Community Forums

nodine · 01-05-2010, 05:47 AM

Hope you folks don't mind me busting in to your forum to ask a question. Heck, if I trade it will most likely be to a Tiffin.

We are down here at Lazydays and I have noticed that Tiffin is using a round pancake looking antenna on their units for a TV antenna. Does anyone know who makes that and how well it works?

Thanks,

Bob

MuckSavage · 01-05-2010, 01:56 PM

I don't know who makes it (my rig is in storage, or I'd look) but I will say I'm happy with it's performance. Much better than the batwing on my previous unit.

davebuck · 01-05-2010, 02:40 PM

Its The new Wineguard digital antenna.

deadeye916 · 01-05-2010, 10:40 PM

Does it look like one of these? RoadStar Omnidirectional TV Antennas - Winegard

Ken Roberts · 01-06-2010, 12:58 AM

For the life of me I can not figure why all of the manufacturers have not jumped on this like a dog on a bone. One less hole in the ceiling; no having to remember to crank down the bat wing; short people do not need a stool to operate (and many manufacturers are making higher ceilings and bragging about it); no need to orient as wi6th the bat wing. But, like so many other things if they did not think of it then why bother. Here is a case of totally simpler is totally better, Ken....

ernieh · 01-06-2010, 01:23 AM

Last time I checked the omni didn't have nearly as much gain as the Batwing. As I recall it was about 25% less.

nodine · 01-06-2010, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadeye916

Does it look like one of these? RoadStar Omnidirectional TV Antennas - Winegard

No it actually looks more like one of these:
Antennacraft Home Page

I was hoping a Tiffin owner that has one could provide verification. There is a hand held control inside the motorhome that rotates the antenna. It is not the remote type that is shown on this website but a tethered one connected by a cable.

Bob

MuckSavage · 01-06-2010, 07:04 AM

As a Tiffin Owner, Mine looks like this
Antennacraft 5MS9000 Antenna

It has the tethered remote, but the antenna disk is black

Joe-K · 01-06-2010, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuckSavage

As a Tiffin Owner, Mine looks like this
Antennacraft 5MS9000 Antenna

It has the tethered remote, but the antenna disk is black

Yep....black low profile disk mounted on the metal roof kit.

Bill Adams · 01-06-2010, 09:20 AM

I have had both the bat-wing and the Winegard Roadstar on our coach and if you have the option of one or the other you absolutely want to have a bat-wing! It out performs the omni-directional antennas and with the addition of the Wingman it had even better performance. The convenience of the Roadstar does not begin to off-set its lack of reception ability.

Wayne R · 01-06-2010, 10:17 AM

I have 2 friends that have the Antennacraft 5MS9000 Antenna they work great. The ability to rotate the antenna with a remote is real helpful. I currently have a similar unit but is "omni directional" it is not! I find I get better reception if I climb up on the roof and rotate it. I plan on swapping it out for an Antennacraft 5MS9000 Antenna soon. Neat thing is they are price completive with the stationary units.

captfred · 01-06-2010, 12:50 PM

Brandon, at Custom RV in Red Bay is doing a good business replacing those new factory antennas with the Winegard unit. It seems the internals of the new factory rotatable dish antenna do not hold up well to vibration, and some of the internal screws fall out. I questioned a tech at the Tiffin Red Bay repair facility last month and he confirmed the situation. Brandon had about ten of the replacements stacked up ready for installation (after he paints them). I think he said he gets about $150 for the antenna and install (total).

Higherground · 03-17-2010, 09:04 PM

In the Volume 7, Number 1, page 23, of Roughing it Smoothly by Tiffin, they show it being installed and describe it as a Mini-State HD television antenna made by Triple-H in Red Bay. They say it rotates inside its housing and picks up HD stations within a 100 mile radius.

Cruzer · 03-18-2010, 07:47 AM

The Winegard Roadstar 2000 is what Brannon is now installing. It's the best solution. It does not require aiming and is truly omni-directional. I ordered one from him and it should be arriving today so I'll try to get it installed tonight.

I talked with Dave Humphries, owner of Triple H. They do indeed supply the antenna that Tiffin uses. They have made a change though and the new unit has a 270 degree range, which is much closer to the 360 degree omnidirectional Roadstar 2000. The previous model required using the remote to aim the antenna.

I've heard from any Tiffin owners who have switched that the new HD antennas seem to work better than the batwing. I've heard a few the other way too. I'm guessing all depends on your location. Once I get the Roadstar 2000 installed I'll test and compare before I remove my batwing from the roof and let you know the results. If it's even close Il'l be glad to get rid of the batwing. It's one less thing to have to worry about plus it gets very hard to find without stepping on when I'm removing snow from the roof with a squeegee.