Technical ?? from newbie

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Nainsi

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Joined
Jan 9, 2022
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Location
New York
Q1... Does anyone have a Winegard and is it worth purchasing or really not necessary?

Q2... Is a surge protector a wise purchase or really not necessary?

Thanks for letting me know your opinion.
 
Which Winegard product? TV antenna? Satellite dome? Receiver? Cellular or wifi booster?

A surge protector is like insurance. You may never encounter the situation where you really need it, but when you do, it is priceless. Chances are you won't need it if you always stay at high quality campgrounds, but it's hard to determine the park wiring & electrical service quality from a website or even eyeballing it when you arrive. Especially so if you aren't very knowledegable about electricity (most are not). So many Rvers figure "better safe than sorry".
 
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Well Gary, with Winegard, I am concerned about wifi mostly, not installing a TV. With the surge protector, the salesman at the RV store says it will help protect stove, refrigerator, etc.
 
I'd recommend a surge protector that is inside your rig, that way you never have to worry about a $200-300 piece of equipment being stolen.
I didn't think about putting it outside, will definitely put inside. So, you think it's a good purchase?
 
I have encountered 2 poorly wired campground plugs. One had reverse polarity, the other had an unknown issue but the surge protector found those faults prior to any damage being done. Campground staff don't have a leg to stand on with the evidence right in front of them.
 
Q1... Does anyone have a Winegard and is it worth purchasing or really not necessary?

Q2... Is a surge protector a wise purchase or really not necessary?
Q2 first- a good surge protector is, as Gary indicates, very valuable. I once had an air conditioner problem caused by erratic power in a campground I was in -- that was before I got a surge protector. But the simple things like on a power strip in the house don't do much good in so many cases, while the expensive units can sense a lot of conditions that might cause you problems -- ours has saved us problems several times, from high voltage and low voltage to intermittents and such, in addition to spikes and surges- it can even detect a miswired or damaged pedestal, which happens once in a while.

Q1 Even on WiFi, which product from Winegard, antenna or extender or router or...??? A bit more explanation of your intent/problem can likely get a MUCH better answer. Winegard is just one brand of several products, just like some other brands.
 
I purchased a 50 Amp Progressive Industries surge protector when I had my truck camper which was only 30 amp. I was able to move it to my fifth wheel which is 50 amp. I got the outside one so I could move it around and take it with me if I upgrade to another rv someday.

Not saying it has never happened but I’ve never heard of one growing legs. There is a ring on the protector that you can use to chain it to the campground pedestal.
 
Surge protector
Specifically a HW-50/30c from Progressive Industries (Hard wired, More as to why)
Or the Surge Guard (TRC/Southwire) equivlent (What I used Was a good price on sale)

These devices protect against high voltage, low voltage. and a few other things
Hard wired is out of sight, out of mind, tends not to "Walk off" and you never forget to "plug it in"

No matter how much people tall you "Can't happen" there is a 240 volt outlet that will accept a TT=30 plug (120 volt) and fry your electronics.. The units I mentioned.. Block it.

Mine helped diagnose several issues both "local" (mine) and "remote" (The parks)

Winegard: Many RV's come with a Winegard Sensar III or IV antenna
the III can benefit from a Wingman. the IV has it
Both can benefit from a "Sensar Pro" (About 100 dollar) indoor module
This is for over the air TV reception My Opinion when it comes to RV TV antennas. Sensar IV or III with wingman.. Hard to beat (if even possible)

Winegard also makes a Internet device (cell receiver/wi-fi)
And satellite receivers
And a few others.

They also make an omnidirectional TV antenna (Roadstar) Looks like a flying saucer. I consider it to be.. Well.. not worth installation.
 
I think “surge protector” isn’t what most people want, need, or what is being talked about here. Yes, all the boxes contain a surge protector but surges are not the problem we encounter.
The issue is miswired or defective power pedestals .

Some call them EMS (energy management systems). My take is if it doesn’t cost $250-350 then it may just be a dumb surge protector with a few lights and not protect against the real issue.

The couple of units mentioned Previously are good examples of the right gear.

Oh, and I have seen some nasty wiring so I support using one.
Mine is on the cord end. I lock it when I am at one of two night stays. When staying weeks of months I look around and see if others are locking them then decide.

