Over the Air (OTA) TV antenna still useful?

[TxCowboy]

We have a 2011 Greystone that has the crank-up OTA antenna. We've never used it because all of our RV parks have cable.

Just wandering through the RV parks, I can see people have connected to the park's cable system but also have their OTA antenna cranked up.

I thought that using OTA antennas were a thing of the past with cable and portable satellite receivers.

What am I missing by not using the OTA?

 

[For20hunter]

The OTA depends on where you are at in relation to the nearest TV Towers. With that being said, the OTA broadcast from most towers nowadays is digital and offers great picture and sound quality that OTA of the past did not. In most places we go we are able to get multiple channels on OTA and then do not have the grainy picture from the bad cable and connections that is often the case with most cable connections in a lot of parks.

Rod

 

[TxCowboy]

OK, Rod, that makes sense.

So, I should press the button on the cable box in the bedroom (red light comes on) to activate the OTA connection? Also, do I need to reconnect the living room TV from cable to the satellite connection?

(Sorry, I'm away from the RV until next weekend so there's no way to test this, hence, I'm asking...)

BTW, love your account name.

 

[Lynn1130]

Yes,, sometimes OTA signals are better than the cable that is offered at parks. In addition our Sat TV is only hooked to the living room and the OTA antenna is used for the bedroom.

 

[TxCowboy]

The OTA is only connected in the bedroom? There's no connection in the living room or is the LR connection shared with one of the other LR connections?

 

[jmgratz]

We have a Winnguard Carry-Out Satellite dish that we use most of the time even if the park has cable. We also supplement with the OTA antenna. If we are only going to be at a park overnight we may use the parks cable or the OTA and not the satellite dish. Why, what is the difference? The OTA will give us the local stations, local weather, local business ads etc. The satellite will not give us the local stations is we are out of the local service area and we prefer not to call Direct TV to change our local stations (long story). Sometimes the parks cable does not have the stations we prefer to watch, especially when it come to sporting events (NASCAR, football, baseball) or shows we are 'hooked' on such as The Voice. Mostly we watch NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX anyway. BTW we bought and had installed at the national Heartland Rally The Razor OTA antenna. We would highly recommend it as it pulls in stations the 'batwing' does not and all you have to do is push a button and it finds them. Also you don't have to put it up and down so it is 'dummy-proof'.

 

[Lynn1130]

My OTA is connected to both but the SAT receiver is not. Thus I used the SAT in the living room and the OTA in the bedroom. Yours may be a different setup as from what I have seen here the connections get very confusing between models.

 

[JohnDar]

Our CG does not have cable and the OTA stations pixelate to the point of madness (except the PBS one). And yes, I do have the Jack antenna head on the mast. But we do have DISH satellite, so we can watch most of our favorite summer programs. Trick is to set up the automatic dish (GM1518) where it can see the satellite through a gap in the tree canopy.

 

[danemayer]

OK, Rod, that makes sense.

So, I should press the button on the cable box in the bedroom (red light comes on) to activate the OTA connection? Also, do I need to reconnect the living room TV from cable to the satellite connection?

(Sorry, I'm away from the RV until next weekend so there's no way to test this, hence, I'm asking...)

BTW, love your account name.

If you've been watching cable, the same coax connection is used for OTA. No need to move cables. Just press the button on the signal booster so it's ON for OTA and OFF for cable. The TV menu will have to be changed on most TVs and you'll have to do a channel scan.

 

[TxCowboy]

Good information, all. Will definitely try this out this coming weekend.

 

[avvidclif]

OTA is infinitely better than any campground cable system I have found. If OTA not available I hook up the satellite.

 

[scottyb]

Digital OTA is often better than even satellite HD. A lot of people won't believe that, but I can flip back and forth at home and OTA is a noticeably better picture. OTA will also work when satellite goes out, due to approaching storms.

 

[jmgratz]

Digital OTA is often better than even satellite HD. A lot of people won't believe that, but I can flip back and forth at home and OTA is a noticeably better picture. OTA will also work when satellite goes out, due to approaching storms.

In our rig to change from OTA to satellite all I have to do is turn on the satellite receiver and change the channel. To switch back to OTA turn off the satellite receiver and change to the desired channel. That is after programming the tv.

 

[wdk450]

I use my Dish Network satellite system everywhere. I occasionally put up my OTA antenna as it has a high gain cellular antenna strapped to it, and I can drape my longwire shortwave antenna over it to get it off the roof.

I RV within the 250 mile satellite Local TV spotbeam "window" during the spring summer, so I get my local Sacramento channels there. When I winter in the greater L.A. area, I change my service address to get the L.A. locals spotbeam (Which I have picked up South from the Mexican border area North to Porterville - North of Bakersfield; West from Santa Barbara on the coast to East at Quartzsite, Arizona).

 

[TxCowboy]

A quick follow-on question: How do I know if my OTA is digital?

 

[avvidclif]

If you can count the nose hairs on the TV Weatherman.

 

[TxCowboy]

If you can count the nose hairs on the TV Weatherman.

That is also determined by the quality of the television. Let me restate the question: Is there a visual indication on the OTA antenna as to whether the antenna is digital, e.g., an electrical connection or a little black box, etc.?

 

[cookie]

If you move your antenna away from the signal, a digital signal will pixelate and lock up. The analog signal will get fuzzy, or snowy and fade away.

Peace
Dave

 

[wdk450]

Digital TV uses what we used to refer to as UHF TV channels. If your antenna is VHF/UHF you are good to go with digital TV.

BTW, all radiated radio/TV waves are sinusoidal-based analog waveforms. The INFOMATION modulated onto those analog carriers may be analog or digital.

 

[TxCowboy]

Dave & Bill, good info and thanks for posting. Will check this out this next weekend at the RV.