Antenna suggestions
- Thread starter Mark Ryan
- Start date
-
- Tags
- antenna forestriverforums
rracer5
Senior Member
I would stick with the old tried & true crank up style. Either with the old wing and "batwing" attachment or the newer King replacement. The old crank up and swivel style gets you above all the stuff on the roof like A/C's, vent covers etc. for an unobstructed signal path. I had a TT once with the "new" omnidirectional antenna that was just bolted to the roof & it was crap for receiving hardly anything. I have the older style wing & batwing attachment and with the aid of antennaweb.org, a compass and a digital wall amplifier, https://www.amazon.com/Winegard-RFL...620055976&sprefix=winegard+am,aps,214&sr=8-26 (adjustable Gain...set to max 20) I've been able to pull in stations 45 - 50 miles away when aimed correctly. 
Last edited:
D W
Senior Member
X2 on the "batwing" style. My neighbor had one of those King Jacks on his 5er and the reception was pitiful compared to my batwing. He got the info off my antenna and ordered one from Amazon. 100% improvement.
Just make sure it states DIGITAL reception. The older style ones are Analog only and pick up very little. Going from one of those to the King I linked above made a 100% improvement in reception. Also check to see if your trailer is already powered for an amplifier, or has an amplifier already inline as that can affect reception of the new one.
nic7320
Senior Member
Check out Winegard's newest cellular access point and wifi extender dome, the Connect 2.0 Plus. The "plus" version now includes an amplified TV, FM and AM antenna.
The cellular access and wifi extender is similar to their previous Connect 2.0 units that didn't have the TV/AM/FM antennas, and it's a great hotspot access point and it has amazingly good wifi extender capability -- going out about a mile.
The new one also has one new feature added -- band 71 for Tmobile. The Connect 2.0 does require a cellular subscription SIM card from ATT, Verizon, Tmobile or their own Winegard pay as you go plan if you want cellular access.
So all in one dome, you get cellular access using two phased antennas, wifi access and wifi extender with three MIMO antennas, *PLUS* the AM/FM/TV antenna.
About $440 direct from Winegard. Just be careful to get the WF2-95B Connect 2.0 "Plus" version, rather than the older non-"plus" version that are being unloaded on Amazon and ebay if you want the TV and radio antennas.
I now use the batwing antenna hole for my solar wires and other cables and seal it up with a rubber plug and some mastic.
The cellular access and wifi extender is similar to their previous Connect 2.0 units that didn't have the TV/AM/FM antennas, and it's a great hotspot access point and it has amazingly good wifi extender capability -- going out about a mile.
The new one also has one new feature added -- band 71 for Tmobile. The Connect 2.0 does require a cellular subscription SIM card from ATT, Verizon, Tmobile or their own Winegard pay as you go plan if you want cellular access.
So all in one dome, you get cellular access using two phased antennas, wifi access and wifi extender with three MIMO antennas, *PLUS* the AM/FM/TV antenna.
About $440 direct from Winegard. Just be careful to get the WF2-95B Connect 2.0 "Plus" version, rather than the older non-"plus" version that are being unloaded on Amazon and ebay if you want the TV and radio antennas.
I now use the batwing antenna hole for my solar wires and other cables and seal it up with a rubber plug and some mastic.
Last edited:
nic7320
Senior Member
Technically, there is no such thing as a digital antenna. If they do say "digital," it's just a bunch of marketing hype. TV signals carrying digital content do so with analog phase encoding, so the antenna is basically doing the same job but with different content encoded into the analog signal.
That said, there are differences in antenna bandwidth to cover some TV bands. Older UHF antennas had more bandwidth to cover some channels that no longer exist due to cellular reallocation. Newer ones can perform better in the remaining channel space.
A bad cable connection can also destroy a signal. If you replace an antenna with a bad ground sheath connection, you're fixing a cable problem and not necessarily an antenna problem. Both the ground sheath and center conductor need to have a solid connection on both ends or the coax becomes a big filter capacitor.
But you're absolutely right about checking for an existing amplifier in the RV's cable wiring. A new antenna usually works best with the amplifier module it comes with, and all bets are off if you mix and match old and new.
Last edited:
Actually, there is such a thing as Digital antenna.
Digital is data. The more signal, the more data, the more data, then clearer the picture.
There are minor differences between the old style pre-digital antenna and the ones stated digital. It is in the construction of the elements. Because the digital code is buried in the analog signal, the elements have to be tighter in order to grab as much signal as it can. As mentioned above about the Winegard on Amazon, there are still pre-digital antenna being sold that while they can pick up the stations, aren't designed to grab as much signal as the newer ones.
I used to have a large 250 mile Winegard on my roof when they switched to the digital signals, and it worked, but got a lot of pixilation on some channels. Upgraded to their newly designed 250 mile antenna and now receive more clearer channels, so there is something to the "Digital" statements. I noticed that the element running down the spine is much different than the older antenna. This is the part that gathers up the signals and sends them down the cable. There was also a clear difference between the old wing antenna and the ones they sell now that look like ray guns or disks.
Ever wondered why house antenna have varying length elements? They are that way to pick up the varying wave lengths. Channels 2-13 are low frequency, and require longer elements, UHF is at higher frequency so they require shorter elements, and more of them. So while the older antenna can still pick up the analog signal, they can only gather up so much of it. This is why they state Digital on the new antenna, because they have the proper elements to gather more signal than the older ones. The older ones still work, just not as good.
Digital is data. The more signal, the more data, the more data, then clearer the picture.