I wanted one mounted inside but decided it was too hard for me to install and I dont trust most rv shops to do it right .
 
Personally I feel that preventing something from being even considered a target of theft is best practice. It's hurts your pockets to say "I can't believe someone stole it. I've been doing it this way for years...". Try living near Orlando FL for a bit. You'll change your tune real fast.
 
I’ve been in Lakeland Fl for 9 years and never heard of anyone in my campground having stuff stolen. I m one hour from Orlando. Like I said earlier, the Progressive Industies portable unit has provisions to lock it up which if a crook wants it they’ll get it.
And they have a lifetime warrantee. I’ve had two replaced no questions asked. The first one just stopped working. I was on my way to Fl and stopped by their factory. I have them the bad one and received a new one. The next time it stopped working I opened it up and found that water had gotten inside and corroded many of the terminals. They replaced it again and didn’t want the old one back.
 
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To me the surge protector can offer peace of mind. If I had a more modern RV with a lot more electronics (read more expensive appliances) I may invest in a high end protector. But to me (simply put) it's an insurance policy.

Bad electricity can do bad things. The problem with super cheap protectors is they don't protect against the "worst" things.

This article has a lot of useful information. I always read commercial articles with a little bit of skepticism as you never know who's sponsoring the articles so it's good to get a wider read of several articles and if you have access to a forum like this, you can also get individual opinions.


I like to use Amazon as one indication is the number of reviews and the actual ratings. If I were going to buy a surge protector today I might go with something like this.


Over 4000 ratings (30 amp) 5000 ratings (50XL) and a 5-star device. Easy on the wallet at about $90 for 30 amps and $120 for 50 amps. Although not cheap, this is a device that wouldn't break my bank if stolen.
 
The big jump in price comes with the realtime voltage monitoring function, i.e. the ability to protect from intermittent high or low voltage. That's primarily what Rob&Deryl was writing about when he compared surge protect vs EMS. The SSP-30XL only tests the outlet when you plug it in; thereafter it only does "surge protection" of transients.

About the cheapest unit that does realtime voltage monitoring is the Camco 30A Defender. The 50A version is on a promotional sale right now and is a terrific bargain.
 
I have the Power WatchDog hardwired. My decision was based on my pets needs. This particular unit will auto restart after a certain amount of time if there is a fault or interruption in the power coming from the pedestal or source. One issue I found is that if you overload an internal rig breaker, the Watchdog will catch it and turn power off, but after that the A/C will not turn back on when it restarts via the bluetooth connection, and the connection apparently has to be reset manually via bluetooth. I waited the required amount of auto restart time and nothing happened in that case. I would bet there is a way to get it to work but I haven't used the rig enough to worry about it. Haven't had an external power issue yet but hoping that the A/C will autostart when the power resumes on its own.
Anyone who is more knowledgeable about the 30amp Power Watchdog and can provide any insight?
 
I use a Progressive EMS unit. Won't plug in without it. Here's why.

In our second season, we were in an old campground at the far end from the entrance. It was stupid hot and humid. Entered the coach a couple of times to find the AC off, and its breaker tripped. I reset it a couple of times. Eventually noticed the lights "browning out" occasionally. Turns out the circuit we were on was the oldest in the park, and hadn't yet been replaced. With the hot weather and everyone running their AC, there were frequent and severe voltage drops.

Next trip out, yup, no AC. Blowing warm. The low voltage fried the compressor. Thankfully, we were still inside the Coleman warrantee, and they replaced it.

Ever since, I only plug in with the EMS connected. We've been in similar circumstances a number of times since then, and the unit has disconnected us every time. When power returns to spec, it delays reconnecting a bit over two minutes, to give the AC compressor time to cool off and lose pressure.

Trust me, it's three-hundred-something bucks well spent.
 
I too would suggest getting either the Progressive Industries EMS or the (now Southwire) SurgeGuard brand EMS. Both are good, but the SurgeGuard tends to be a good bit cheaper, it is a sealed unit, while the Progressive Industries unit is repairable, at one point this was a key difference between the two, with the Progressive Industries model having a lifetime warranty, and the SurgeGuard not, however as of a couple of years ago when Southwire bought out TRC, they now both have Lifetime warranties, it is just Southwire simply replaces the dead sealed unit instead of repairing it. Though the warranty does not cover the internal surge suppressor if it blows.
 

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