Community Forums

Bill Adams · 04-15-2010, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary - K7GLD

YUP!

The Winegard on our '88 Winnie needs replacing - sure wish I could find a relatively small residential outdoor rotatable roof mount antenna I could adapt to the Winegard crank-up assembly - had something similar on an old '76 Winnie Brave years ago a FAR better receiving antenna than these inefficient batwing pieces of junk...

Clearly, the Winegard Batwing antenna is anything but a piece of junk. Is it as good that those old home-style antennas that used to be available many, many years ago? Maybe not. Is it as good or better than any other antenna currently available on the market? Yup!

wa8yxm · 04-16-2010, 09:10 AM

Ah Now I see Homer's post and why I missed that you were replying to Homer Bill

Sorry I did not catch it sooner.

Folks.. So you know. Bill is a true expert on this stuff.. I'm good.. he's better.

Bill Adams · 04-16-2010, 11:47 AM

Thanks for the kind words. We have all made mistakes and it's hard to fess up sometimes. I have gotten pretty good at it over the years as mine just seem to keep on coming!

Gary - K7GLD · 04-16-2010, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Adams

Clearly, the Winegard Batwing antenna is anything but a piece of junk. Is it as good that those old home-style antennas that used to be available many, many years ago? Maybe not. Is it as good or better than any other antenna currently available on the market? Yup!

There is absolutely NOTHING by way of technology advancement involved into the typical Winegard batwing RV antenna - it's nothing more than a simple bi-directional dipole, no-gain antenna - built primarily for ruggedness in RV rooftop applications, and relying entirely upon an added RF amplifier to make up for it's pitiful primary performance!

The relatively simple Yagi design I pointed to earlier, supplement by it's own aftermarket "helper RF signal booster", would run circles around the Batwing style...

paz · 04-16-2010, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

Signals are not directional.. Antennas are.. But the antenna does tend to be more directional at UHF.. plus.. The signals are not as strong.. A station that used to be 50,000 watts may be pushing 5,000 today.

I stand corrected

What I was trying to say is the positioning of the antenna seems more critical for UHF stations, which is where most of the digital channels seem to be.

Bill Adams · 04-16-2010, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Is it as good or better than any other antenna currently available on the market? Yup!

What I did not make clear was that I was talking about the RV market. The statement should have read:
Is it as good or better than any other RV antenna currently available on the market? Yup!

Gary - K7GLD · 04-16-2010, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Adams

What I did not make clear was that I was talking about the RV market. The statement should have read:
Is it as good or better than any other RV antenna currently available on the market? Yup!

Absolutely - no problem with that!

However, I *do* suspect that the arrival of digital TV and marginal signals will put pressure on antenna makers like Winegard, to develop somewhat more complex and effective RV antennas than are now available - that fancy 40 inch flat screen digital TV in the RV is no better than the antenna feeding it - we all don't stay in CG's close to metropolitan areas, or ones with cable hookups - so some better gain-type RV antenna would sure find a ready and eager market!

Shucks - I'm ready for one right now!

Bill Adams · 04-16-2010, 05:21 PM

Quote:

However, I *do* suspect that the arrival of digital TV and marginal signals will put pressure on antenna makers like Winegard, to develop somewhat more complex and effective RV antennas than are now available

I think you are correct and I think that Winegard already did develop a better antenna. There's only so much you can do within the limitations that RV manufacturers provide. If you want better reception you are going to need a much taller antenna or a much bigger array. I don't believe that either of these are high on the list of OEM requirements and until they are I don't expect anyone to make any kind of a major move in this area of the market.
The "Jack for TV" antenna is out (or coming out) and is specifically targeting the Winegard antenna. We will just have to wait and see if this company has made any particular inroads into the digital RV reception area. While King Dome (King Controls) did not design this unit, the Chinese made antenna could well outperform the Winegard, but only time will tell.

Gary - K7GLD · 04-16-2010, 07:29 PM

HEY!

I might have found something that will work for us!

