by Philips and is just a little larger than a carton of cigarettes.  This is not an RV type antenna, but can be mounted temporarily or just hung in a window. I think we paid about $35-50.  It has a amplifier that attched to the cable at the TV and plugs into a wall wart.  I know several people that have purchased these and all have had good results.  Jack

[cody]

Trina at RV Surplus can sell you the the one "that everyone has" for a fraction of what camping world wants for it, I'm sure it's the winegard batwing that he is talking about, it's probably one of the most common tv antennas for rv's. but camping world is slightly optomistic on what they feel it's worth lol.

[bevans6]

I got the winegard unit recently and was quite happy with how it worked.  I got the amplified head with the add-on array version, and grabbing far more channels than I did with a normal powered tv antenna.  But I have no doubt that a serious pointable array on a 50 ft mast is going to do a lot better.

Brian

[TomC]

I have the Winegard batwing that is the crank up type that can be rotated.  It is great at pulling in weak signals and works fine with HD flat screens.  I'm using it again in my truck conversion.  Good Luck, TomC

[Oregonconversion]

Yup it was the batwing. I will try that one out with the amp. Unless there is something better for the price.

[Frank @ TX]

I got a question ?
With either the bat wing or the round one is a converter still needed ?
We have the round one but haven't used it since they say a converter is needed.
We stopped at a few campgrounds but they had cable available.
So how about the converters?
Frank

[Oregonconversion]

I believe a converter is needed with both styles. I do not know much about them though. As far as I know a converter is a converter and they all do the same job.

[bevans6]

If your tv doesn't have a digital tuner, you need a converter regardless of what antenna you  have.

Brian

[WEC4104]

Yes, as others have indicated, if your TV does not have a digital tuner, you will need a converter.

Other points to mention...   Pay no attention to the labels on the antenna packaging that say "HDTV antenna!".  From an antenna standpoint, if it receives digital transmissions in standard definition, it's going to do just fine with HD, too.  The HDTV laneling is just marketing hype.

However, it IS important that you make sure that the antenna works well for the UHF band.  When broadcasters changed from analog to digital signals, many stations moved from the VHF band to the UHF band. 

[Dreamscape]

We have the Batwing with Sensar and love it! We use it daily since we full time.

Just don't forget to crank er down before taking off!

Paul

[Oregonconversion]

What happens when you don't crank it down?

SOunds like I need a check list Velcroed to my steering wheel.