Poor TV Reception

[ppe115]

With my previous 2012 Flagstaff travel trailer, I could get 46 stations in my back yard with the old fashioned crank antenna. Now I have a 2022 Flagstaff Microlite 21FBRS with that small triangle antenna and I get only 3 stations even with the power booster turned on. I even replaced the Furrion TV with a Vizio Smart TV. Same result.
My question is: Are these new style antennas just crappy? Or do I have a wiring problem?

[EK460]

I have experienced the same thing! Owned a 2016 Pioneer with the crank up antenna. Got decent reception in most places, even at my property (off the grid). Now my 2020 Rockwood mini 2511S with the new style antenna don't pick up hardly anything. Looking for answers. -Ed

[cmulvey]

X2

Same issue with my Winegard vs the batwing on my past 5ver.

[Wiscampsin]

X3

We can't pick up near the stations we could with our crank up batwing.

[Boomerweps]

It seems the omnidirectional antennas have equally poor reception from all directions.
The earlier directional antennas work better.
If you can get some height with them, the flat panel “digital” antennas aren’t too bad.
I bought a couple home directional digital antennas and experimented with them. First one worked far better than the TT factory one but its power rotator went bad. I used a 10’ 2x2 as a pole and attached it to my tongue jack for a couple more feet.
I’ve only had good luck with my King Jack antenna within 30 miles of the transmitters. 40 miles gets you a lot of pixelization.
I use Antenna Point app to see distance & direction from transmitters.

[fella10]

Originally Posted by ppe115

.... Are these new style antennas just crappy? ...

We had the same problem, original tv antenna on our 2015 Micro Lite 25KS wasn't worth a hoot, ... beside a camper one day that had this setup, copied it and the results are amazing, ... I abandoned the whole original setup, didn't remove or modify it, just quit using it, ... a cheap $25 antenna from Walmart.com, it has it's own amplifier, mounted on 24ft painters pole from Lowes, I bring the cable into the trailer thru the propane hatch cover, ... I did find that HEIGHT is important, at first I would run the two inner sections out 4ft each making about 16ft total length, sitting on the bumper I figured 18ft was high enough, ... and was most of the time, occasionally there would be interference that I contributed to wind or bad weather, ... then one day there was more interference than usual and on a whim I went out and raised the pole another 2ft, the difference was amazing, now I start with 18-20ft pole sitting on bumper and couldn't be happier, .... I use Antenna Point app to find what direction to point the antenna, ...

[rowdy boys 3]

Does it need to be grounded or have lighting protection in case of a lightning strike?

[fella10]

Originally Posted by rowdy boys 3

Does it need to be grounded or have lighting protection in case of a lightning strike?

It's a fiberglass pole, I've used that setup for almost six years with no concern about lightening strikes, ....

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by fella10

It's a fiberglass pole, I've used that setup for almost six years with no concern about lightening strikes, ....

The pole may be fiberglass but coax is a conductor, actually two.

[fella10]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

The pole may be fiberglass but coax is a conductor, actually two.

Yes I know, but I'm still not worried about lightening strikes, but that's just me, maybe someone else would be, ....

[wheelin14]

Technically a lightning strike will blow up your ground. Grounds are to drain off the static from a strike next door. Winegard makes a more sophisticated booster that provides 20 db of gain compared to 10 db provided by the cheap units installed by the rv plants. It also has two outputs which will allow the elimination of a splitter for cable going to the bedroom. My trailer used a 4 way splitter so the tv was getting 1/4 signal--splitter gone.

[rsdata]

if lightning strikes the pole you will have bigger issues then just a blown TV set...

[rjshiflet]

When we bought our Columbus back about 10 years ago, I tested the TV reception in my driveway with about the same results you're having. My previous fifth wheel could get dozens of stations. I argued back and forth with the dealer and with Forest River until finally Forest River paid for a mobile tech to come out and check. He discovered there were something like 12 different coaxial connections along the way and most of them weren't properly done. He ran one continuous coax each for both TV and Satellite (also, the connectors were mis-marked...Satellite was actually TV and TV was actually satellite).

