HDTV Antenna

acadianbob · 01-27-2009, 10:19 PM

Has anyone tried to get over-the-air HD signals into a HDTV using the crank-up antenna on a recent Forest River product? We have a 2008 Surveyor and I'm wondering whether the antenna will receive HD. Also found a Winegard Wingman that is supposed to attach to the existing antenna and boost the performance of the antenna "up to 100%". But there is this note. "Wingman is compatible with all crank-up Winegard Sensar batwing antennas." Anyone know what crank-up antenna is used on Surveyor or other Forest River trailers?

05 Wildcat · 01-27-2009, 11:19 PM

I installed a digital tuner for the new signals coming next month. It works fine with the Winegard batwing. However if the signal is weak you will not get it. The new signal is satelite quality or nothing no more snowy picture. I believe the new add- on for the batwing will enhance the signal. I say go ahead and hook it up , if you need the enhancement add it later. Good Luck

**Bama Rambler** · 01-28-2009, 09:25 AM

The Sensar is used on most RV's including those made by Forest River. I've thought about getting one of those attachments but the batwing receives digital signals really well as it is. I would like to hear from someone that has used it with and without in the same location for a comparison of channels received.

Radio · 01-28-2009, 03:54 PM

It works fine...don't waste your money on a new antenna or some gadget you don't need. All you need is the DTV converter box or a newer TV with the DTV tuner.

acadianbob · 01-28-2009, 06:17 PM

Awesome! Thanks for the info. We just bought a 19" HDTV with tuner so hopefully we are good to go. As Bama Rambler, I'd be interested in any comparison info.

j2detroit · 01-28-2009, 07:57 PM

use your factory batwing we have had a digital hd receiver for a year plus now and it is nice

cfsoistman · 02-04-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

The Sensar is used on most RV's including those made by Forest River. I've thought about getting one of those attachments but the batwing receives digital signals really well as it is. I would like to hear from someone that has used it with and without in the same location for a comparison of channels received.

I just received the Wingman piece yesterday and it looks pretty simple to install. Once the ice and snow are gone I'll do the install. I have an HDTV in the motorhome and the digital channels come in with the current set-up, but they don't lock in and stay without getting choppy and the sound comes and goes. I'll know as soon as I get it installed if it helps the situation because the sound has been bad since day one.

COME ON SPRINGTIME !!!!!

**Bama Rambler** · 02-05-2009, 09:55 AM

Now that's the kind of comparison I'm looking for. Please post back here what you find out, and if you could, the distance to the transmitting towers.

MtnGuy · 02-05-2009, 10:04 AM

I haven't ever used a TV in any of my previous campers, but I wanted to make sure all systems work in our new Surveyor during the warranty period. So I plugged in a little 13" Durabrand model that we won as a door prize or something like that some 15 or so years ago. On analog, it picked up 15 channels, with about 10 of those being clear and watchable, the others were snowy. I plugged in an RCA digital converter box, and wow......I got 19 channels, just as clear as a bell. I did have to do a little tweaking with the antennae direction to pick up a stronger signal that didn't loose pixels with some channels. The digital converter box has an on screen display that lists the channel, what is playing, and what is coming up next. This ol' boy was impressed, and could even get used to the digital age. I might even start carrying that little TV with us in our travels.

jjmoore · 02-07-2009, 02:36 PM

Okay, I am going to share what I consider to be an embarrassing tale. We are down in the Rio Grande Valley and early this month I decided to get ready for the transition to DTV. So, having a digital TV (Sony WEGA) I switched to digital mode and was disappointed to see that I was only getting one of the local channels in digital mode. (It was channel 4). I cursed the Winegard antenna and went out and bought an antenna at Radio Shack that was 80 inches long and figured that it would certainly pick up all the local channels. I got it installed and plugged into the TV and still I could only get the one local channel. Talked to some other folks and they said they were picking up all the local channels. Figured may something was wrong with my TV tuner. Next I borrowed a converter box from one of my neighbors. I was in the process of hooking it up when I saw a second connection for cable or TV input on the back of the TV. Then pulled out the manual for the TV and found that it had one antenna input for VHF/UHF/Cable and a second input labled ASTC. I plugged the antenna into it and all the digital channels came in perfectly. No I haven't gone back to try and see if the Winegard Batwing would bring them in just as well because that would be way to embarrassing but my guess is that it would work just fine.

cfsoistman · 02-07-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

Now that's the kind of comparison I'm looking for. Please post back here what you find out, and if you could, the distance to the transmitting towers.

