# Antenna - Batwing And Uhf Add-On



## Dale (Sep 23, 2010)

Just purchased our 295RE in December and have no trips yet to gauge the antenna reception. In my previous RV, I replaced the crank up antenna (because of damage when I forgot to crank it down!) with a low profile stationary digital antenna with a high power booster. I don't remember the brand, but it did have a box to rotate the antenna within it's shell and it worked very well. Can anyone advise if generally happy with the reception from the standard batwing antenna? I intend to install the Wingman UHF add-on you can purchase, but wonder if that is going to provide enough performance VS buying another high-gain replacement. My assumption is that the standard antenna with the added UHF piece will be very sufficient and I can save the expense. I now clip on a sign that warns me the antenna is raised so do not intend to repeat my mistake and embarrassment as I trimmed a major tree limb while the neighbors watched.

Here is a link to the unit I am considering because looks like it retrofits to the OEM unit

antenna replacement

Would appreciate any experience and advise.


----------



## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

My 2 cents. I would try out the antenna that you have. With the built in booster I get better reception in my driveway with the TT antenna than I do with the mast antenna on the house that is 20 feet higher. Very surprised how well the basic antenna works.


----------



## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

ED_RN said:


> My 2 cents. I would try out the antenna that you have. With the built in booster I get better reception in my driveway with the TT antenna than I do with the mast antenna on the house that is 20 feet higher. Very surprised how well the basic antenna works.


x2. Just remember you MUST turn on the booster switch, otherwise you will get no reception. If the booster switch is "off" the outside cable signal is routed to the TV.


----------



## outback loft (Sep 22, 2008)

x3 on turning on the booster switch. The standard batwing antenna works great on its own, and I actually don't notice much of a difference with the UHF add-on. The biggest difference is made when there are less trees around. When I am at an inland campground(which is relative when you live on an island) I get about 5 channels when there is no wind rustling the leaves. If there is any wind I go down to about 2 channels. But when I am at the beach I get about 30 channels. I used to have DirecTV, but I don't really watch enough tv when out to keep it.


----------



## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

X4 on trying out the standard bat wing antenna without the UHF add-on. I get great reception with the standard bat wing antenna on my 2006 Outback, I can't imagine that the antenna on a 2011 unit wouldn't work at least as well. As mentioned before, just make sure you turn on the booster for the antenna.


----------



## Dale (Sep 23, 2010)

Appreciate everyone's advise and comments. I will use it as is and try not to pry it off the roof again!

Does it cause any problems to leave the antenna switch on the entire time I occupy the trailer? I am hoping I don't have to switch it on and off all the time.


----------



## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

Dale said:


> Appreciate everyone's advise and comments. I will use it as is and try not to pry it off the roof again!
> 
> Does it cause any problems to leave the antenna switch on the entire time I occupy the trailer? I am hoping I don't have to switch it on and off all the time.


One of my favorite signs seen when exiting campgrounds:
Step up?
Antenna down?
Kids/wife in?

As for the booster switch, just turn it on when you set up camp and and don't worry about turning it off until you break camp.


----------



## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

Dale said:


> Appreciate everyone's advise and comments. I will use it as is and try not to pry it off the roof again!
> 
> Does it cause any problems to leave the antenna switch on the entire time I occupy the trailer? I am hoping I don't have to switch it on and off all the time.


No issue with leaving it on, I measured the current draw from the booster. It was on the order of 500ma (0.5A), by comparison, a single light bulb draws about 2.5A or 5x as much. Just remember to turn it off before you close up the trailer for storage!!


----------



## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

The Add on to the antenna, according to everyone I talked to prior to setting mine up to recieve digital, was don't waste your money.

I went to Radio Shack and bought the Digital to analog converter box and purchased a signal booster. With the antenna properly oriented, the antenna booster on, Signal booster on, I regularly recieve about 19 or so channels. While in Iowa, out in the middle of the Corn I had 22.

If you would like specific product info, let me know I will provide you the brand and model equipment I bought.

Happy camping!

(And TV watching!)

Eric


----------



## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

I get great reception - both UHF and VHF - using the batwing antenna that came on my trailer (especially since broadcasts are now digital). In our area of central Illinois, I can usually pull in about 15-20 TV stations, which is more than I need when I'm camping. I usually only watch the news and weather, then let it be my "sleeping pill" at night. I've only been in a few places remote enough that I couldn't get but a few channels, and I'm thinking that even a high-end antenna can't pull in signals that are not there.

I was thinking about buying the add-on, but since I get more TV channels than I can already watch I decided to save the money for something else for the camper some day.

Mike


----------



## luverofpeanuts (Mar 9, 2010)

Before you even try the Wingman...check the way your antenna lays on the roof. I bought one, but couldn't use it because when laying on the roof...the refrigerator vent is too close.

Our camping buddies installed it...and didn't really make any noticeable difference in the areas we camp.

