Crank up antenna vs. UFO

[IICAPN]

I have a crank up winegard on my 5er. Between messing with cranking up and now bad connection somewhere, I'm thinking of switching to a fixed, UFO antenna. Recommendations?

[DougW]

We had a crank up batwing on a previous unit, have the omnidirectional platter style on this one, give me a crank up any day because the reception is SO much better. If I had a crank up system I might think about putting one of the rectangular grey home style digital antennas on it because they work real well around our home area. Having a good antenna that can be turned to face the stations is the solution I wish I had.

[bikendan]

Most reviews on fixed UFO antennas are negative. Many go to the batwing antenna.

[GXPWeasel]

Mine is fixed, in that I can't raise or lower it, but I can (aim) turn it the direction I think there is a city or tower. So I guessed it's a batwing?

Anyway, I just noticed last weekend (after a year of ownership) that the arrow inside on my knob to aim the antenna, is 180* off from the actual antenna's aiming direction. I guess it was assembled incorrectly, but now that I know that, I get a ton of channels up to 60 miles away from the nearest city.

[wanderingbob]

Crank up . I never got the pancake to work !

[IICAPN]

Thanks for all of the feedback. The batwing antenna was removed last year for some roof work by dealer. Last we had it out, a month ago, no (very poor ) reception. I will keep the batwing and get it checked out. Thanks again!

[CincyGus]

I think I'm the only guy on the planet (or at least these forums) that has had good success with the UFO type. Gets better reception that the wineguard sensarII with batwing that I previously had on my previous camper both here at home and at a couple of the local campgrounds we visit frequently.

That said, pretty much every review from antenna review websites point to one of the wineguards Sensars with batwing as the leader in the clubhouse as the best crank up/down directional RV Antenna.

Winegard Sensar IV w/ Integrated Wingman TV Antenna System (RVW-395)
is what I would get if I was replacing something I wasn't happy with.

[BobHanke]

My 2011 Georgetown motor home had a version 3 batwing when we bought it used. I added the Wingman upgrade that is included with the version 4. It changed us from bidirectional to unidirectional and about doubled our range. The Wingman installs easily without special tools. I did have to bend one element on the Wingman to clear the front A/C when storing it.
Some people say the fixed low profile antennae get blocked by the A/C if the station is opposite that metal obstruction.

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by BobHanke

My 2011 Georgetown motor home had a version 3 batwing when we bought it used. I added the Wingman upgrade that is included with the version 4. It changed us from bidirectional to unidirectional and about doubled our range. The Wingman installs easily without special tools. I did have to bend one element on the Wingman to clear the front A/C when storing it.
Some people say the fixed low profile antennae get blocked by the A/C if the station is opposite that metal obstruction.

I think you have that wrong. Unidirectional means all directions without having to aim the antenna head towards the transmitting tower. All antennas are bi-directional to some extent. Some better than others.

Directional means it needs to be aimed at the transmitter tower to get the best signal reception.

I guess not many people remember the residential yagi antennas. They had a arrow like set of elements that had to be mounted so they pointed at the transmitter tower. If you lived in an area which had more several cities with transmitters you would buy a antenna rotor to remotely aim the antenna towards the tv station you wanted to watch.

The directional rv antenna works the same except they are not high in the air. If there's any way to get any antenna higher it will work better.

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by GXPWeasel

Mine is fixed, in that I can't raise or lower it, but I can (aim) turn it the direction I think there is a city or tower. So I guessed it's a batwing?

Anyway, I just noticed last weekend (after a year of ownership) that the arrow inside on my knob to aim the antenna, is 180* off from the actual antenna's aiming direction. I guess it was assembled incorrectly, but now that I know that, I get a ton of channels up to 60 miles away from the nearest city.

I believe the arrow is used for stowing the antenna for travel not pointing to transmitters.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by bubbles

I believe the arrow is used for stowing the antenna for travel not pointing to transmitters.

No, you can turn it to aim. Pull down and twist. You just need to line the arrows back up before you retract it.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by IICAPN

Thanks for all of the feedback. The batwing antenna was removed last year for some roof work by dealer. Last we had it out, a month ago, no (very poor ) reception. I will keep the batwing and get it checked out. Thanks again!

Silly question but you have turned on the antenna power/amp switch that is usually behind tv where cable comes in? This is the same power button you need to turn off when connected to campground cable.

[Sarahcat]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

I think you have that wrong. Unidirectional means all directions without having to aim the antenna head towards the transmitting tower. All antennas are bi-directional to some extent. Some better than others.

Directional means it needs to be aimed at the transmitter tower to get the best signal reception.

