Winegard booster questions

[rodekyll]

I've got a batwing Winegard over-the-air TV antenna. I expect that it was OEM 11/2000. It's amplified. I don't know the model number, but the parts list says the wing part is #RV-2001.

With that background . . .

I'm fulltiming in the boondocks on Whidbey Island. I thought I'd try hooking the antenna to see if I could get OTA broadcasts. It turns out that I can. However, my signal is spotty regardless of the station I'm tuning in. It's worst up high, but is awful across the entire vhf/uhf sweep. The video gets pixellated, blocked, and goes to no-signal frequently. Audio is out-of-sync.
Adjusting the antenna orientation doesn't help (although I can see a difference.) The electric boost is working. When I shut it off I lose the station, and it returns immediatrely upon turning the boost back on.

So I'm wanting some sort of signal enhancer. I see there are two devices commonly sold: One is an overlay to the batwing itself, such as the RV WING.

https://www.amazon.com/Winegard-RV-W...%2C231&sr=8-10

The other is an electronic control panel, RFL-342

https://www.amazon.com/Winegard-RFL-...%2C231&sr=8-44

I don't know which of these will solve my problem (or maybe I need something else altogether?). Who can help?

[litzdog911]

I don't think a signal booster is going to help you on Whidbey Island. Unless you have clear line-of-sight to the transmitters in Seattle you're in a difficult reception area. Check out the topographic maps for those stations here: TV Fool

You might actually have a better shot at the Victoria stations depending where you're at on the island.

[rodekyll]

Originally Posted by litzdog911

I don't think a signal booster is going to help you on Whidbey Island. Unless you have clear line-of-sight to the transmitters in Seattle you're in a difficult reception area. Check out the topographic maps for those stations here: TV Fool

You might actually have a better shot at the Victoria stations depending where you're at on the island.

I'm not picking up anything from Canada. I've got Seattle for sure, and maybe something out of Everett.

My bus is parked on one of the highest points on the south part of the island -- the peak of Brooks Hill.

[aether_one]

The Wingman will help you with the upper frequency (UHF) channels although that doesn't always correlate to channel numbers.

The Sensarpro Tv Signal Meter helps you when looking for the strongest signal and direction. It also amplifies the antenna signal even more which is helpful for weak, distant stations.

I have added both to my Batwing installation and am very happy with both, but, the Wingman made the most improvement as most (not all) channels are in the UHF band now-a-days.

[rodekyll]

How does the sensarpro work? What does it connect to?

[TXiceman]

Unless you have a lot of antenna and high up, the batwing with the wing man is about as good as you will get on an TV. Clear area, maybe 40 to 50 miles is max.

Unlike the old analog signals, digital will not ghost and fade, it will pixilate and drop out.

If you try to amplify more, you will be amplifying the noise as well.

Ken

[Lt Dan]

Originally Posted by rodekyll

How does the sensarpro work? What does it connect to?

The SensarPro replaces your current OTA/Cable switch which powers the antenna's booster. It works quite well in locating the strongest signal with a LED display to show the signal strength. That in conjunction with the Batwing directional add on to the antenna will give you the best reception you can get. That antenna is better than most of the modern directional and omni-directional antennas on the market.

[Tim-n-Gina]

I am not familiar with those antenna systems, but if there is a connection outdoors in the weather for around 20 years, it would be a good idea to check it. If it loosened up from vibration or has degraded due to corrosion, it would cause the problems you're describing.

Tim (the cable guy)

[rodekyll]

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm legally deaf, so I know all about amplifying noise along with the signal. I can see how I wouldn't want to do that.

I've been on the roof (I got ants! ) and went over all the power and cable connections, lubed the machinery per the manual, and gave the antenna a gentle bath. I see there are two other "dish" type antennas up there. I don't think I'm interested in satellite service, so I might remove them later in favor of solar panels.

I can see the advantage of a meter to find the best signal, but I think I'll try the wingman before moving into more layers of gadgetry. It looks like the signal meter part is the meaningful part, and it's spendy. I'll order a wingman today and report back when it's installed.

[TXiceman]

There are also several apps for your phone to locate the off air stations in your area. I like DTV Antennas.

Ken

[rodekyll]

As promised, I'm back with my report. The short answer is that I'd recommend the wingman as an inexpensive first run at poor reception. For the price (~$30 via Amazon) it does what it claims to.

I've had my wingman for about a week now. Installation was less than 5 minutes, once I suspended my disbelief that this glorified shoe tree was going to do anything more than advertise me as a trailer park escapee. First I fussed with cleaning and lubing the Winegard assembly. Then I simply popped out four rubber plugs on the bottom of the existing batwing with a door panel popper (looks like a screwdriver with a dovetailed blade). A normal flat screwdriver or a pair of pliers would have done the deed, too. I lined up the very lightweight wingman with the holes and pressed in the provided plastic expansion rivets. The hardest part was removing the rivets from their plastic bag.

The wingman has made a noticeable difference in the quality of broadcast reception. Unfortunately, it's unable to improve the quality of the broadcast content. I'm sad to report that it's still a wasteland out there. Cloudy weather makes it harder for the dtr box to lock on a signal, but on the whole it has definitely reduced the pixelization and dropout by 90% or more.

I discovered via innerweb research that I'm about 38 miles due north of the broadcast points for two of the Seattle stations I'm getting. That should give marginal-to-nill signal on a good day with the recommended 30' of antenna mast. My mast is at about 15' AGL and it's scavenging signal from within a stand of mature cedar and fir. So I expect it will do really good in a more "receptive" environment. I do need to use the Winegard's boost (amplifier) feature. Without boosting the signal I get nothing.

With clear skies and no air traffic I can lock in to KOMO (ABC) and KING (NBC) OTA pretty reliably, and better in the evening and overnight than during the day. I made a tape mark to index the antenna. If I line up the marks I have reception for the station I want. When it's stormy the signal is all over the place, sometimes 90º from where it ought to be. I have to give up on it sometimes if teh wind is really driving the rain. I can't find KIRO (CBS) at all, yet, and I don't expect to pick up Tacoma broadcasts.

Thanks to all who helped me sort it out.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[rodekyll]

Follow-up, fyi

I got a new remote for the Visio TV today (sunday), so I can bypass the DTV box and connect directly to the Visio's on-board DTV tuner. After scanning it says I've got 27 stations available. Before the wingman I had 6.