# Jack Antenna



## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

I'm looking at replacing my winegard antenna with the jack antenna replacement head. I did the radio shack signal booster recommended by egregg57 in an earlier topic last year. The number of channels is the same but at a little better quality. I'm want to get the opinions of those who have experience with the jack antenna. Is it worth doing or not?


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

I don't know jack! :yeah:


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Leedek said:


> I don't know jack! :yeah:


I expected as much. 

Sent from my HTC One M8.


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## bill_pfaff (Mar 11, 2005)

Well I got nothing to contribute but am also very interested. If you go that route please let us know how it works out.


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## Stumpy75 (Feb 26, 2014)

I have a jack antenna on mine, and was considering going to a Winguard. No better reception on the Jack, as compared to the Windguard on my previous trailer... I've compared it with other people's Winguards in different campgrounds, and I don't think it does as well as.


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

I will endeavor to post only thoughtful and intelligent posts.

I will endeavor to post only thoughtful and intelligent posts.

I will endeavor to post only thoughtful and intelligent posts.

I will endeavor to post only thoughtful and intelligent posts.

I will endeavor to post only thoughtful and intelligent posts.


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## SirCIII (Feb 18, 2016)

Stumpy75 said:


> I have a jack antenna on mine, and was considering going to a Winguard. No better reception on the Jack, as compared to the Windguard on my previous trailer... I've compared it with other people's Winguards in different campgrounds, and I don't think it does as well as.


I too was interested in this. Thanks Stumpy for the experienced comparative.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

thefulminator said:


> Leedek said:
> 
> 
> > I don't know jack! :yeah:
> ...


You can't expect to open the door that far and not take some joshing when I walk through it.


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

thefulminator said:


> thefulminator said:
> 
> 
> > Leedek said:
> ...


Had this been an intelligent comment I would be making much more sense, both common and general. Oh one other thing... what the heck is [emoji1} ?


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Installed a Jack antenna retrofit head on the Winegard mast tonight and tested it out with the trailer parked on the street in front of our house. It really only takes a few minute to make the conversion. The channel count was about the same but the reception is stronger and much clearer on the Jack than on the Winegard. Now I just have to test it out camping.


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## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

I replaced the wineguard with the batwing extension with a Jack. Both are the same basic antenna design. so between the two are some differences I have noticed.

Both are passive antennas with a mild powered signal amplifier built into the head. Power to the head is a dc voltage on the coax, similar to what sat antennas do.

1) the Jack does seem to pull in stations from a longer distance

2) The wineguard has a broader reception angle.

Basically this is the biggest tradeoff in a passive antenna design. Do you want maximum gain, or maximum acceptance angle.

So, if all the stations are broadcasting from a similar location, the Jack wins. If the broadcast antennas are located in different locations, and the signal is strong, the wineguard may be better off. Neither has a 360 degree reception angle, not even 180 degrees for weak signals. Peak reception angle for either is probably around 45 degrees or less.

Now, where we typically camp, it's usually remote enough that there is only 1 station anyway, or the stations are 180 degrees apart, in which case the Jack reception angle is a non issue.

Also, I installed the Wineguard sensar pro amplifier, which is compatible with either the wineguard or Jack amplifier. That will give another 10db or more gain if needed and it is adjustable and it will give you a signal strength readout as you rotate the antenna. In strong signal areas you may need to back down the gain on the sensar pro or you can overload the TV input and actually loose reception. It is adjustable between 0db and 20db gain.

So,,,, the Jack and sensar pro makes a great combo for us.


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