tv antena

[machunt]

Has anyone replaced the standard Wineguard crank up antena? if so with what type? and how hard was thsis?

[wa8yxm]

Many have. however the best RV antenna per assorted lab tests is the Winegard Sensar IV. followed bumper to bumper by the Sendsare III with Wingman add on and the Sendsar II towed behind that (not much difference)

Adding the Sensar PRO indoors makes a big difference as well.

Though many praise the Jack. .. testing shows that at it's best it is half the antenna the Sensar IV is. and in most cases not even that.

HOWEVER in some conditions the Jack does very well.

I'd stick with Winegard.. When I accidently totaled my S-3 I put up an S-4 Even with the needed repair work it did not take 30 minutes Two bolts. one cable. Had to put a new end on the cable (Easy to do I have the tool needed to do it RIGHT)

[IAMICHABOD]

BurbMan wrote:

dedmiston wrote:
Is this the thread you were talking about? I didn't read the whole thing, but it looks likely.

TV Antenna "upgrade"

Good discussion, but it's from 2013....a lot happens in tech in 7 years.

The thread that dedmiston was referring to is This One

It is quite long and 7 years old. As I said in my post I know what works for me and if you go thru all the post you will see that there is not a lot of difference in the data,continual adjustments to the batwing seem to make it work better. The Jack is a lot easier to point and get a great reception.

[BurbMan]

dedmiston wrote:
Is this the thread you were talking about? I didn't read the whole thing, but it looks likely.

TV Antenna "upgrade"

Good discussion, but it's from 2013....a lot happens in tech in 7 years.

OP didn't mention why he's looking to change antennas so not sure if he's looking for better reception, is tired of cranking it up/down, or is looking for free up roofspace.

[MFL]

My FW came with a better than some, omni type antenna. Many are junk! It works great for close to medium range from towers. When I need longer range, I pull out my 2 piece mast, fasten the King Jack head to it, bungy it to my ladder, with head 6' above my FW roof. I connect coax to outside cable in, near lower ladder. Works great for me, when needed, and very easy to set up.

Jerry

[IAMICHABOD]

I helped my Son In Law to do just that and got much the same performance as BurbMan.

He was impressed with the performance that I got from my replacement of the Winegard antenna to the Jack replacement Head , as I said in
This post and the way it worked on his Mom and Dads Trailer that has the same as BurbMan.

We put on the Jack Antenna and to cover the hole left from the crank up antenna you will need This mounting Plate

Worked out nicely. If you scroll down to the pictures you will see what it looks like mounted. It gets great reception everywhere we go.

[dedmiston]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I don't know wher Santa Clarita Jeff is now but it would be interesting to have him run the series of tests he ran befoe, with the equipment of today.

SCVJeff has been gone for years. I don't recall why he left, but I was sorry to see him go. I used to run into him at the storage yard before ours was shut down.

Is this the thread you were talking about? I didn't read the whole thing, but it looks likely.

TV Antenna "upgrade"

[BurbMan]

David, completely agree. My comments are based on anecdotal experience at the beach on the East end of LI, far away from any big city. Previous years in the TT with the Winegard, we would pull in about a dozen channels from CT and LI.

This year with the King we got about 35 channels from CT, LI, and RI. Could have been favorable weather/atmospheric conditions? I was concerned about the lack of height without the crank up mast, but doesn't seem to be an issue...I would also say if Jeff's tests are more than a few years old they are probably obsolete.

Not saying that the KingJack is superior in all circumstances....OP asked if anyone replaced their Winegard with anything else....I did, and am reporting favorable results. My post was not meant to be a side-by-side spec comparo.

[D_E_Bishop]

I cannot give a side by side comparison of the two antenna but I can say that gographic location plays a much bigger part than you may realize. At one time a member of the forums did side by side comparisons of several rv antennas, he did lab quality controlled tests with test equipment that you and I cannot afford. His conclusion was with the antennas mounted at the same height pointed in accordance with Manu. instructions, the batwings won hands down.

I don't know wher Santa Clarita Jeff is now but it would be interesting to have him run the series of tests he ran befoe, with the equipment of today.

I do know that with my batwing four with the sensor pro laying flat on the roof at my home pulls in over eighty stations but at High Jolly Campground near "Q" I get 7 when extended. The rigs with the best reception at that location that are pulling in 25 to 27 stations and have antennas mounted on masts that are 15 to 20 feet above roof top antennas.

Too many variables to be considered for on test with dissimelar antenna.

[BurbMan]

I replaced the old crank-up on the Lance we rebuilt with a King Jack and I couldn't be happier with the performance.

I had the Winegard on our Terry TT and I upgraded with the Wingman HD attachment and also went with a digital signal booster. Performance was better, but this King blows it away! I get a LOT more channels than I ever did with the Winegard.

Installation was pretty easy, but the old Winegard needs to come out. Basically, take off the crank handle and the inside flange, go up on the roof and unbolt the flange from the roof, you'll see the coax connections inside the roof cavity. Disconnect the coax, discard the Winegard and install the King. Be sure to have a tube of Dicor self-leveling lap sealant to get the roof flange sealed up right away. Obviously you want to do this when you have a couple days of no rain.

The King also comes with a new wallplate singnal amp, and that's just 2 screws and the connections on the back. Swaps out plug for plug and goes back in the same spot.

The King still has a rotating function and the built-in signal meter is nice. What we love best is no more cranking up and down and no more triple checking to make sure it's down before you hit the road.

Here's what it looks like installed on the Lance, note that not needing room for the Winegard to fold down freed up some real estate on the roof for the solar panel.