What's the scoop with the tv antenna?

[jsk125]

Hey folks. Maiden voyage went pretty well except for a leak under the bathroom sink. Thanks all for the tips on the hot water switch.

Next question. The tv antenna. I have a 2013 6504. Is that an HD antenna? Nothing in the manuals. If not, it can't be worth much as there are no longer VHF/UHF channels, correct?

Can you hook up an HD antenna? I do see a little power button on that wall where the tv would mount. What does that do? Thanks! I have not bought a flat screen for it yet. Not sure I will.

[08flagvlite]

There are lots of free over the air HD channels out there, depending on your area, (I am not saying they are very good, but hey, theyr'e free)and YES, your antenna is an HD antenna. The little green power button should be on anytime you watch tv, this is a power booster- (although not much). You should have a Winegard HD "batwing" antenna, it will need to be raised up and turned in the best direction for a good signal. Don't forget to lower it back down before you leave a campground! Randy

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by ptownvibe

Hey folks. Maiden voyage went pretty well except for a leak under the bathroom sink. Thanks all for the tips on the hot water switch.

Next question. The tv antenna. I have a 2013 6504. Is that an HD antenna? Nothing in the manuals. If not, it can't be worth much as there are no longer VHF/UHF channels, correct?

Can you hook up an HD antenna? I do see a little power button on that wall where the tv would mount. What does that do? Thanks! I have not bought a flat screen for it yet. Not sure I will.

I don't think there is such an antenna as a HD antenna. There are however HD tv's to receive the signal from the antenna and display the signal in HD.

[08flagvlite]

Remember the TV converter boxes the government was sending out to all TV sets that were not DIGITAL TUNERS? The antennas changed when that upgrade changed, and nobody can sell those TV's or antennas anymore. I previously said HD, I meant to say DIGITAL airwaves, although some Digital free channels are in fact HD, depending on where you live. Randy

[Evereddie]

Originally Posted by bubbles

I don't think there is such an antenna as a HD antenna. There are however HD tv's to receive the signal from the antenna and display the signal in HD.

From a broadcast engineer, that is correct. HD is another way of broadcasting but the HD channels are basically in the same frequency group as the old analog channels thence the antennas you need are the same. I hate it when I see commercials for HD antennas saying they are special for HD tv when it is nothing more than a plain old antenna. Now there is a difference in some HD signals because some are in the old VHF band and some HD signals are in the UHF band. The add on to the Wineguard bat wing antennas help bring in the UHF HD channels since the Wineguard is lacking in that area of frequency coverage.

BTW, FM signals are between TV channels 6 and 7 so any antenna used for VHF TV will work great for FM radio.

[Terier]

I installed a TV from Costco and usually can get over-the-air channels. I also added the Wingman to the antenna and now the stations are clearer. While I have HD equipment at home I don't even brother with HD stations so I'm not able to answer your question.

[Flower]

ptownvibe, turn your TV on and push the button for the booster the light will be on then use the menu and do a auto scan for channels. Every time you change your location to a different town you need to repeat the process. And do not forget to crank up your antenna and back down when traveling.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by 08flagvlite

Remember the TV converter boxes the government was sending out to all TV sets that were not DIGITAL TUNERS? The antennas changed when that upgrade changed, and nobody can sell those TV's or antennas anymore. I previously said HD, I meant to say DIGITAL airwaves, although some Digital free channels are in fact HD, depending on where you live. Randy

Not true. What changed is how the signal is packaged that rides on the UHF/VHF frequencies. It was analog before and digital now. The frequencies have not changed at all.

In fact, there are VHF digital and UHF digital channels broadcasting HD content.

Here is a printout of the VHF and UHF channels in the Tampa area and the direction to the transmitter towers from MacDill AFB FAMCAMP.

The "Wingman" will make your UHF antenna (located in the white box of your roof antenna) directional and will boost the gain to allow you to get the same reception distance on UHF digital that you are getting on VHF digital.

Channel 3.1 is VHF and channel 30.3 is UHF.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by Evereddie

BTW, FM signals are between TV channels 6 and 7 so any antenna used for VHF TV will work great for FM radio.

I've gotta review my frequencies list. I thought the FM radio band was over channel 13. Either way, I agree on TV antennas being useful for FM Radio.

Edit: Ok, a quick Wiki check (TV Channel Frequencies) proves I've lost my mind....

[Arefbee]

Your antenna is capable of receiving HD channels and the current flat panel TVs are able to display the signal without a decoder.
AntennaWeb - Home has some good references for getting started. I have an app on my smartphone that can tell me the best direction to point the antenna and find I can get up to 20 channels in my driveway including a few I don't get on FIOS at home.
You may want to see if you have a signal booster. If TV is important a booster would probably help in a lot of areas.

[Ddubya]

Any UHF/VHF TV antenna will pick up HD but pointing the antenna is much more critical than with the old analog. With analog a weak signal would still be displayed. With the new ATSC digital transmission the carrier is the same but the digital signal that rides on it requires a certain signal level to be detected by the receiver to be displayed. If the signal is weak unlike analog you will not get a picture. If your TV has a turning meter it is much easier to adjust the antenna for maximum signal. Receiving several stations without rotating the antenna is much more difficult unless the transmitting locations are very close together.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Ddubya

Any UHF/VHF TV antenna will pick up HD but pointing the antenna is much more critical than with the old analog. With analog a weak signal would still be displayed. With the new ATSC digital transmission the carrier is the same but the digital signal that rides on it requires a certain signal level to be detected by the receiver to be displayed. If the signal is weak unlike analog you will not get a picture. If your TV has a turning meter it is much easier to adjust the antenna for maximum signal. Receiving several stations without rotating the antenna is much more difficult unless the transmitting locations are very close together.

Antenna Web will not only tell you what heading to point; but actually a ground reference to use to visually aim the antenna.

For folks who have never needed to learn, the Sensar style antennas are pointed like an airplane flying to the transmission tower you want to watch. The white box/leading UHF elements is the cockpit and the VHF "Batwings" are the wings of the plane. For the "Steerable" Jack, the arrow flies to the tower.

If you have a Sensar 3 or earlier, you SHOULD buy the Wingman upgrade if you have room to mount it without hitting something when you retract the antenna. Those leading elements act like a magnifying lens to focus weaker UHF signals onto the "omnidirectional" UHF antenna in the amp box.

Like a magnifying lens, it only works when it is pointed at the tower; just like a light magnifying lens only works when pointed at the sun.

[Dodge Guy]

As has been said there is no HD or Digital antenna. There are however better antennas than the Batwing they give you. I have had barely any stations with my batwing, a couple before the switch to digital and none after the switch. I just installed a Jack antenna and i was amazed at how many stations it picked up and how well it held them. In my driveway i was lucky to get maybe 5 stations. After i installed the Jack i got 71! No joke! 71 stations!!!! Granted most of those i will never watch, but they are there now when they weren't before.

I highly recomend the Jack antenna!

[jsk125]

Wow thanks everyone!!!