crank up antenna won't crank up

[poorboy]

stayed at a campground this past week that had no cable, so I tried to use the crank up antenna. It was not cranking and not going up. What I would really like to know is, has anybody changed there's from a crank up to a fixed antenna like the ones you see on airstreams. Not interested in dishes or very expensive satellite systems (nothing that good on TV to spend that kind of money). Thanks in advance.

[falconbrother]

I take mine partially apart a couple of times a year and lube it with silicone spray. It's a maintenance item.

[mr_andyj]

it is made of aluminum which can get a oxidation on it and make the gears really hard to move. lubing it might help. I do not know about rubber roofs and lube...

Worst case, go to a junkyard and find an old RV with a working one. It will be cheap.

I had a boomerang on my first on. Like what you would see on an old limosuine. It kinda worked, so I had to get a signal booster to increase the signal.

The crank up is the best as you can turn/aim it, and it raises above your AC unit so nothing blocks it.
Though I have never tried a dome one. sounds expensive...

[IAMICHABOD]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I don't know why anyone would call a Winegard Batwing mediocre. I can pull in more with that sitting in front of my home and get more than 80 stations. I can now with the sensor pro get more than with the house rooftop antenna.

The batwing is the best of all RV antenna

I would certainly hope so,you are about 10 miles from the transmitters :B

While sitting in my driveway at 26 miles from the same transmitters I get 174


With My Jack Antenna



:B:B

[D_E_Bishop]

I don't know why anyone would call a Winegard Batwing mediocre. I can pull in more with that sitting in front of my home and get more than 80 stations. I can now with the sensor pro get more than with the house rooftop antenna.

The batwing is the best of all RV antennas.

There used to be a member on here that test all of the antennas he could get to test and the best was a Winegard Batwing. By the way his handle was Santa Clarita Jeff, a very nice person.

[poorboy]

Thanks to all with great info, it is a great help, with the weather being good, I will tackle this with alot more knowledge, thanks.

[bob213]

Be careful of what you spray around your roof. Silicone is probably the safest thing.
Here's a video that might help and as others have said...You have the best antenna out there. Fix it or replace it with the same. A Batwing addition helps a lot.
mantainence

[Gjac]

mchero wrote:

wildtoad wrote:
I’d try to find out why the crank up wouldn’t crank. If it’s a Winegard it’s the absolute best of a mediocre bunch. Have you lubed it lately? There is an annual maintenance procedure that should be followed.

Absolutely correct! Apparently it's not properly maintained. Those crank up's are the best as long as the head is good and the transformer is sending power to the head.

If you look at the top plate there is a small hole that you can put some lube in. I just use WD-40 and stick the red tube in the hole and spray. It is the cheapest solution especially when there is not much worth watching on TV.

[ferndaleflyer]

I got a new Wineguard for $122.

[mchero]

wildtoad wrote:
I’d try to find out why the crank up wouldn’t crank. If it’s a Winegard it’s the absolute best of a mediocre bunch. Have you lubed it lately? There is an annual maintenance procedure that should be followed.

Absolutely correct! Apparently it's not properly maintained. Those crank up's are the best as long as the head is good and the transformer is sending power to the head.

[MarkTwain]

poorboy wrote:
stayed at a campground this past week that had no cable, so I tried to use the crank up antenna. It was not cranking and not going up. What I would really like to know is, has anybody changed there's from a crank up to a fixed antenna like the ones you see on airstreams. Not interested in dishes or very expensive satellite systems (nothing that good on TV to spend that kind of money). Thanks in advance.

Throw away the crank up antenna. Replace it with an antenna that has a little dome receiver that covers the old hole. It is only about 3 inches high. it will automatically search and find TV stations.

[wildtoad]

I’d try to find out why the crank up wouldn’t crank. If it’s a Winegard it’s the absolute best of a mediocre bunch. Have you lubed it lately? There is an annual maintenance procedure that should be followed.

[IAMICHABOD]

I helped my Son In Law to do just that, he 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.