Winegard TV Antenna

[RonPatt]

Can the Winegard antenna on my 2003 Discovery pick up OTA digital channels if I have a
digital TV or converter. or do I need to change the head.  I did a search and found many discussions on
this issue, but I could not find a specific answer to this question.

Thanks much.

 

[Ned]

Your Winegard batwing antenna will work just fine for digital OTA signals.  There are some addons for it that can improve reception in fringe areas, but if you're close to the towers, it will work fine as is.

 

[winnie32v]

Ditto, my 2001 antenna head picks up everything....I have to use a digital converter to support my older tv's, but all is fine.

 

[RonPatt]

Thanks

 

[Wigpro]

I have an old Winegard and it works fine...wanted to try and improve with some better reception and bought the add-on from Winegard and it would not fit mine it is so old, so took it back to camping world and said forget it...since it works pretty darn good.

Was dry camped next to some people who had another brand and I was getting twice as many stations as they were so have just left it alone, my only problem is mine does not rotate anymore, and have not torn the whole thing apart to figure out why. Not that important, I am not a TV person anyway so rather than hang off a ladder and try and figure it out, it stays like it is.

They work fine as is....

Jim

 

[John From Detroit]

From the antenna's point of view.. The only thing that changed is the stations are harder to see (Power was reduced)

The basic Winegard Sensar (Batwing) is a fairly good VHF antenna, with UHF as kind of an afterthought.

Add the Wingman and it is a fairly good VHF/UHF antenna. (The wingman brings UHF range up to about the same as VHF)

Add the Sensar Pro indoor module (Power supply/switch/splitter and in the case of the Sensar Pro amplifier, signal detector, scanner,) and you have just about the best OTA antenna possible on an RV. (IF not the best)

The only thing better would require a tower and something like Channel Master's best witih rotor.  Not something you can put on top of a motor home easily.

With the change to digital several things happened.

Many VHF stations moved to UHF (Not all) for exmaple,, VHF HIGH channel 7 in Detroit now broadcasts on, if I recall correctly Channel 41    The result is you now have a DISPLAY channel (7-1, 7-2) and a broadcast channel (The frequency they transmit on)

When I said not all, In Upstate SC. where I winterize, Channel 7 is still on 7.

Also some VHF stations (IE 2 in Detroit) moved from Low band to High band (Yup, channel 7 is what they not transmit on)

Thus the Wingman to bring the antenna up to speed in the UHF band.

The other thing is what used to be 100,000 watts may now be 25,000 (Numbers completly made up but representitive of a major decrease in power)  Now digital makes up for this,, I mean you should see my collection of cards from around the world,, Digital that is, (I run 30-40 watts digital, 100 analog, but if I chat with a ham in Europe it's digital)  The computer, not unlike the one in your tv or converter, has "Heard" decoded and displayed signals I could not even hear for the noise that surrounded them, and it was SOLID copy. (no dropped characters).

Thus with Digital you either get Studio Quality or total crap.

But I would fully upgrade that Batwing with the Wingman and Sensar Pro.

 

[buckstand]

Hey Ron,
I sure am glad you asked that question cause' I've been trying to figure out the same thing with my new/used coach. My antenna wouldn't turn so I went up on the roof and found where somebody applied that white sealer on the part that allows the antenna to swivel.  ???
I found the rubber boot (that allows the antenna cable to penetrate the roof) was split so I sealed it with that white sealer....hoping that I can find another boot to replace it. For now I'm just trying to figure out how to get a picture on the TV's 
I can't find the remote for the converter box so it looks like I'll need a new converter box.
DW and I are going to attend the RV show in Greenville in a couple of weeks to look at stuff like accessories, ask questions and learn all we can since this is our first rodeo with a RV  ;D
I need to get John from Detroit to drop by since he's in sunny SC, I could learn a lot from him for sure.
Good luck with that Discovery!!

 

[RonPatt]

Thanks Steve, I made a visit to my local Wal-Mart last night and purchased a new digital converter for my TV.  As soon
as temperature warms some, I'm going to hook it up.  I spent about an hour yesterday trying to figure out the existing
cabling. 

It took some lubricating before I could get the antennae up.  I didn't try rotating it.  My satellite dish works great and we will
be using it most of the time.

So far everything is checking out good.  Have fun!

 

[Steve & Linda]

Buckstand:  I'm in "sunny SC, too and was thinking of going to that Greenville RV show. We bought our coach at that show last year. We'll be looking for accessories, too...just put in a satellite system. We bought our unit there last year. We've visited with John from Detroit & DS at their cg, so maybe we can have our own mini-rally!

 

[buckstand]

Buckstand:  I'm in "sunny SC, too and was thinking of going to that Greenville RV show. We bought our coach at that show last year. We'll be looking for accessories, too...just put in a satellite system. We bought our unit there last year. We've visited with John from Detroit & DS at their cg, so maybe we can have our own mini-rally!

That would be cool to meet/greet and y'all could teach the rookie (me)....I'd be all ears  8)

 

[John From Detroit]

Do not worry about a new sealing boot for the cable, first, that's not the seal, second the white sealant (Dicor caulk) is better at it.

By the way that cable, What you see is what you replace when you replace it, You clean off all the gunk at roof level, there is a bulkehad connector there THAT is what is sealed.

Re: The converter:  There are some "Universal" remotes that might be able to tackle it,  But if you have any I/R computer (PDA and some smart phones) there's a Universal Remote program and that's your best chance.

alas, I don't have that kind of stuff any more.

On some converters (Darn few) "local" control is possible .