The most annoying thing I find is that when the you are setup at camp... it's very common to to have the signal freak out when walking right around the middle of the Kitchen area in my unit... same for our camping buddies.... not sure why. Part of me thinks that a slight shake in the camper happens and the antenna wavers just a bit.


----------



## Bearhog (Feb 10, 2011)

Sorry for resurrecting an old tread.

I have the standard batwing with a Wingman and my TV Pixels out all the time. Everywhere I've tried it. Reorientation helps sometimes but not always. I've even tried replacing the TV set that came with the new unit with the cheepo TV from my previous Rockwood but to no avail.

I took the unit in for a warranty request to replace the antenna and the booster but of course it worked perfectly for them.

Anyone have any suggestions? FYI: I've checked all the connections, the booster is on, and the antenna is up.

This one is driving me crazy considering my old unit was always picture perfect (pun intended) for the channels it received.

Thanks for your comments.

Ernie.


----------



## Lonerider (Jul 22, 2010)

egregg57 said:


> The Add on to the antenna, according to everyone I talked to prior to setting mine up to recieve digital, was don't waste your money.
> 
> I went to Radio Shack and bought the Digital to analog converter box and purchased a signal booster. With the antenna properly oriented, the antenna booster on, Signal booster on, I regularly recieve about 19 or so channels. While in Iowa, out in the middle of the Corn I had 22.
> 
> ...


what brand signal booster did you buy and was it easy to install? Thanks for any info!


----------



## Gilligan (Aug 25, 2006)

The UHF add-on elements are simply parasitic directors that turn the broadband dipole antenna into a yagi-uda array. The purpose is to increase the gain by a few db on UHF only. The downside is, it makes the antenna slightly directional on UHF, so a little more turning may be required to get a good signal. I have never personally tried one, but judging from the pictures, I don't think it would be a worthwhile investment. The gain increase is not enough to make a lot of difference. I think it is just another attempt to shake the digital transistion money tree.

Gilligan


----------



## tex_toby (Sep 7, 2011)

I added the wingman to by standard batwing antenna with very good success. Before the install, I would pick up 4 channels at my local campground and they were quite unreliable and pixilated often. After the $25 purchase and install of the wingman, my channels doubled and NEVER pixilate. Nice investment for me.


----------



## Gilligan (Aug 25, 2006)

tex_toby said:


> I added the wingman to by standard batwing antenna with very good success. Before the install, I would pick up 4 channels at my local campground and they were quite unreliable and pixilated often. After the $25 purchase and install of the wingman, my channels doubled and NEVER pixilate. Nice investment for me.


But did you make this before-and-after comparison on the same day, at the same time, while sitting in same exact spot in the same campsite? At UHF, even inches make a difference, as does the local weather conditions.

Gilligan


----------



## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Lonerider said:


> The Add on to the antenna, according to everyone I talked to prior to setting mine up to recieve digital, was don't waste your money.
> 
> I went to Radio Shack and bought the Digital to analog converter box and purchased a signal booster. With the antenna properly oriented, the antenna booster on, Signal booster on, I regularly recieve about 19 or so channels. While in Iowa, out in the middle of the Corn I had 22.
> 
> ...


what brand signal booster did you buy and was it easy to install? Thanks for any info!
[/quote]

Lonerider, the signal booster is by Radio Shack. It plugs into a standard wall outlet to power it. The coax cable that would go to the TV gets connected to the amplifier. a second piece is connected to the output of the amplifier and pluggs into your TV.

There is a gain adjust knob that allows you to control the boost given to your recieved signal(s). I turned the gain all the way up and left it. The booster is about 5 inches long 3 inches wide and about 2 inches deep. the booster can be mounted several different ways. It can be left behind your TV out of the way, the booster has two ears with screw holes that would allow you to secure it to a wall after making a cut out for it, or your can use good double sided tape and mount it that way.

Once you connect it you don't have to mess with it again. No buttons to push etc. Just move your antenna to get the strongest signal available. It is as easy as that and takes about 5 minutes (if your slow) to connect! I like that!

I was amazed at the clarity and number of channels I recieved. Like I mentioned earlier, I got a few channels, and they weren't very good. To go from that to well over 20 now, with the addition of more stations is pretty nice. And for about 35 bucks a good investment.

Eric


----------



## tex_toby (Sep 7, 2011)

Gilligan said:


> I added the wingman to by standard batwing antenna with very good success. Before the install, I would pick up 4 channels at my local campground and they were quite unreliable and pixilated often. After the $25 purchase and install of the wingman, my channels doubled and NEVER pixilate. Nice investment for me.


But did you make this before-and-after comparison on the same day, at the same time, while sitting in same exact spot in the same campsite? At UHF, even inches make a difference, as does the local weather conditions.

Gilligan








[/quote]

Actually I did. I installed the add-on at the campsite and it made an immediate improvement.


----------

