KING Jack is Standard on Cedar Creek Fiver Line

[dalspot]

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KING Jack is Standard on Cedar Creek Fiver Line

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October 12, 2016 by RVBusiness Leave a Comment

KING announced that its KING Jack will now come standard as the exclusive over-the-air (OTA) digital HDTV antenna on all new Forest River Cedar Creek fifth-wheels, including the Champagne Edition, Cottage, Hathaway Edition and Silverback Edition.
“As more and more OEMs better understand what a game-changer the Jack is for mobile OTA applications, the more they want to make it a core feature of their products for RVers,” said Jeremy Buckmeier, KING’s national sales manager for OEMs in a press release. “The Jack is a high-quality, innovative product — which makes it a perfect fit on each of the Cedar Creek models.”
The KING Jack offers RVers a wealth of features including a wider reception range, superior UHF reception, easy antenna rotation, and a compact, aerodynamic design that is 70% smaller and requires less roof space than traditional RV antennas.

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[florabama]

News to me and thanks for posting. Guess I'll have to look into what this critter can do.

[dalspot]

We had one on our old SOB. Loved it. I'm hoping this change is effective immediately and will come on our new one.

Originally Posted by florabama

News to me and thanks for posting. Guess I'll have to look into what this critter can do.

[GOTTOYS]

Had the bolt on version on my old SOB. It went on the original mast. Not real sure if it was much better than the batwing or not. I put it on because my old batwing rattled so much in the wind. It took care of that.

[RedLdr1]

IMHO you're getting a good antenna. We're happy with our King Jack, its much better than the old bat wings we've had over the years...and you don't have to remember to crank it down!

A couple of things we learned:

If you have a problem with intermittent signal, or the signal completely randomly dropping, take off the cover on your ceiling and check the coax connector to the electronics module. The connection in ours was loose and it caused weird, random reception issues. The hint this is a issue will be the signal strength lights will either be off, flickering or dim.

Using the signal strength lights on the antenna base is a pretty good way to set your antenna. But using the signal strength meter in your TV's software, while rotating the antenna, will really help you pick up a particular station. We had over 30 channels "discovered" at Goshen using our King Jack. Some were a bit intermittent but that is pretty darn good for fancy "rabbit ears".

Our particular antenna install does have one interesting "gotcha". The directional arrow on the turning knob is 180˚out of phase. When the arrow is facing the front of our coach the antenna is pointing to the rear. This was the source of some interesting conversations between the DW and I at Goshen when I was outside telling her which way to orient the antenna to match the units parked around us! The knob is "keyed" so you just can't remove it, turn it around and re-install it. I had the FR service techs look at it during the FROG rally and the only solution they could offer was to replace the unit under warranty. Since it works well, and doesn't leak, and we know it is backwards now , we elected to leave it alone...

[Stevemc]

I didn't realize for a long time I was pointing our Jack antenna incorrectly. The antenna itself is arrow shaped but the arrow should point away from the signal and the flat side of the antenna toward the signal. Seemed kind of anti-intuative to me. The King Jack is pretty directionally forgiving but it does work better once I figure out which side is the front of the antenna.

[dalspot]

Picked up our unit last week, and the new King antenna is a bit of a letdown - they are not installing these with the built in signal meter controller It's a $40 part...

So you are left fumbling around in the dark, or running outside to try and figure out which way the antenna is pointing. We have also yet to find the booster switch that should have also been installed. Tho I will admit we've not looked real hard for it at this point. In our old rig, if you were hooked to campground cable, that booster switch had to be turned off or it would interfere with the cable reception. And if it was not turned on for OTA channels, you didn't get much.

Will be interesting to see what others think.

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[Iwannacamp]

Prolly a stupid question... I assume you looked where the coax goes in the wall on the plate there is normally a little push switch.

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by RedLdr1

IMHO you're getting a good antenna. We're happy with our King Jack, its much better than the old bat wings we've had over the years...and you don't have to remember to crank it down!

A couple of things we learned:

If you have a problem with intermittent signal, or the signal completely randomly dropping, take off the cover on your ceiling and check the coax connector to the electronics module. The connection in ours was loose and it caused weird, random reception issues. The hint this is a issue will be the signal strength lights will either be off, flickering or dim.

