any tv antenna recommendations?

[John Z]

It is time to replace my old Winegard crank up. A priority for me is looks, , , i really don't want to have to look at it much. Any ideas of a brand /supply of antenna that would be the least visible, and yet pick up a good signal? It would not have to be working while going down the road. tia

[TomC]

So far I haven't found a better antenna then the Winegard batwing crank up.  Winegard has an affordable digital converter box to use with the analog TV's that many of us still have.  I'm going to use it on mine.  Good Luck, TomC

[Lin]

Maybe you would like the multi-directional disk ones better, but I don't think they are reported to have quite as good reception.

[jjrbus]

The amplified batwing is the best RV antenna.  My bus is the Saudi model and has a double roof, I did not want to cut another hole in it for the antenna and the remote control batwings were unavailable.  I use one of the omni directional disc types. I no longer remember the brand or price but it is one of the pricer ones.
ONe drawback to the amplified batwing is the the amplifier would burnout and there was no indicator for this. I do not know if they have changed that or not.
Recently a neighbor  started having problems with his batwing, his son also an RV'er bought him this antenna, that he also has on his RV.
                                                  http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100546071&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&PID=500871&cm_mmc=CJ-_-nextag-_-D27X-_-100546071&cpncode=12-61172033-2&URL=http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/BuildLinkToHomeDepot?linktype=product&id=100546071&cm_mmc=CJ-_-nextag-_-D27X-_-100546071&AID=10368321&cj=true&srccode=cii_9324560&locStoreNum=201&marketID=25

This antenna gets everything I get.  As a testimony to how good it is two other people in the park also bought one!!  If replaceing mine this is what I would buy.  HTH Jim

[WEC4104]

I don't have a particular model to suggest, but if I were choosing a new antenna I would pay particular attention to it's performance in the UHF band.  Years ago, most of the major networks that I wanted to watch were found in the VHF band (Ch 2-13), meanwhile UHF was imfamous for low budget local broadcasts, reruns of old shows, and cheezy commercials. Today, with the switch to digital TV, that is no longer the case. Broadcasters that for years have lived in the VHF band are being assigned UHF frequencies as they switch over to digital.  So if I was shopping today, I'd put the emphasis on the UHF reception.

As a second note, the fact that an antenna manufacturer calls his model an "HDTV antenna" means absolutely nothing.  That is just marketing fluff. From the antenna standpoint there is really no difference between receiving digital SD broadcasts and digital HD broadcasts.

If you want to read an exhaustive discussion on TV antennas, I offer the following link:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/erecting_antenna.html

[white-eagle]

on a previous RV, i knocked off the winegard batwing antenna.  to avoid that problem, i replaced it with the round circular model.  both were amplified the same way.
if i replace the round one i have now on the bus, it will be with a batwing again.

[WEC4104]

I've always wanted to attach a directional WiFi antenna to my rotating Winegard unit.  (Think pringles can  )

[John Z]

Thanks all. Lots of good info. This brings up another question i have. I have suspected that my antenna was not receiving the benefit of being amplified. On the batwing unit, where is this amplifier found, and how would i know if it is working or not. I do not see anything at the base of the antenna, and unless it is right below the exterior roof, it is not inline on the coax.

[Dallas]

John,

Not to put down any of the recommendations here, but I have never, ever had all that good a reception from either the flying saucer or the limb catcher antennae.

I eventually went to a $1 rabbit ear antennae that I clamp to my drivers mirror or windshield wiper or any place handy.

I also bought one of the Wally world VHF-UHF amplifiers and have been using it for the last 6 years or so.

Most of the time, I seem to get better reception than I ever did with the Wineguard stuff and I usually could pick up a lot more stations than with the above mentioned units.

The down side is that about once a year I would have to go to a flea market or yard sale and dige up another set of Rabbit ears since the connectors seem to rust badly over a period of time.

Lately, we've been confined to a very small area that we can get to in the bus and our old RE's started messing up. I ended up using a pair of 14G THHN stranded wires with a short chunk of coax to splice into them. One I have stretched to a roof gutter about 10' in front of the bus, the other I have stretched about 10' down the side of the bus and grounded to the bus body with an alligator clip.

This works really well, but looks kind of Clampetty.. OF course we get accused of that a lot!

Right now we can get channels from Louisville, Cincinnati, Dayton, Lexington, and once in a while Columbus.

My next attempt at an antenna may be to string military commo wire about 2" from the top of the bus with insulators every so often.

Who knows, it may work!

Dallas

[TomCat]

If you don't use the 12v amplified wall plug or a input/output Winegard switcher, you are not using the amplified function of the antenna, and it wouldn't surprise me that it wouldn't pick up diddly.

Also, if you use the 12v wallplug or switcher, the antenna amp must be turned on.

With a batwing properly configured (and amp turned on) you should have no trouble picking up TV signals from more than 50 miles away.
I can easily pick up HDTV from Denver, which is about 70 miles NW of me.

HTH.

Jay
87 SaftLiner

[JackConrad]

Thanks all. Lots of good info. This brings up another question i have. I have suspected that my antenna was not receiving the benefit of being amplified. On the batwing unit, where is this amplifier found, and how would i know if it is working or not. I do not see anything at the base of the antenna, and unless it is right below the exterior roof, it is not inline on the coax.

'

On our Winegard Batwing, the amplifier is a small box that came with the antenna and can be installed at any convenient spot inside the coach. It is powered by 12 volt DC. Coax from antenna to amplifier and coax from amplifier to TV(s). The amplifier has a small green LED to indicate it is on. If I turn ours off, we loose almost all reception, so there is no problem knowing it it is working. Jack
PS: we installed ours inside a cabinet near our SAT Receiver. Coax out from amplifier connects to ANT. IN connection on Sat receiver. If sat receiver is off, antenna signal passes through receiver

[WEC4104]

For those of you who might be inclined to built something on your own, the attached youtube link shows a pretty good explanation on how to build a high performance antenna using household items. For those of you guys with fiberglass caps, just think what you could build and tuck behind them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw

 

[John Z]

Thanks all, guess the cheap way to go since i have the antenna is to go get an amp for it and try that. But today i had a chance to get into Home Depot and chk out the little outdoor unit they have for 50.00. That doesn't look to bad. My question is do you leave this permanent mounted? Is it attached to a Wineguard or similar mount so it is able to be rotated? For the little bit i would use it, perhaps a mount right outside the door would work, and then just step out and mount the receiver part when i wanted to use it.

[Barn Owl]

For those of you who might be inclined to built something on your own, the attached youtube link shows a pretty good explanation on how to build a high performance antenna using household items. For those of you guys with fiberglass caps, just think what you could build and tuck behind them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw

I love it!

You can hide or disguise that antenna in almost anything but metal.

Note: Not all stations will be using UHF. It is my understanding that some will remain on VHF and some will have the option to go back to VHF when they drop the analogue signal. Most stations do not like UHF because it requires a lot more power. If someone knows differently let us know.

 

[jjrbus]

The home depot unit I saw was permanently mounted on a travel trailer. I do not know what the other two people did with thiers.   
I have satellite so a hi performance tv antenna is not a priority.