HD reception with Winegard "painted" batwing

[Neal and Bev]

If you have the crank up Winegard batwing (Sensar) antenna then here is an interesting HD tidbit that I have recently heard.

If you have the factory painted batwing then your antenna is HD compliant. If your batwing is bare aluminum then it isn't.

I was told this by a service manager of an RV garage. Being the questioning type I Googled it when I got home and I found other references stating the same thing. One even said that he had gotten this information direct from Wineguard.

Next I called the tech support line for Winegard and asked them, I spoke to Jim and I must say I was very impressed with both he and the Winegard company for having such good tech support.

It turns out that the "painted batwing" is just another urban legend. Jim explained that the antenna doesn't know the difference. Reguardless if you have the painted or unpainted model antenna it will receive the HD signal and it's up to the receiver (separate unit or built into your TV) to process the signal correctly.

Neal

 

[mikarhill]

Thanks for the heads. I like this new site Mike

 

[Neal and Bev]

Thanks Mike, welcome to HTF!

 

[RichR]

When color TV came into popularity all the antenna companies started pushing color TV antennas. They made a bundle of money from it. The TV frequencies were no different between black and white and color, just a different type of data being sent in the envelope. The only help was to buy a larger antenna to receive a stronger signal to cut out the snowy picture.

What is important about antennas is the frequency range and the amount of gain that they have. This is accomplished by having elements of varying lengths to cover the frequency range and by adding more elements to increase the gain. This is why you see antennas of various sizes and shapes perched on rooftops depending on how far they are from local TV stations.

Up until DTV came into existence a mediocre antenna would work in many cases, in that, analog TV signals could deliver at least a snowy picture that most people could live with to a degree. With DTV the strength of the received signal can mean the difference between a great picture or maybe a picture with lots of dropouts or no picture at all.

RV antennas are limited by their size, so making a TV antenna that has good frequency response and good gain is quite difficult. By adding the little attachment that Winegard sells will improve the gain of the antenna by making it more directive. Going to the amplified version of the antenna is a definite help if you don't already have it. Hopefully somebody will come up with a new design that will revolutionize RV antenna performance.

 

[Gord-HILO]

We used our antenna quite a bit in the US last year, and it worked fine on digital channels. We connect it to an adapter that lets us use our laptop computer as a TV, one less thing to find room for.
Gord.
2208T

 

[RichR]

The DTV tuner adapters work very well. We got one last summer and plugged it into the laptop USB port. It is an AVerMedia, AVerTVHybrid Volar MAX They are quite amazing as to how well they work. To look at it you would think that tiny thing will never work. It even picks up FM radio and you can record your video to the hard drive for later viewing. We don't have the optional remote control for it, but we can't have everything when we are camping.

 

[MagnaFazer]

My wife tends to pick camping spots too far from metro area TV broadcasts for us to get reliable reception. However, I bought one of these-

Wingman® RV-WING UHF Add-On

and attached it. (very easy, 2 minutes, no tools!)

In my driveway as a test, I went from the previous 4 received stations to 9 HD digital broadcast over the air stations received in to my 26" ATSC Toshiba Regza LCD. It looks cool, like a little antenna you would see on home rooftops in the 1970's.

I got mine from the Big River online shop ( U know...) with free shipping for a reasonably low sum. So, how does it work in the real world? Don't know!! Where we are right now I pulled out my 50' RG6 video cable and connected up. We have over 100 SD analog and HD digital channels. I'll report on the real world performance of the Winegard Wingman next time, I guess.

 

[Neal and Bev]

MagnaFazer

I'm looking forward to hearing the results. I've seen these too and almost bought one myself.

Neal

 

[retiredcamper47]

Just received my October issue of Trailer Life magazine. On page 61 is an article on a new type of tv antenna. According to the article, it will replace your current bat wing style antenna using existing coax and hole in the roof. What I like about it is that it has a built-in signal strength meter with LED lights. I just might put it on my Christmas list so I would have it for next camping season. It has a "space age" look to it. Thought I would just pass this info on......................

Bob

 

[bluewindsue]

there are snap on for the batwing

somewhere on the net i have seen hd antenta thingies for the batwing that snap on
seem as though the holes to snap it into are already on the batwing
they where about 30 bucks

 

[PopRichie77]

Not all HI-LO's have a Winegard Antenna, my 2209T has an Antenna Tek batwing antenna, it is crank up also but they have no add on for digital TV but it works very well, it is amplified.
Don't just assume you have a Winegard and buy the add on as it will not fit the Antenna Tek.

 

[RichR]

Just received my October issue of Trailer Life magazine. On page 61 is an article on a new type of tv antenna. According to the article, it will replace your current bat wing style antenna using existing coax and hole in the roof. What I like about it is that it has a built-in signal strength meter with LED lights. I just might put it on my Christmas list so I would have it for next camping season. It has a "space age" look to it. Thought I would just pass this info on......................

Bob

Could you let us non-subscribers in on what brand and model the antenna is?

Thanks!
Rich

 

[retiredcamper47]

For those that don't subscribe to Trailer Life magazine, here is their website:
King Controls

The antenna system is called "Jack". So click on the Jack icon on the left of the page. I did learn from their site that this antenna does not crank up and down. It is in a fixed position, but the head rotates. I am not affiliated with this company in any way. Just think this is a neat concept.

Bob

 

[RichR]

Ok, I have seen that one online. There is a model that replaces the batwing by mounting on the same mast. I wish somebody would do a controlled test on RV TV antennas to show what really is the best one.

 

[NDgent]

From what I can glean from discussions on the web there may not be much difference between the Wingman and the Jack, this comment being typical.

"Bill & Janet, I placed the Jack antenna on my ladder rack and used an A/B switch in the motor home after the amplifier/splitter. Because we don't have many analog or digital channels here in the Prescott, AZ area I can't say I found a big improvment in the number of channels I received. I suggest, if it ain't broken, don't fix it. I do like the smaller profile and at least the idea in my little head that something up there is a little better. All the best to you and yours, Bob and Linda Smith, Prescott, AZ "

I guess the best advice is if it ain't broken don't fix it! If you really want TV reception I think that a dish would be the bomb.