Jack antenna?

[Roo-Woo]

Hi - my Roo is an '07 21SS. We are trying to figure out a solution to this problem: A Wingman hits a vent when we try to lower the antenna. wagon52 sent me a link to a Jack antenna that might work. I wrote down the dimensions and went under the cover yesterday to see if it might. But I'm not sure - it looks like it will be a tight fit. I just wondered if anyone knows if it will have the same problem as the Wingman before I order one? Thanks!

[bikendan]

something is wrong if the Wingman is hitting the vent.
my '07 23SS's Wingman has no such issues. and i added vent covers to the roof. i think something is hinky with how the antenna is installed.

and i've never seen any 21SS owner's have this issue, in the 6 years they've been making the 21SS.

[lindy]

Could you have lowered it and not turned the antenna to the proper position before lowering it?

[Roo-Woo]

Oh how I wish I had thought to take a picture so y'all could see. But thanks for helping - maybe I can get one soon.

If you are looking at the middle of the roof from the door side, there is a huge vent on your immediate left (is for the furnace?), after that the skylight for the bathroom. Behind that is some other type of vent...so we're talking limited space the antenna lays down in. To your right is the radio antenna and the tv antenna is just behind that. It lays down pointing to your left. Am I painting a clear enough picture?

Would the previous owner have installed the antenna? I was thinking it was like that by the factory?

[MtnGuy]

if the Wingman is just barely hitting the vent, then you can cut off the outer 2 cross-arms. Some reception loss may be noted, but probably not a lot.

[Roo-Woo]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

if the Wingman is just barely hitting the vent, then you can cut off the outer 2 cross-arms. Some reception loss may be noted, but probably not a lot.

Thanks mtnguy - but it's not the arms that hit. It hits that big vent I talked about on the front...which would be over the kitchen area. Make sense?

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by Roo-Woo

If you are looking at the middle of the roof from the door side, there is a huge vent on your immediate left (is for the furnace?), after that the skylight for the bathroom.

Looking at the 21SS floorplan, could that be your fridge vent ?? The furnace vent usually goes out the side of a camper.

Originally Posted by Roo-Woo

Thanks mtnguy - but it's not the arms that hit. It hits that big vent I talked about on the front...which would be over the kitchen area. Make sense?

I am not familiar with the Roo roofs. But if the end of the Wingman is hitting a vent, then you may be able to get clearance by trimming the end of the Wingman off.......maybe resulting in the outer 2 arms being sacrificed.

We might have to wait for pictures.

[Roo-Woo]

Yes, we may have to wait for pics to figure it out. Being a newbie, I don't know what to call what up there!

The only other thing I can think of is maybe I should have clarified that the one we tried was the Wingman Sensar. I was just doing a search and realized apparently there are different types? Does that help?

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by Roo-Woo

Y
The only other thing I can think of is maybe I should have clarified that the one we tried was the Wingman Sensar.

I think the Wingman only fits on the Winegard Sensar.

Winegard Wingman - Winegard RV-WING - Over-the-Air Antennas - Camping World

[Roo-Woo]

Okay! Whew - thanks mtnguy - I think I'm getting it now. Sorry for letting my inner idiot take over.

The dimensions for the page you just sent me show to be 14" deep. So yes, what you called the "2 cross-arms" would be what's hitting my vent. And the Jack is only 12.5" deep. I don't really want to buy something, brand new, then have to start cutting parts off of it. Know what I mean? So that's why I'm trying to figure out if the Jack is a solution...

Thanks again!

[ddemme]

Hey there! So, I did an image search for the 21SS and it looks like the antenna crank is in front of the kitchen which puts the head right between the fridge vent and the A/C. If FR had just placed it a foot or two further forward, you'd be fine .

So what to do... The wingman has the long center mast with two smaller cross-members. If it'll fit by cutting the center mast down no further than the inside of the first cross-member, you should be okay. Any more than that and it'll defeat the purpose.

The Jack replacement antenna head replaces the whole Sensar III head. Its 16" wide, but that's centered over the mast. So, you'll need 8" of clearance on either side.