Once he finished, we received dozens of stations again and we loved our Columbus for many years.

Just be aware - it could be something more than just a crappy antenna. It could be crappy wiring from the factory.

[LivingToCamp]

I got tired of messing with the TT antenna. We normally camp where the internet/cell service is spotty at best.
I bought a ClearStream 2Max antenna, telescoping flag pole (Harbor Freight), U-bolts (Home Depot) and 25 ft. of quad shielded RG6 cable.
The flag pole comes with a piece of PVC so I mounted that to the TT back bumper with the U-bolts, mounted the antenna to the top of the flag pole (after I took off all the flag holding accessories) and now it takes about 15 minutes for set up, connect, channel search and we usually get about 20 + channels.
I use TV Fool.com (before I leave my house) to find out which way to point the antenna to receive maximum channels.
I run the cable under the TT (leave it on the ground) to the TT Satellite/Antenna ports, then I connect the RG6 cable to the outlet on the outside of the TT, I leave the inside booster off, TV is already connected to the outlet inside the TT. Run channel search using "Antenna".
When we're done camping, I remove the pole from the mount, collapse it (with antenna still attached), roll up the cable and place it all on the top bunk. It's not in our way and small enough that it doesn't take up much space.
I've been doing it this way for awhile and I have never been without TV channels, even when our site is surrounded by trees. We also use a small DVD player.

[Bob K4TAX]

Yep, TV reception via off-air signals and antennas is marginal at best in many locations. Some TVs seem to have better receiver sensitivity than others. More sensitivity means picking up more stations. With all the whistles and bells offered on TVs, by far their signal performance is widely varied.

TV off-air signals are basically line of sight traveling from the transmitting location. Trees will also attenuate or reduce signal strength.

An in-line preamp or booster may help. But if there is no signal to boost, then nothing is any better. I found the supplied TV antennas and boosters with our trailers are basically junk.

The solution is some type of manageable support or pole, 10 to 20 ft in length, and put a real TV antenna on it. Connect it to the TV using RG-6 coaxial cable. Make sure all connections are tight and waterproof. One will use the "armstrong" method to turn it in the direction of the best reception.

If the antenna is connected to the metal mast (which it should be) and the mast is connected to the RV (which it should be) it is unlikely a ground of any type will be needed.

I operate my ham radio station from our TT. I have an assortment of antennas and designs and sizes that I use depending on the layout of the campsite. And also depending on what frequencies I plan on using. As to lightning, I don't concern myself about that other than to take personal safety precautions when lightning is within 10 miles. Everyone should do just that regardless if they have a TV or satellite antenna being used at their campsite.

Most lightning damage results from nearby strikes resulting in power-related surges.

Bob

[Rockwood Travelers]

Originally Posted by rsdata

if lightning strikes the pole you will have bigger issues then just a blown TV set...

You got that right!!!!

[zanoffmj]

I ordered the EEEkit indoor digital booster from Walmart. A set of 2 was less than $20.00. It boosted my channels greatly. Easy to install.

[jlynn721]

Originally Posted by EK460

I have experienced the same thing! Owned a 2016 Pioneer with the crank up antenna. Got decent reception in most places, even at my property (off the grid). Now my 2020 Rockwood mini 2511S with the new style antenna don't pick up hardly anything. Looking for answers. -Ed

Get an antenna you can mount to your ladder. Wire directly to tv to test. Then hook cable up through cable outlet on the outside of trailer. See if you get the same number of stations.

[antolod]

I did not get any channels with the factory antenna when I first tried out my TV. I chalked it up to being a poor reception area. A few weeks later, camping at my sister's place, they were getting 60+ stations on their camper TV and I was still getting 0. I started checking an pulled the ceiling mounted jack out and the coax connections on the back of it were barely even started, let alone tight. After I tightened them up, I also started getting 60+ stations.

[Radio]

Y'all just saved me time, money and aggravation. I was thinking of upgrading the Winegard Batwing but now I think I'll just let it be.