Just for grins, here's the specs for a Winegard batwing antenna - note the antenna GAIN figures:

Winegard GS-2200 Batwing RV antenna

68 channel Sensar® antenna provides excellent reception in areas where stations are located in different directions.Eliminates the need for an antenna rotator in most locations.Recommended for viewing areas up to 55 miles away from transmitters-even farther depending on mounting height and signal strength. This antenna features built-in modular amplifier with VHF gain- 15.5 dB average and UHF gain-19.5 dB average. includes 117 VAC power supply, improved hardware and mounting bracket.

= = = = =

Here's what I found - COULD be adapted to existing Winegard crankup mast - but would leave a fairly intrusive wind-catching outline when traveling, as can be seen in the supplied pointer below - again, note the GAIN figures, and also note it COMES with a built-in rotator and remote control:

Motorized Outdoor HDTV Antenna With 20% More Gain | 2010 Model!

$58 - OR, a refurbished one DELIVERED for $49!

Frequency
UHF: 400-890MHz/VHF:40-300MHz
/
Antenna Gain
UHF:32-36dB/VHF:28-32dB
/
Amplifier
/
ROTATABLE
Power
3W
/
Impedance
75Ohm
/
Max Output Level
105dB µV
/
Input Voltage
110V+/-10% / 60Hz
/
Here's a pointer for more detailed info:

Motorized Outdoor HDTV Antenna With 20% More Gain | 2010 Model! - HDTV TV Antennas

wa8yxm · 04-17-2010, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paz

I stand corrected

What I was trying to say is the positioning of the antenna seems more critical for UHF stations, which is where most of the digital channels seem to be.

I understand (And agree) but I was picking nits.

I also agree with Gary.. A Gain antenna (Of course adding the wingman does add "gain" to the batwing) but a good Gain antenna, mounted as high as you can safely put it. should, in theory outperform the batwing

The downside is the batwing is designed for RV use and the yagi designs I've seen were designed for tower/mast at a fixed location

You have to dissassemble and fold up the Yaga antennas in order to transport

That said.. I plan on doing just that

Gary - K7GLD · 04-17-2010, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

The downside is the batwing is designed for RV use and the yagi designs I've seen were designed for tower/mast at a fixed location

You have to dissassemble and fold up the Yaga antennas in order to transport

That said.. I plan on doing just that

I went ahead and ordered the one I showed further above - it looks neat as pictured and advertised (as MOST do!) - will see what I end up with, and if it will adapt to the existing Winegard crank-up mast. It requires 110 volts AC to run, but low current, so one of my smaller inverters should easily handle that.

Worse case scenario, is that I fabricate a collapsible mast assembly, to install when parked, at either end of the MH - my outside access tv cable inputs are easily accessible for that eventuality, and the added flexibility would work well when the MH is parked under low trees and such, as it often is.

The antenna itself is somewhat collapsible, as the rear folded dipole assembly will fold forward to reduce overall size - but must be done manually - easy enough with a separate outside mast, a small pain if I have to get on top of the MH to do it...

We'll see, and I'll report back!

wa8yxm · 04-18-2010, 09:33 AM

Be aware that small MSW inverters may cause issues with digital television decoders.. Just so you know.... The key word in that is MAY

MAY implies "MIGHT NOT" as well. It might work perfectly

Gary - K7GLD · 04-18-2010, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

Be aware that small MSW inverters may cause issues with digital television decoders.. Just so you know.... The key word in that is MAY

MAY implies "MIGHT NOT" as well. It might work perfectly

YUP - I have a couple of them to choose from - and it LOOKS like the unit uses a wall wart to supply about 15 VDC to the control unit and rotator - might be able to use 13.8 DC to the appropriate internals, and not use AC at all, or at least provide an available alternative - even at that, most of the time we're not on CG shore power, we're way too far from available TV stations anyway - so no issue...

LrSmith1302 · 05-09-2010, 08:15 AM

Gary, I just put up the "Jack" antenna in place of my Batwing on the same crank up mount. It is powered or takes the same power as the Batwing and work great for me. It is designed to add a little gain to the UHF portion of the TV band and my test pulled in 2 more digitals in my rather non scientific test. It was easier to install than the Batwing was to take off.

Good Luck, 73 Bob WB6ODR