I guess not many people remember the residential yagi antennas. They had a arrow like set of elements that had to be mounted so they pointed at the transmitter tower. If you lived in an area which had more several cities with transmitters you would buy a antenna rotor to remotely aim the antenna towards the tv station you wanted to watch.

The directional rv antenna works the same except they are not high in the air. If there's any way to get any antenna higher it will work better.

Actually, receiving equally from all sides is omnidirectional. Having the ability to be 'aimed' is directional or uni-directional (but the latter implies that it can't be re-directed) or even bi-directional, since antenna reception patters are frequently two-lobed and the back side is somewhat lower gain than the front side. The left and right are usually the least sensitive, which is the point. In the days of analog TV, having an omnidirectional antenna, while convenient, frequently resulted in 'ghosting' resulting from the phenomenon of multi-path signals. A signal from the transmitter would be bounced off a structure, delayed, and received from a different direction, which can be improved if the antenna is directional and oriented with its highest signal sensitivity directed toward the transmitter.

I have found the Winegard saucer antenna to be directional, but not as much as a large yagi or other multi-element antenna with very high, off-axis, signal discrimination.

[Larry-NC]

Omnidirectional indeed means that the antenna receives signals from all directions. Most directional antennas will receive from the backside with a loss of only a couple of dB. From my home in Raleigh, NC, I pointed the antenna ESE to the antenna farm in Clayton, NC and could still receive WTVD in WNW in Durham, NC off the backside.

I'm not familiar with the term "unidirectional" in regard to antennas, but perhaps there is a design (like a dish) that really doesn't receive signals from the backside. It would be useful in situations where there was a channel on the back side that causes co-channel interference or cross-channel interference with one on the front side. (Usually the FCC manages frequency allocation so this doesn't occur.)

[upflying]

My TT came with one of those pod, flying saucer shaped omni antennas..zero OTA channels.
I installed a Wingard batwing and got a bunch of channels...
I would never go back to a pod antenna again.

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by dalford

No, you can turn it to aim. Pull down and twist. You just need to line the arrows back up before you retract it.

I believe this is an excerpt from your antennas manual:

ROTATING ANTENNA FOR BEST PICTURE
Make sure antenna is in “UP” position. Pull down on both hands until it disengages ceiling plate and rotate for best picture.

LOWERING ANTENNA TO TRAVEL POSITION
Rotate antenna until pointer on directional handle aligns with pointer on ceiling plate. Turn elevating crank (counter clockwise) in “DOWN” direction about 13 turns or until resistance is noted. Antenna is now locked in travel position.

[Paulie1138]

As odd as this sounds, my dad (R.I.P.) always had trouble pointing his antenna. I added a black mark on the rotating ring that indicated the direction the antenna was actually pointing. Aligning the arrows are just for stowing the antenna when lowering.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by bubbles

I believe the arrow is used for stowing the antenna for travel not pointing to transmitters.

Originally Posted by dalford

No, you can turn it to aim. Pull down and twist. You just need to line the arrows back up before you retract it.

Originally Posted by bubbles

I believe this is an excerpt from your antennas manual:

ROTATING ANTENNA FOR BEST PICTURE
Make sure antenna is in “UP” position. Pull down on both hands until it disengages ceiling plate and rotate for best picture.

LOWERING ANTENNA TO TRAVEL POSITION
Rotate antenna until pointer on directional handle aligns with pointer on ceiling plate. Turn elevating crank (counter clockwise) in “DOWN” direction about 13 turns or until resistance is noted. Antenna is now locked in travel position.

I don’t understand this post? In your initial post you said the antenna could not be pointed. I said it could and how to do it and then you replied to me like it was my antenna having a problem (it’s not) and a manual instruction on what I said in my response to you.

No biggie, just confusing..lol..

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by dalford

I don’t understand this post? In your initial post you said the antenna could not be pointed. I said it could and how to do it and then you replied to me like it was my antenna having a problem (it’s not) and a manual instruction on what I said in my response to you.

No biggie, just confusing..lol..

My original post was to let GXPWeasel know that his antenna install was not done incorrectly as he thought. You chimed in referencing my post with a post that seemed to disagree with mine and agree with GXPWeasel's post then it just escalated from there. I did not say the antenna could not be pointed; what I said was that the arrow on the rotator is not for referencing which way the antenna is pointed which was GXPWeasel's assumption. Sorry. Camp on.

[Bob2019]

How I wish my Forester came with the Bat Wing instead of the KJ. I can't get anything away from my driveway and rabbit ears work better and get more stations even in my driveway.