Over the Air (OTA) TV antenna still useful?

[jbeletti]

Not sure if anyone mentioned it, but for a cable TV system, every station needes to be "processed" individually. This means equipment and money.

If there are 30-50 local OTA stations in a given area, the campground or their cable TV supplier may not choose process and provide all of them. For this reason alone, one may choose to "send up the batwing"

 

[klindgren]

When I camp using my DirectTV satellite, I always use my OTA to draw in local stations. I can watch my satellite and switch to the OTA by just selecting which input I want on the TV. Doesn't work that way with cable because I have to turn the antenna booster off, but for satellite, it's an easy switch and I don't have to pay extra each month to DirectTV for a New York or Los Angels station just to watch network stations. I

 

[JohnD]

I generally only use the campground cable if there are no OTA stations to be had (which happens a lot up in the mountains).

Since campgrounds only give a cable feed without giving each site a cable box, you are only getting a standard definition signal, which generally looks really bad on an HD TV.

 

[Westwind]

We added a Jack antenna to our Bighorn. We Snowbird in Florida in an area that has no cable and everyone used Satellite dish systems, being cheap and not wanting to spend the $$ for a carryout satellite system and battling with the vendors the first year we used our OTA antenna and the second year added the Jack. We finished year three and find that we don't miss not having the cable we have a home. I will admit we are thinking of dropping our cable at home and getting a satellite and taking the receiver with us to Florida. If I could only get Verizion to give me a cost after all the incentives end I might pull the cable.

 

[JohnD]

I also replaced the batwing with the Jack . . . on the batwing arm!

Pulls in way more channels than the batwing ever thought of receiving!



These shots were on our Trail Runner, but I kept the Jack and put it on our Prowler!

 

[TxCowboy]

Since campgrounds only give a cable feed without giving each site a cable box, you are only getting a standard definition signal, which generally looks really bad on an HD TV.

JohnD, this is exactly the situation that prompted my initial post on this topic. My longtime camping park has absolutely crap for cable quality. After spotting several batwings waving in the air, I began to wonder what I was missing.

When my RV was parked at home for a few years (work!), I ran a cable, wireless modem, and Genie out to it and used the RV like an outdoor party room. Now that we're using it as a vacation home at the beach, we don't watch TV often but like the option of having it available which means we also want good reception and a variety of channels, neither of which are present through the park's on-site cable connection.

Will be at the RV this coming weekend so will give the good advice here a try and see if it improves the television programming and quality we receive there.

 

[JohnD]

JohnD, this is exactly the situation that prompted my initial post on this topic. My longtime camping local has absolutely crap for cable quality. After spotting several batwings waving in the air, I began to wonder what I was missing.

When my RV was parked at home for a few years (work!), I ran a cable, wireless modem, and Genie out to it and used the RV like an outdoor party room. Now that we're using it as a vacation home at the beach, we don't watch TV often but like the option of having it available which means we also want good reception and a variety of channel, neither of which are present through the park's on-site cable connection.

Will be at the RV this coming weekend so will give the good advice here a try and see if it improves the television programming and quality we receive there.

Replace the batwing with a King/Jack antenna . . . under $50 at Camping World.

Just in my side yard I pulled in over 30 more channels than I did with the batwing!

 

[TxCowboy]

JohnD, says the King Jack requires an AC to DC power source. Again, I'm not at my RV to look but where is the power supply located at the OTA antenna? Is there already a power connection up there?

 

[JohnD]

JohnD, says the King Jack requires an AC to DC power source. Again, I'm not at my RV to look but where is the power supply located at the OTA antenna? Is there already a power connection up there?

The Jack antenna head comes with it's own amplifier, but I hooked mine up to the exsisting one that was already hooked to the batwing.

It works great!

 

[TxCowboy]

So I assume the electrical connection is like a coax cable connection?

 

[JohnD]

So I assume the electrical connection is like a coax cable connection?

I believe that it is already hooked up to the coax that runs up to the antenna (hooked up behind the wall plate where the little red button is).

 

[wdk450]

JohnD, says the King Jack requires an AC to DC power source. Again, I'm not at my RV to look but where is the power supply located at the OTA antenna? Is there already a power connection up there?

For your normal amplified OTA antenna, DC voltage is sent up the coax to the antenna connector (and the hidden amplifier there) by the wall module for the antenna system. The wall module uses 12 VDC. DC and Radio frequency AC coexist nicely on coax. The same system is used to send DC power out to the LMB's (Low Noise Blockconverter) on a satellite dish system.

 

[TxCowboy]

Hi, all! I'm at the RV and just looked at the batwing. Looks easy to replace with the King Jack on order from CW. And I see the coax cable that you all mentioned above.

I just did a quick OTA set-up on the television and it found 1 analog and 13 digital channel but there is a lot of pixelation (spelling?). Do I need to use the little wheel that surrounded the raising/lowering handle to move the batwing? And, if so, do I need to have the TV rescan after each batwing movement?

 

[sjandbj]

Jeff,
You need to rotate the antenna to improve the signal. Each time you move it you will need to rescan the channels on the tv.

Steve

 

[JohnD]

Jeff,
You need to rotate the antenna to improve the signal. Each time you move it you will need to rescan the channels on the tv.

Steve

Which is why one of these is needed:



Got it from Camping World for around $30!

Tells you where the TV stations are coming from so you don't have to scan all night trying to find out where the towers are.

 

[TxCowboy]

Looks like I'm able to pull in 3 analog and 13 digital which ended up being 8 digital by the time I hid the analog and 5 spanish digital stations. Not bad, in my opinion. The digital stations have a very good quality. I'm looking forward to seeing how the King Jack improves these channels and pulls in more.

Thanks for all of the advice and guidance, gang!

 

[JohnD]

Looks like I'm able to pull in 3 analog and 13 digital which ended up being 8 digital by the time I hid the analog and 5 spanish digital stations. Not bad, in my opinion. The digital stations have a very good quality. I'm looking forward to seeing how the King Jack improves these channels and pulls in more.

Thanks for all of the advice and guidance, gang!

The antenna switch is easy . . .

All you need is a pair of pliers, needle nose pliers and maybe a screwdriver!

Remove the coax from the batwing . . . pull the 'c' clips off of the two bolts that hold the batwing on with the needle nose pliers . . . pull the two bolts out . . . pull of the batwing and replace with the Kink/Jack antenna . . . then put it back together.

Five minutes tops!

 

[For20hunter]

If you have a smart phone you can download TV Towers locator apps and they're super easy then to get your TV antenna aimed.

Rod

 

[TxCowboy]

If you have a smart phone you can download TV Towers locator apps and they're super easy then to get your TV antenna aimed.

Rod

Have a recommended app?

 

[cookie]

Check out this app. TV Antenna Helper
Available in the Play Store for Android.
Don't know about the IPhone.

Peace
Dave