There are minor differences between the old style pre-digital antenna and the ones stated digital. It is in the construction of the elements. Because the digital code is buried in the analog signal, the elements have to be tighter in order to grab as much signal as it can. As mentioned above about the Winegard on Amazon, there are still pre-digital antenna being sold that while they can pick up the stations, aren't designed to grab as much signal as the newer ones.
I used to have a large 250 mile Winegard on my roof when they switched to the digital signals, and it worked, but got a lot of pixilation on some channels. Upgraded to their newly designed 250 mile antenna and now receive more clearer channels, so there is something to the "Digital" statements. I noticed that the element running down the spine is much different than the older antenna. This is the part that gathers up the signals and sends them down the cable. There was also a clear difference between the old wing antenna and the ones they sell now that look like ray guns or disks.
Ever wondered why house antenna have varying length elements? They are that way to pick up the varying wave lengths. Channels 2-13 are low frequency, and require longer elements, UHF is at higher frequency so they require shorter elements, and more of them. So while the older antenna can still pick up the analog signal, they can only gather up so much of it. This is why they state Digital on the new antenna, because they have the proper elements to gather more signal than the older ones. The older ones still work, just not as good.
bikendan
Site Team
Site Team
RV LIFE Pro
Bhrava, at my house, I got a perfect HD picture using a non-digital rabbit ears antenna. Same went for my 2006 HTT's non-digital batting antenna.
nic7320
Senior Member
You can call it a digital antenna if you want. But see, there are no 'ones' and 'zeros' that fall out of the coax cable because it's still an analog signal, and only deep in your TV set does the QAM256 or ATSC analog signal get decoded into a digital signal.
It's much like your old dialup modem that carried bits encoded into a screeching warbling tone over analog phone lines. The magic of this system is that the amplitude and phase of this analog signal can covey bits of information, and that's how we send data.
An antenna is only a coupling device to capture radio frequencies and couple the impedance of free space to the impedance of your coax. With directional antennas, they also have gain and directional patterns to help gather analog RF signals from a specific direction. Any amplifier that adds gain to this should also be tailored only to frequencies of interest.
I suspect you saw an improvement in signal, because you got a either a better antenna pattern, a better amplifier, or just from replacing your old worn out system. Plastic coax does deteriorate with age. So -- good job on the upgrade!
You are also correct in that a log-periodic yagi antenna has tuned elements for specific bands. Maybe that's what the marketing department is trying to convey, but in a technically incorrect fashion, that their latest and greatest whizbang "digital" antenna is better for receiving the frequencies that are presently used and not wasting bandwidth on the old bands (after the FCC reallocated chunks of the UHF band to cell towers).
Are we just using different semantics?
It's much like your old dialup modem that carried bits encoded into a screeching warbling tone over analog phone lines. The magic of this system is that the amplitude and phase of this analog signal can covey bits of information, and that's how we send data.
An antenna is only a coupling device to capture radio frequencies and couple the impedance of free space to the impedance of your coax. With directional antennas, they also have gain and directional patterns to help gather analog RF signals from a specific direction. Any amplifier that adds gain to this should also be tailored only to frequencies of interest.
I suspect you saw an improvement in signal, because you got a either a better antenna pattern, a better amplifier, or just from replacing your old worn out system. Plastic coax does deteriorate with age. So -- good job on the upgrade!
You are also correct in that a log-periodic yagi antenna has tuned elements for specific bands. Maybe that's what the marketing department is trying to convey, but in a technically incorrect fashion, that their latest and greatest whizbang "digital" antenna is better for receiving the frequencies that are presently used and not wasting bandwidth on the old bands (after the FCC reallocated chunks of the UHF band to cell towers).
Are we just using different semantics?
I think we are.
I know the Winegard replaced an older 90's era Winegard, and while the long elements were identical, the elements that criss crossed underneath the longer elements that connect directly to the coax, were of a completely different design and the results were on a whole other level.
The one that was on my TT though was nothing but a couple flat strips, and didn't pull much at all in, then put the King on, using the trailers amp, and the results were very impressive.
rracer5
Senior Member
And here I thought it was like that to more efficiently receive the signal that "was flying in, in formation"!
Do you by chance have a link for this? I can’t find this new version thank you for your help
Thanks for all your help.
Do you have a link for this product? I can’t find it anywhere.
rsdata
Senior Member
If you really want better reception get a YAGI antenna, 50 feet of coax a little bit of pole ( I used old aluminum tent poles) and bungy cord this sucker onto your ladder, a tree or the lantern stand at your campsite... aim it in the direction of the nearest city and pick up stations 100+ miles away. Totally portable...
I can almost guarantee you won't drive off without it.
I can almost guarantee you won't drive off without it.
Attachments
nic7320
Senior Member
This shows the newest Connect 2.0+ and the older 2.0 (non plus) unit, and some other products:
https://winegard.com/products/cellular/4g-lte-hotspots
Similar threads
- Qwazert
- Exterior Maintenance | Roofs, Sealing, Covers & Ve
- Replies: 15
- Views: 791
- johndow
- Appliances and Electronics
- Replies: 4
- Views: 198
- Clffhnger
- Appliances and Electronics
- Replies: 5
- Views: 227
- Ratracer
- Forester and Sunseeker
- Replies: 6
- Views: 484
- Dan wisconsin
- Georgetown
- Replies: 7
- Views: 664
Featured Campgrounds
Reviews provided by 
Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days
- Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
- Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
- Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
- and much more...
