folding roof antenna in Roadtrek 190 (2006)

[alwechs]

Our vehicle comes with a hand-cranked roof antenna for the TV. We haven't tried it, but I'm assuming with the advent of digital TV it would have pretty limited use, and anyway we don't watch a lot of TV and would probably either watch DVDs or stream when we have internet. Has anyone removed these things? Wondering how easy it is, how to remove the cable and how to seal the hole afterward? Thinking I would get a (slight) mileage benefit by removing the thing, which sticks up pretty high on the roof (athough, granted, the fan hatch would still be there, but it is a much smaller profile). Also can imagine driving off with the antenna extended -- that might not go over so well!

[mkguitar]

Hi Al,


I have clothes pins labelled: antenna, shore power, waste hose & etc.
anything used, the pin is clipped to the driver's visor as a reminder.


you could remove the antenna and seal over the hole, but there is nothing better than a local weather report on the news to help plan the day



the analog to digital signal change requires a "decoder" box/tuner for an older tv- which my 2006 Pleasure Way had.


I replaced with a digital samsung tv which:


obsoleted the decoder box


has easy antenna/ signal scan


is 14 volt dc native ( low power use)


has usb in & media player ( can play movies from thumbdrive- no need to carry a bunch of dvds- a hundred movies can fit on a 256gb hard drive )

streaming? never been in a place where internet speed would allow streaming- most of our campsites didn't have cell coverage



We used the crank up for years but when installing a vent cover ( so we could open vent in wet weather) a redesign of the antenna was required-


I first made longer mast, but I could hear it moving in crosswinds- in the end I replaced with a sleeker fixed height winegard antenna which uses stock mounting position and hardware to swivel it


I use the TV Towers app to determine which direction to turn it.


From my home in PHX I can pick up the tv stations in Tucson from their transmitters high on Mt Lemmon- 108 miles away.


Mike

[wny-pat]

You most likely have the Winegard Sensar antenna which may, or may not have the optional Wingman RV Antenna UHF Booster. The Wingman helps in receiving the "Digital" signal. You do not need to have a special antenna to receive Digital TV signals. The Wingman add on antenna is cut for UHF signals and it receives them somewhat better. Many areas of the country when we went "digital" switched to UHF frequencies, but some areas stayed with VHF. The older Winegard antenna was cut for VHF, so it helps to add the Wingman. If it has a operating RF amplifier, it should be just fine. If it doesn't they sell a optional amplifier. Many opt to go with other brand antennas. You have to do your homework to see which is best for you. The King Jack seens to be a very popular antenna with RVers.

[JohnnyFry]

There is no such thing as a "Digital antenna", the antenna doesn't know analog from digital modulation. The digital TV band uses essentially the same frequencies as analog did and that is the only thing that has an effect on the antenna. My Winegard crank up Batwing antenna received 35 channels in my driveway and has had no trouble picking up stations in campgrounds. The TV, however, is important. In an 06 model you may well have an old analog TV set. There are digital sets available with built in DVD players for well under $200
available on Amazon or from large truck stops.

[HWDean]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFry

There is no such thing as a "Digital antenna", the antenna doesn't know analog from digital modulation.

Haha. Lots of gimmicks out there, for the home too. The problem with RVs is you are surrounded by metal. One just needs a decent standard outdoor TV antenna. Its the TV that has to be digital, not the antenna.

[mkguitar]

...also many RV's have an antenna amplifier which needs to be switched on- it is left off when hooking into cable if supplied at an rv park



In my Pleasureway it looks like this

[kimbpdx]

We had our local RV shop remove the antenna from our 09 190P. We wanted the additional clearance up top. We stream everything with a firestick. As for weather, local weather on our phones with weather underground app, anywhere we are. Of course all these options require cellular reception.