TV Antennae

[Tom S]

Well I'm back with another question. It's a good thing an old fart like me has a place like this to ask my questions. I have been looking at broadcast antennas and have been drawn to two different ones, the Winegard roadstar 3000 and the Jack digital. If you have any experience with either I'd like to hear about it, pros and cons. Tom

[Condoluminum]

While waiting for someone to weigh in on new antennas, wanted to comment that we still have original crank-up and rotating aluminum rod folding antenna, and it works well at picking up UHF signals for our figital TV if we are anywhere near a transmitter antenna... The newer highly directional models bring stations in from greater distance if you know about where transmitter is located, but within 20 or 30 miles most antennas work OK...

[Becky B.]

I put a Jack digital in my Bambi II. Works great from my house....lots of stations. But I haven't had it out of the city, so don't know what will happen out in the boonies! Here's a picture so you can see the size relative to a 17' trailer:

[n2916s]

Your standard issue Winegard bat wing crank up antenna (as noted above) will work just fine. When the USA went digital, a lot of stations moved from VHF to UHF but both signals are line of sight so taller is better.

The only significant difference to the consumer is that it was possible to receive a crappy but watchable signal on analog (the old standard) while a digital signal will either work or it won't there is no medium...


Mike

[Jim Foster]

Originally Posted by Condoluminum

While waiting for someone to weigh in on new antennas, wanted to comment that we still have original crank-up and rotating aluminum rod folding antenna, and it works well at picking up UHF signals for our figital TV if we are anywhere near a transmitter antenna... The newer highly directional models bring stations in from greater distance if you know about where transmitter is located, but within 20 or 30 miles most antennas work OK...

The original folding rod, rotating antenna on our '65 Caravel picks up broadcast digital HD just fine, just like it did with the old analog signal. Replacing it has never crossed my mind.

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by Jim Foster

The original folding rod, rotating antenna on our '65 Caravel picks up broadcast digital HD just fine, just like it did with the old analog signal. Replacing it has never crossed my mind.

My Braund Skyliner works great too.

Replacing a working antenna to get HD is the greatest bunch of hokum since buying a special antenna to get color.

If your old antenna is broken or has missing pieces that can't be located, fine, replace it. Otherwise it will work great.

[Tom S]

Using my original antenna isn't an option since it is gone. Becky, it doesn't look bad on your Bambi.

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by Tom S

Using my original antenna isn't an option since it is gone. Becky, it doesn't look bad on your Bambi.

Too bad.

I agree about Becky's. If I were shopping for a new antenna, I think that's what I would get.

[Sbb]

Newbie following intently. I have tried my TV to no avail. I cranked up the antenna, made sure the green light (booster) was on, turned TV on, and went thru chennel setup. What am i doing wrong? Does the antenna move around? sbb

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Sbb

Newbie following intently. I have tried my TV to no avail. I cranked up the antenna, made sure the green light (booster) was on, turned TV on, and went thru chennel setup. What am i doing wrong? Does the antenna move around? sbb

Is your television set for the right input? Some TVs have different settings for cable vs. over-the-air signals, some have multiple coax inputs (for antenna and cable or satellite, e.g.)

There's also the possibility that there's an issue with the connection to the antenna or with the coax cable running from there to the wall plate near the TV.

Finally, considering the age of your trailer, there's a small possibility that you have a set that's not digital-capable without a converter.