Jack antenna full install replace crank up
- Thread starter Miltp920
- Start date
Silverado23
Iowa Chapter Leaders
Does the jack antenna replacement head work on the antennatek batwing arma or only with tje wineguard antennas as listed on king controls website? I contacted king controls, the answer I got was wineguard only but the sawadditional clues that it may work with other brands?
Silverado23
Iowa Chapter Leaders
Was you batwing antenna, an Antennatek brand?
travelin2
Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
For20hunter
Pacific Region Directors-Retired
Yes, it will replace that with mods needed
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
Yes!
I replaced my AntennaTek Batwing with the King Jack antenna in about five minutes and instantly pulled in 30 more HD channels in my side yard that I didn't get with the Batwing.
And, one campground up in the mountains that we've been going to for years that we've never ever been able to pull in one single station we now can pull in three channels with the Jack!
Amazing!
Definately worth the money for the Jack!
Best money EVER SPENT for our trailer, other than buying it in the first place!
Well . . . except maybe the new truck . . .
Sorry . . . can't figure out how to remove the photo below, although it was our first campout with the Jack Antenna . . . but enjoy anywayz!
Attachments
pegmikef
Well-known member
I think it is just as easy to replace the whole thing and it only takes a couple of hours. Nothing to crank up. Signal display in the rotation knob assembly that you replace the crank up mechanism with. Works great and the difference in cost is not significant. I bought mine from Amazon.com. Here is an excellent tutorial someone else on this forum posted. I followed it to the letter and the results are worth it. No more remembering to lower the antenna.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/blogs/driver/jack-digital-hdtv-antenna-479/
http://www.irv2.com/forums/blogs/driver/jack-digital-hdtv-antenna-479/
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
I thought about replacing the whole thing, and perhaps I will someday!
But just replacing the antenna was two bolts and five minutes as opposed to caulking and all of that other stuff involved with removing something from the roof of your trailer.
As for forgetting to lower the antenna, I have a luggage tag that I hang from the antenna crank to remind me that I have it cranked up.
Silverado23
Iowa Chapter Leaders
Thanks for the confirmation "from the field" that the Jack will work with the AntennaTek hardware. It looks like a simple upgrade for a low cost.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
X3 we replaced the Antennatek head only with the Jack head. However, we had issues getting a good signal at first. We ended up having to remove the interior crank and fish out the cable, to tighten the barrel connector that connected the antenna wire to the run from the booster in the ceiling. Taped it good after tightening with rescue tape. After that, great reception!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
I had to do the same thing to our trailer after having my dealer try to fix it three times under warranty.
While we were up in South Dakota (just a week after it was supposedly repaired), I borrowed a ladder from the RV park and crawled up on the roof and pulled the coax up until the connections were exposed and replaced all of the fittings.
Has worked great ever since then.
Wish I had already put the Jack up there for that trip as we could only pull in three stations there . . . two of them PBS stations broadcasting the same programming!
Although I will say I learned a lot that week . . .
Plus, I bought a TV signal meter ($30 at Camping World) to help find stations!
It's great . . . just turn the antenna around until the LED's light up . . . then scan!
There is an app for that. TV Antenna Helper will show you where the tv stations are located and signal strength. There are different ways the results are shown, via compass, list, etc. The app is free. I'm using it on an Android tablet, l'm sure it would also be available for Apple also.
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
Yup!
I have an app for that (we both have Droid Maxx smartphones) . . .
However, the signal meter I bought at Camping World is much better and worth the $30 bucks!
I'll save my $30.00 and continue to use my Free App. I've not had a problem locating OTA signals using it. I'll put the $30.00 in my beer fund.
pday1213
Active Member
Could you tell me what model/part number Jack antenna you used to replace the factory installed antenna and keeping the same arma? Can this be purchased at Camping World or Amazon?
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
Here is a link to the King/Jack antenna at Camping World:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/king-digital-hdtv-antenna-replacement-head/68415
I bought mine in the store, but they matched their online website price.
porthole
Retired
Re: Jack antenna full install relace crank up
After installing this antenna on our trailer, with this plate. my concern is repair if it ever gets knocked off. Another object a foot over the roof line is a target.
I think the mounting plate would be a much better design if the "Jack to plate" attachment used captured studs and nuts were used from the top for the final attachment.
After installing this antenna on our trailer, with this plate. my concern is repair if it ever gets knocked off. Another object a foot over the roof line is a target.
I think the mounting plate would be a much better design if the "Jack to plate" attachment used captured studs and nuts were used from the top for the final attachment.
hamradionut
Member
Hi TravelTiger,
I to have tried to replace my antennatek head with the Jack head, however It will not work for me. I have read most all of the post here about this antenna, and have checked all my coax cables etc. I use a coax cable tester to do this with and according to it all the cables are fine. I even check the voltage up at the Jack connection and have 12.6Vdc which should be enough to power the unit. when I hook up the Jack the red led on the Jack is on but very dim. I also checked in where the crank handle is, but the hole here is only about 1.5 inches with the stim in the middle. I can see the coax up in there, but getting it out might be a problem. It also looks like it may be a single one piece run from the antenna down to the power box, but not sure.
So My question to you is do you think the coax tester I used is good enough to verify the coax it good, and there are no loose connection, because at one point I had one side of the tester loose and the tester didn't show good until I tightened up the connection. Also since I do have 12.6 Vdc at the antenna, this should be sufficient power and connection to make the Jack work.
This is my first post here, so i'll say hello to anyone else that may read and respond to it.
Hamradionut
danemayer
Well-known member
This may sound silly, but take a look at the fuse box and use an ohm meter to ensure that the fuse is not blown. With the signal booster ON, you may see an illuminated LED in the fuse box. That would indicate a blown fuse, but only if there's a load on the circuit. The LED in the fuse box passes a little bit of current which is enough to light up your signal booster LED and perhaps fool your volt meter.