Well, I installed the new Wingman add-on. Before doing so I did an autoscan for channels with my TV. I got all the local channels and a few from Washington DC. I found what I believed was a decent Digital channel and proceeded to watch it. As my previous experience the channel was clear but still not 100% without freeze up and audio in and out.
I turned the TV off, got up on the roof and proceeded to do the install. I recommend taking something hard to push the pins in with. My thumb just wasn't quite enough.
Afterwards I went back into the motorhome, turned on the TV and did another autoscan. I received a few more channels that weren't great but they weren't there before. I then went back to the channel I was watching earlier and the picture and sound did not have any interuptions. I didn't change the position of the antenna. So, In my case it definitely made an improvement. The towers transmitting the signal are about 30 to 35 miles from my home.

**Bama Rambler** · 02-07-2009, 06:35 PM

Well that's good news. At least that's proof that it does help some. Might be worth the investment if you use the antenna a lot during camping.

Thanks for the info.

eandsphotography · 02-09-2009, 04:02 AM

I'm not getting anything in digital. And i dont know what's wrong. I have the 22''lcd venturer tv and when i have the tv video menu set to receive cable it will show the digital channel but no picture, when i set it to AIR , i get just the analog station and not well at that. On the menu that shows the DTV signal strength it shows "bad". This is a brand new tv that came in this camper and i was told that it was DTV ready. what could be wrong?

cfsoistman · 02-09-2009, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eandsphotography

I'm not getting anything in digital. And i dont know what's wrong. I have the 22''lcd venturer tv and when i have the tv video menu set to receive cable it will show the digital channel but no picture, when i set it to AIR , i get just the analog station and not well at that. On the menu that shows the DTV signal strength it shows "bad". This is a brand new tv that came in this camper and i was told that it was DTV ready. what could be wrong?

Do you have an input selector? Is it set to antenna? If so, you need to go to the TV menu and select AIR / Antenna and then do an autoscan. Once you've completed that you may have to turn your antenna to get the best picture.
Do you receive Digital channels in your home from cable? Are you hooked up to a cable box or straight into the TV. You probably have to do an autoscan for the TV to recognize the channels.
Hopefully that's all it is.

**Bama Rambler** · 02-09-2009, 08:32 AM

I looked at the manual for that tv and it does have an ATSC (digital) tuner. A couple of things to try. I know some of these are simple but I'm listing all I can think of.

1) Make sure the antenna is cranked up.
2) Make sure the antenna is connected to the tv.
3) Make sure the booster is on.
4) Make sure the tv is set to OTA (over the air).
5) Do an 'Auto' channel scan.
6) Set the tv to one of the digital channels and slowly rotate the antenna first one way
then the other to see if the signal strength will increase.
7) If the signal increases enough to obtain a good picture then do a 'Auto Scan Add CH'
to see if you pick up more channels. If you do you're good to go.

If you want to try for more channels then here's what to try. Warning, this can be tedious.

a) Start with the antenna rotated all the way one way or the other.
b) Do a 'Auto Scan Add CH'.
c) Rotate the antenna ~ 15º and do a 'Auto Scan Add CH'.
d) Repeat step 'c' until you've rotated the antenna 180º

NOTE: If you have the 'Wingman' Add on you'll have to rotate it 360º to ensure you've covered the entire range.

Having said all that. You can cheat a bit by looking at your neighbors antennas and setting your's to match.

then do a add ch.

jjmoore · 03-02-2009, 12:37 AM

Could it be like my Sony and have a separate input on the back of the tv for the astc tuner? See my post earlier in this thread.

jdeeter · 03-04-2009, 02:11 PM

I installed the batwing today, took all of 5 minutes (including the climb up the ladder) to install. pull out 4 plugs, hold the batwing up under the antenna housing, push in the 4 supplied fasteners with your fingers. crank down the antenna and you are ready to go. As for how it works, I will report on that next week when I get back from Inks Lake State Park, TX next Tuesday.

08flagvlite · 03-04-2009, 02:43 PM

My system works great as is from the factory- 22"Venturer 12volt HD TV, with the factory crank- up winegard antenna and antenna booster. When moving to a new location however, you MUST run a new channel search of that area in order to get proper programming. Here in Jacksonville in the yard, we get over 20 CLEAR antenna channels! I think it works GREAT!!! Randy

PumaPro · 03-20-2009, 06:12 PM

I've heard that the Winnegard Sensar II, the predessesor to the Sensar III (just out within the last few years), is capable of receiving digital TV stations. The Sensar III was just designed to "optimize" the digital signal. All antennas, as far as I know, will receive digital TV signal. It's just a matter of whether or not your TV can decipher it. Kind of like your ears: you hear people speaking English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, but you can only comprehend English (at least that's all I understand, anyway). Digital signal is the same: frequency and wavelength is the same as analog TV signal, but the digital waves are squared off, whereas the analog are curved all over.

donjuanss · 03-20-2009, 09:25 PM

I am out at Florala State Park in Alabama As I write this and I am watching digital channels out of Mobile and Pesacola. No attachments just the bat wing. Would still like to know if anyone has tried with the new attachment and without.

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