Over the Air TV?

[PamK53]

What kind of antenna comes standard with the newer classics? If it’s not an HD antenna, can it be upgraded? There doesn’t seem to be any specs for the antenna listed.

[AtomicNo13]

There is no such thing as a HD antenna. A coat hanger works great for HDTV.
It's all marketing!

HD signals are carried by analog broadcast anyway.

[wulfraat]

It’s a fixed position 12v powered omni directional HD/digital antenna.

I believe the actual model is wineguard roadstar RS3000.

[GMFL]

It will be HD

[rowiebowie]

Maybe someone with that model will comment on how effective the tv antenna is. That's probably what you need to hear. And if they've upgraded to a more effective antenna, what model did they find was the best.

[wulfraat]

It works fine. A directional antenna will work slightly better but airstream no longer have a through-the-roof swivel mount that can easily be leveraged for a directional antenna. So you got what you got unless you want to stick a tripod up outside the trailer and use a portable unit via the exterior coax connections.

[PamK53]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

It’s a fixed position 12v powered omni directional HD/digital antenna.

I believe the actual model is wineguard roadstar RS3000.

Thanks, that answers my question!

[PamK53]

Originally Posted by wulfraat

It’s a fixed position 12v powered omni directional HD/digital antenna.

I believe the actual model is wineguard roadstar RS3000.

Again, thanks! We have a wingard HD/digital on our current rig. It works pretty well. We have to make an educated guess as to which way it should be turned. I’m thinking an Omni-directional would be nice [emoji846].

[lsbrodsky]

I was at a park last week, next to another Airstream. He had an omni and received 5 channels. I had a directional antenna(older trailer) and received 15 channels.

Larry

[jcanavera]

While I have the directional batwing antenna, the US going digital has really made it harder to get reliable signals in rural locales. Unlike the old VHF service where picture quality would deteriorate but still be viewable, digital is either there or it's not...and sometimes popping in and out.

For those reasons and because I use satellite service (Dish) at home, I decided to buy a portable unit that I carry with me to have more reliable service. The only downside is that trees can block the satellite signal, but in most cases with the dish itself being portable, I can move it on the site to get a decent southern view of the sky.

Jack

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

I was at a park last week, next to another Airstream. He had an omni and received 5 channels. I had a directional antenna(older trailer) and received 15 channels.

Larry

Yep. Typically directional antennas provide more gain due to their ability to focus on an aimed spot. Omni antennas can save you the trouble of aiming but the downside is they don't have the ability to focus on a specific spot or area.

Jack

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by rowiebowie

Maybe someone with that model will comment on how effective the tv antenna is.

Mediocre at best. If you're close to the tower, it's fine. Don't expect it to pull in distant stations.

[az-streamer]

Originally Posted by PamK53

... We have to make an educated guess as to which way it should be turned. I’m thinking an Omni-directional would be nice [emoji846].

Easiest way is to rotate the antenna so it points at the nearest large city. Your cellphone map and compass apps can help you with this.
There are also sites like ‘antennaweb’ Where antenna direction is based on your current zip code.

If we are close to large cities we often get plenty of channels without even raising or aiming the antenna.

IMO getting an Omni antenna would be a step backwards.

[Doc Foster]

I have the "stock" omnidirectional antenna on my 2016 International Serenity and am often impressed with the quality and quantity of stations I get in all but the most rural locations . Just make sure that the power is switched on for your antenna.

[Motown]

We've found the factory installed Winegard to be next to useless unless you like to camp in metropolitan areas. 2017 FC 23FB.

We use a Pathway X2 on Dish month to month when camping. The Welcome Pack is only $20/mo. and gives you the locals along with some basic cable.

Next season I'm going to remove that garbage Winegard antenna and install a LTE/Wifi booster in it's place.

[cazual6]

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

There is no such thing as a HD antenna. A coat hanger works great for HDTV.
It's all marketing!

HD signals are carried by analog broadcast anyway.

Lies!!

You only get HD in Beverly Hills, everywhere else you get SD.

[nvestysly]

Continuing on a tangent here, but very related...

Pointing toward a city doesn't always work. Some cities have their antenna farm some distance outside the urban area - could be north, south, who knows. And with digital it's very important to know where the antennas are located. We use "Antenna Point" app for our smart phone to determine the location of the broadcast antennas in the area. Sometimes it's necessary to point the antenna in one direction for ABC and different direction for NBC, etc. Yes, we are using a Winegard batwing on our trailer which I realize the OP doesn't have on their rig.

BUT, and yes it's a big but... even omnidirectional antennas have some directionality to them - part of the directionality is due to the design because the geometry of the reception pattern has lobes of higher gain and lower gain. Another aspect to the directionality is potential obstructions on the RV roof such as vents and air conditioners as well as other obstructions such as trees and buildings. My point is you need to think about where the signal is originating and give some consideration to reception even with an omnidirectional antenna.

As an example, we parked our Interstate van (it has an omnidirectional antenna) in a large parking lot with essentially no trees or buildings blocking the "view" but the direction of our van was very much part of the equation regarding how many channels we were able to receive. We parked and re-parked 4 times (N, E, S and W) to determine the best and worst reception. The air conditioner and other items on the roof were interfering with reception.

[az-streamer]

Having to reposition your rig to make up for the deficiencies of the antenna seems a little “tail wagging dog”.

And that’s not even possible with most TT’’s.

JC should have taken rig obstructions into consideration when deciding where to locate the omni, or even if it should be used at all.

Bright and shiny is not always better.

[whbrown]

I have a 2018 Sport 22' with omnidirectional antenna and not impressed. is there an upgrade?

[nvestysly]

Originally Posted by az-streamer

Having to reposition your rig to make up for the deficiencies of the antenna seems a little “tail wagging dog”.

And that’s not even possible with most TT’’s.

JC should have taken rig obstructions into consideration when deciding where to locate the omni, or even if it should be used at all.

Bright and shiny is not always better.

I agree. I was not recommending anyone go to those lengths on a regular basis, perhaps once if interested, to understand that omnidirectional is not really so.

If an RVer has an opportunity to speak to Winegard the rep will respond that the rotating batwing is the best followed by this model, that model, etc. Get the rep to talk about the range, directionality of broadcast sources and other factors and it will become more obvious that the batwing is the way to go. There are of course tradeoffs - simplicity, cost, maintenance...