Using the signal strength lights on the antenna base is a pretty good way to set your antenna. But using the signal strength meter in your TV's software, while rotating the antenna, will really help you pick up a particular station. We had over 30 channels "discovered" at Goshen using our King Jack. Some were a bit intermittent but that is pretty darn good for fancy "rabbit ears".

Our particular antenna install does have one interesting "gotcha". The directional arrow on the turning knob is 180˚out of phase. When the arrow is facing the front of our coach the antenna is pointing to the rear. This was the source of some interesting conversations between the DW and I at Goshen when I was outside telling her which way to orient the antenna to match the units parked around us! The knob is "keyed" so you just can't remove it, turn it around and re-install it. I had the FR service techs look at it during the FROG rally and the only solution they could offer was to replace the unit under warranty. Since it works well, and doesn't leak, and we know it is backwards now , we elected to leave it alone...

The front of the antenna is the UHF element (the flat wide end) which is at the opposite end of the pointed end. Your stow for the antenna puts the front of the antenna facing forward.

[dalspot]

No, not a stupid question - we didn't look, because for one, in the bedroom, the tv is mounted on a box. Not sure if it will swivel out or not, didn't want to pull on it. Living room TV is pretty big and fills up the space its mounted in. A wall coax connection is not readily apparent in either case. Will investigate more this weekend.

Originally Posted by Iwannacamp

Prolly a stupid question... I assume you looked where the coax goes in the wall on the plate there is normally a little push switch.

[Stevemc]

Look in the cabinets around the living room tv. Ours is in a cabinet next to the fireplace under the tv. I have to get on the floor with a flashlight to see it because it's towards the back of the cabinet. I know yours is a different model but it might be a similar location.

[dalspot]

Will do! Thanks.

Originally Posted by Stevemc

Look in the cabinets around the living room tv. Ours is in a cabinet next to the fireplace under the tv. I have to get on the floor with a flashlight to see it because it's towards the back of the cabinet. I know yours is a different model but it might be a similar location.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by dalspot

Will do! Thanks.

...this may help... if it happens to be on it will have a light(usually green) glowing. Might be able to turn the lights out and see it glowing.

[dalspot]

Had time to look for the booster switch - installed inline behind the main TV. Not wall mounted tho.

Originally Posted by Iwannacamp

Prolly a stupid question... I assume you looked where the coax goes in the wall on the plate there is normally a little push switch.

[daddyo]

We find by using the the antennas direct website antenna locator for your location, using a trusty compass you can aim the fat end of your King jack antenna in the same compass heading and viola, you have the most channels to choose from viewing.

[17 Oaks]

We have it on our '17 CC29, works GREAT!

[BandJCarm]

We don't have that one.....rarely use the one we do have. Have a tripod dish that we use mostly. Still, would be nice to have. Nice upgrade.

[dalspot]

We use an Apple app called TV Towers that is great. Has the compass built in. Wish they had included the antenna version with the built in signal finder. We upgraded to the Jack in our old SOB and it did have the signal strength meter built in to the controller in the ceiling. I think it worked better than the one in our Cedar Creek, but that could be due to TV difference.

[ben31]

We use DTV Antennas, it just tells you which way to point the antenna.

FYI, point the FLAT end toward the signal. I won't go into antenna physics here, but the pointed end actually acts like an signal accumulator. Like Stevemc wrote, the UHF element is in the front (flat end). It isn't a huge difference, but when you are fighting for every db, it is a difference nonetheless.

Also, the reception at night will usually be better than during the day. We usually do the search at night to get the most channels. Then just note which ones don't come in as well during the day. Like most everyone, we probably do the most watching at night, so fits our schedule, too.

[pfish48]

I have a 2017 Cedar Creek Champagne and the Jack adjustment knob on the ceiling had tape over the space that should have housed the strength lights, etc. Dont know if they forgot it or if it doesnt come with the antenna. Also, have no idea where the booster switch is or whether or not it even has one. pretty poor item if you ask me. Can anyone with a champagne comment or enlighten me?