Community Forums

Mariooch97 · 03-12-2015, 08:32 PM

I'm in the process of replacing the 2 original Sony trinitron tv's with new lcd tv's doI need to replace the antenna as well?
I looked at the "jack" , easy swap they claim, but the mast on my 2003 executive looks different than the one they show on their ad.... I think
So what options are there?

captw3 · 03-12-2015, 09:04 PM

I replaced the antenna with a digital one from camping world. $24. It fit on my existing mast. I get much better reception with the new LCD tv I installed

Mr_D · 03-12-2015, 09:08 PM

Any antenna you have will work. The term Digital Antenna is marketing hype. When we had the Dutch Star I added a Wingman to the existing antenna though as it does add a couple dB to the signal strength, but there is no need for a whole new antenna.

Timay · 03-12-2015, 09:10 PM

An antenna is an antenna - NO difference between analog and digital! If yours is working, then keep it...

I'm a ham and I use the same antenna for analog and digital signals.

HTH!

Tim

SPA48 · 03-13-2015, 02:06 AM

Should be easy to ADAPT that Jack antenna to anything!!!!!! Might have to redrill the pole or stand but that's a great antenna!!!! Just my opinion....

Steve

wa8yxm · 03-13-2015, 04:11 AM

Short answer: NO
However there are upgrades

For a Winegard Sensar II or III add the Wingman...

This improves the UHF performance of the antenna....The advantage of the Jack over the Winegard II and III is better UHF performance...The Wingman fixes this for less money and less work

Second replace the wall plate with the switch, light, 12 volt outlet and antenna jack (And 3more in the back) With the Sensar Pro module.

Fantastic improvement when you crank that puppy up to 20 (Gain setting) NOTE:This has an adjustable gain because in some markets..20 is too much...10 is 1:1.

captw3 · 03-13-2015, 05:56 AM

I am not a electronics wizard but can tell you with the new antenna parked in the same location I get 10 more channels than I did with the old one. And it was plug and play. With one bolt and one Clevis pin. Hardest part was climbing up on the roof. 10 minute job.

jacwjames · 03-13-2015, 06:42 AM

I had heard the hype regarding the Jack Antenna so I bought one. Before installing on the RV I decided to test it in my home. I had a Phillips for home, I mounted the Jack TV and got the same number of stations that I had been getting. I also think the Jack is more sensitive to direction, and it looses the signal some of the stations more frequently.

I would did add the Wingman to my Wingard which seemed to help.

I would not change antenna's

Mariooch97 · 03-16-2015, 06:48 AM

Ok, once I'm done with the cabinet mods and new tv's install I'll see what kind of reception I get with the stock antenna, it will probably be not good here in the mountains, if so I'm going to try the wingman as my second step as it seems to cost the least and is adaptable to other antennas, if I get less than desirable result, I will look into the sensar pro and see what's all about
Thank you all for your input, and appreciate you taking the time to respond

Triker56 · 03-16-2015, 06:53 AM

Even the old Black & White antennas will work.

Mariooch97 · 03-16-2015, 07:34 AM

I just watched a video on the wingman at it show the winegard antenna with 2 square tubings as a mast, my mh has a third member, therefore I don't think I have the winegard antenna and so much for the wingman, but I do wonder if I can still use the sensar pro as it seems like the signal strength meter would very useful tool to have

shaman52 · 03-16-2015, 07:59 AM

I mounted the Jack antenna mounted directly on my roof. It comes with a signal strength meter on the inside ceiling mount where you rotate it. I used the existing Winegard signal booster. VHF Signal strength appears the same as the Winegard antenna it replaced, with better UHF channels signal strength.

I do not miss cranking the Winegard up and down each time I stop. The Jack can be mounted on a Winegard mast for increased height, but then the cranking starts.

Both the Winegard and Jack are quality and either one will fill your bill.

Good Luck on your Monaco!

Mariooch97 · 03-16-2015, 04:00 PM

The reason I like to keep mine is because it's one-hundred percent automatic, at the push of a button it deploys itself , another button takes care of the rotation and a third button rotates and folds it back to original/travel position, it's a real neat setup
Your setup is perfect for a manual/crank antenna

Hikerdogs · 03-16-2015, 04:11 PM

Before you change out the antenna give the old one a try. We were camping with friends last year. They have the Batwing antenna with the Wingman add on. We have the Jack antenna. They were able to get stations 90+ miles away while all we could get were a couple PBS stations less than 30 miles away.

To me the only advantage of the Jack is that it doesn't have to be raised or lowered. There's less chance of whacking it off with a low tree limb. It may be an improvement over the batwing for that reason, but it certainly doesn't get any better reception.