There is also a complete Jack Antenna System and this appears to be ideal for your situation. The whole antenna will live above where the crank is and you won't have to crank up or down anymore. It also has a built-in signal meter, pretty cool.

I've been meaning to get a wingman for our 23SS, but the Jack System looks pretty awesome.

Hope this helps!

[Roo-Woo]

ddemme - this sounds very helpful. Thank you for your time. So basically, sounds like I'm not getting out easy either way. great, FR.

If I need 8" on each side, maybe Jack will work. The next good weather day, I guess I'm back under the cover measuring. Thank you!

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Roo-Woo

Okay! Whew - thanks mtnguy - I think I'm getting it now. Sorry for letting my inner idiot take over.

The dimensions for the page you just sent me show to be 14" deep. So yes, what you called the "2 cross-arms" would be what's hitting my vent. And the Jack is only 12.5" deep. I don't really want to buy something, brand new, then have to start cutting parts off of it. Know what I mean? So that's why I'm trying to figure out if the Jack is a solution...

Thanks again!

I replaced my wingman with a jack. It is very small you can look up the dimensions. When it is lowered it sits on top of the arms that raise it. The reception is 100% better and also HD which a wingman is not. Just fits on the arms same as the old. I highly recommend it A 10 min job..... There are no cross arms to hit your vent.

[OldCoot]

Takes longer to unpack the Jack and climbing on top of the trailer than it does to install the Jack. Pull two pins, hook up the coax and that's it! Maybe 3 minutes max.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by gljurczyk

The reception is 100% better and also HD which a wingman is not.

Huh ?? Winegard advertises the Sensar and Wingman as HD. The pictures looks pretty darn good on my TV.

[AquaMan]

If moving whole antenna toward the rotating base would help with clearances, you can cut the 2 mounting masts down. Simply cut off required length and redrill mounting holes.

BTW, I think I have a Jack antenna in my garage if you would want to try it.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Huh ?? Winegard advertises the Sensar and Wingman as HD. The pictures looks pretty darn good on my TV.

there's really no need for a "HD" antenna, it's a marketing ploy.
any HD tv can receive a HD signal through an antenna, even rabbit ears.
i know because i use rabbit ears for one of my HD tv's at home. just as good as the HD cable dvr, if not a little better.
it's the distance from the signal that is a big difference from the old analog signal. HD signals don't travel as far.
same thing goes for our HD tv with our old '06 Wingman antenna. no need for any special "HD" antenna.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by bikendan

i know because i use rabbit ears for one of my HD tv's at home. just as good as the HD cable dvr, if not a little better.

Agree, Dan. The TV picture in my camper was much better than my home TV on cable. After 1 too many price increases from the cable company, I discontinued the service, and put up an outside antennae......much better picture now.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Huh ?? Winegard advertises the Sensar and Wingman as HD. The pictures looks pretty darn good on my TV.

mtnguy, I do agree with you on Wineguard Sensar IV is uhf/vhf and HD. Sensar 1,2 and 3 are not. I do not know what your unit came with but mine was the 3. I can not find anywhere in Wineguard specs. saying that. Except for the Sensar IV. The Difference in price is like 3X'S higher for the Sensar IV? Which head do you think FR installed?.................The wingman has nothing to do with it except to pull in better reception and they do work great. On my unit the wingman would have hung over the side by 8" because of the placement through the roof....Ham Raido 101

[RvBill3]

Many of the old analog TV stations were in the VHF frequencies (channels 2-13). All digital TV signals are in the UHF frequencies regardless of the channel number. The Wineguard antennas receive both VHF and UHF frequencies, therefore they receive HD signals. The Wingman attachment optimizes the antennas for UHF reception, so it improves reception. The Jack antennas were built from the start to receive UHF signals.

Note that almost all stations are broadcasting in the UHF frequencies with a digital signal, but whether they broadcast in HD or not is up to them. A TV with a digital tuner is required but whether or not it receives HD is up to you (or whoever supplied the TV).