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robwok · 11-13-2012, 04:37 PM

I looked and looked and couldn't find anyone that restored their original TV antenna. At least it wasn't a feature in the forums that I could find. I'm sure if I looked at some trailers I could find one on the outside. Here's mine. 64 Overlander. The parts were all there, albeit rusty and brittle. The parts that were unique, I had powder coated. I could have had a shop make them out of stainless I guess, but I had a guy that I was already taking stuff to be powder coated, so I added these parts to the list. Everything is now either powder coated, or replaced with stainless or aluminum. The original red plastic hookup for the wires was in a fragile state. I took it off carefully, then "painted" the plastic with superglue. Then bondo for the pieces that had flaked off, plastic primer, then enamel. The white stop ring was in decent shape, so that just got painted. The original wear rings that the pipes slid into were completely gone. The closest thing I could find was the gray electrical PVC. It's UV protected, so I cut them out on my bandsaw, then did a little bit of lathe work to get them to the right size. All in all, I really like how it turned out. It's not wired up yet, and I still need to grind down the olympic rivets, but you can see how it looks. I found stainless steel springs at Home Depot that were the right size. It's kind of neat how the antennas swing around then pop into the V shape. It's only got the first pass on the polishing. I still need to go back and finish polish it, and then do the same for the rest of the trailer. The last pic is what it looked like before I started.

eubank · 11-13-2012, 04:47 PM

Nice looking! And those antennas work just as well as newer ones, in my experience!

Lynn

robwok · 11-13-2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eubank

Nice looking! And those antennas work just as well as newer ones, in my experience!

Lynn

Thanks! I was wondering if they'd work. I plan on using a Roku and run wifi or tether to my phone for TV. I was thinking of trying to use this for a wifi extendor, or my HD radio instead of actual TV though.

reinergirl · 11-13-2012, 06:07 PM

Looks great! Did you find instructions somewhere on all the parts and how they go together? This is one of those things I want to do! Anyone have spare parts for me? I have the outside larger diameter rod and inside gear but none of the long arms?

HiHoAgRV · 11-13-2012, 06:10 PM

Wow. I just started mine yesterday. Like you, I have not seen any info on these things. A bunch of my parts are missing but I think I can work out most of it.

Mine is a Rotor-Tenna brand and the mounting system starts at the bottom rub rail with one bracket, the rotator is about the same location as yours, then the final mount is up on the cap.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f109...ml#post1227430

robwok · 11-13-2012, 07:17 PM

I didn't have instructions, but I did have all the parts, rusty and corroded as they may be.

robwok · 11-13-2012, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reinergirl

Looks great! Did you find instructions somewhere on all the parts and how they go together? This is one of those things I want to do! Anyone have spare parts for me? I have the outside larger diameter rod and inside gear but none of the long arms?

If you have the larger outer rod and the gear, you could build the rest - maybe. I can take some closeup shots if you want it exact. There's a couple in the pic. Basically, it's 3 rods (try looking at aluminum pool skimmer handles). The large collars are basically turned aluminum doughnuts, so you'd probably have to have those made. Unfortunately, the black pieces are unique. They are what pops the antenna into that neat V shape. I was fortunate to have both of mine. Lastly, the thinnest parts are hollow aluminum. I had one that was broken, and I made a repair with a solid rod for a short section inside. I don't know what the black plastic pieces are made of. It's possible that a mold could be made, but they seem to be a fiberglass impregnated plastic of some sort. I can't believe they've lasted this long. The plastic piece I rebuilt is in the attached pic. I think there was also some installation instructions somewhere in the paperwork from the original owner of the trailer, but if yours is like mine, you would need the black plastic pieces that the vanes connect to. Without that, you may as well put another type of antenna on the top.

reinergirl · 11-13-2012, 08:47 PM

This is what I've got, I suspect the piece to the far right is not original.

I would really appreciate any documentation that you can provide.

I'm pretty good at researching but there is very little info on this particular antenna.

robwok · 11-14-2012, 03:20 PM

actually, the square piece to the far right is original. It is a plate that screws right to the Airstream, with a thick gasket to push it out, then the metal box slides over that.

I'll take some better pictures tomorrow and post to this thread of my parts and see if I also have that installation diagram. I vaguely remember it was just about how to drill the hole.

reinergirl · 11-14-2012, 06:37 PM

I guess I'm missing the box then! I'll look forward to more pictures but no hurry......

64Lincoln · 06-08-2013, 09:33 AM

My '64 Safari just had the antenna mast and rotor. The original antenna is long gone. Luckily, that's all I need. I completely disassembled, polished and reassembled the old rotor and mast and then attached a nice new high definition antenna. I still need an extension for the mast to bring the antenna above the trailer, but it works great and looks great.