Winegard Wingman - So Easy A Caveman ....

[DriVer]

I recently received a Winegard Wingman from RVUpgrades.com and it was by far the easiest piece of equipment that I installed on my motorhome bar none.

First of all - Tools required: None


Sensar Antenna Up.

The instructions were on a small slip of paper but you know most guys .... who reads instructions ?? Not me! Anyway still a no-brainer.

What you have to do it elevate the antenna. Remove the 4 rubber landing gear feet on the bottom of the antenna using your fingers, they come right out.


Feet Gone

The next step is the hardest ... With the element facing away from the mast, mate the "Wingman" to the bottom of the Sensar with the rubber feet on the Wingman facing down toward the roof. The bottom of the Wingman is recessed so it fits up against the Sensar's housing.


Wingman Fitted to Sensar

Once the Wingman is on the bottom of the Sensar place one plastic retainer pin through the bottom of the wingman and push it moderately into the Sensar. There are a number of holes however the ones you need will be apparent. Once you're inserted 1 pin attach the reaming 3 pins. The Wingman is now secured to the Batwing!


What It Looks Like

Standing on the ground you'll look up at your antenna and ask yourself "OK" Now what? ... As you and your new digital capable TV move forward together.

Exactly how all of this will work performance wise is yet to be determined however I do know that yanking in DTV signals isn't the easiest thing to do. So here we are. It's like being back in the 50s messing around with an antenna on the roof.

Click on the following link to visit RV Upgrades: Winegard Wingman Sensar Antenna Upgrade

[FLYTYER]

DriVer...Your experience on this is interesting. Now how about giving us a sampling of how you believe it works.

Everyone can have difference results because of locations, but overall I suspect that some improvement will be realized by just about everybody.

[Ray,IN]

I guess I'm totally ignorant here. My 05 antenna receives DTV signals and transmitts them to the televisions great. What does this "wingman" do?

[ppeter313]

I found no improvement in the signal strength on any of the channels I can receive after installing the Wingman.

Paul

[JCM]

Make sure that you check that your original antenae will fit back down on the roof with the wingman before installing it. I had a skylight in the way and the wife didn't want me to move it (chain saw) and repair it with duct tape. Oh well. Life happens.
It is on sale at Camper World for $26.00.

[Waffen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN I guess I'm totally ignorant here. My 05 antenna receives DTV signals and transmitts them to the televisions great. What does this "wingman" do?

It's supposed to enhance the HDTV signals.

http://www.winegardwingman.com/



W

[Barbara S.]

I purchased the Wingman from my RV Repair shop an they installed it. I ended up having to also purchase a Winegard converter box ($117) to make it all work properly (2005 TV). Thanks to the Wingman I now have a fantastic picture in the Houston area - MUCH improved from my previous picture. I went to a rally this past weekend and got great UHF stations but was very disappointed to find I was unable to receive ABC, NBC, and CBS. :(

[DriVer]

At this moment I have not evaluated the reception that I can receive with the Wingman because I have been a bit busy getting ready to move out for the FMCA Convention in Perry. Once there and setup I hope to be able to pull in signals from DTV sources in that area of the country. Given the fact that the Wingman is a add-on device which for the life of me appears to work within the realms of magic I can not venture an opinion at this moment. There appears to be no direct mechanical or electrical connection from the Wingman to the Batwing other than the plastic pins.

I do know that the Wingman is sitting flat on the roof on the 4 bumpers that it physically has. When I cranked down the antenna I received the familiar thump on the roof which tells me the antenna is in its travel position. There aren't any roof mounted domes or vents that are impacted by the stored antenna.

[FLYTYER]

Everyone should realize that the Wingman is not a magic bullet. Because digital signals can be affected by terrain, buildings, nearby RV's, and trees more so than the older analog signals, each experience will vary.

Based on my experience with the Bat wing antenna, I have been satisfied with it as is and from what I see $23 or $26 is too much money for some metal and paint.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLYTYER Based on my experience with the Bat wing antenna, I have been satisfied with it as is and from what I see $23 or $26 is too much money for some metal and paint.

Ted, The Winegard guys are all over this thing and their promo states that it improves UHF db gain by 100%. I can't discount that claim since I don't have any data. I don't regret the expense for the sake of experimentation if for no other reason. Perhaps we will all learn together. Having no one using the thing at all doesn't help anyone.

[John Hilley]

The Sensar antenna is an active dipole antenna. with the addition of the Wingman it becomes a Yagi antenna. I suspect that the UHF portion of the Sensar antenna includes a "Reflector Element" as it is unidirectional. The Wingman adds "Director Elements" to make it a complete Yagi antenna. The "Director Elements" help the antenna focus on specific frequencies.

[FLYTYER]

All of this has been discussed before and there is actual data that seems to support Winegard's claim, but I stand by what I said. The Wingman may be a good addition and sometimes there maybe improvement, but then there will be times where there will little difference realized.

Go to this link Winegard Wingman

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Hilley The Sensar antenna is an active dipole antenna. with the addition of the Wingman it becomes a Yagi antenna.....

John, and like Yagi would say, "It isn't over till it's over!"

[Bill Adams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLYTYER Based on my experience with the Bat wing antenna, I have been satisfied with it as is and from what I see $23 or $26 is too much money for some metal and paint.

Back in the day when I had to mount a TV antenna on my chimney to receive the over the air programming (since that's all there was). I can assure you that a few more of those hollow aluminum tubes made a big difference in the TV reception. It would really surprise me if those few extra fins did not make a worthwhile difference. Of course, if all you were paying for were those pieces of metal, plastic and paint you would be correct, that's too much. However, it takes a lot more than that to bring a product to market and it looks to me as if they have done a good job of doing so and presenting it at a reasonable price.