Crank up/down TV antenna

[2goofycampers]

Has anyone upgraded their crank TV antenna. If so, with what and how well does it work?

 

[PaHunter]

Well I put some rabbit ears and tinfoil on my colander, but it has not improved the reception any.

 

[Teamubr]

I had to replace mine due to a little incident with a tree and the antenna being in a "up" position. I replaced it with the newer version of the Winegard that came with it. I've always had reasonable reception with the ones in all my trailers. It's the same basic crank up model with the booster in most of our units.

What are you trying to improve/fix?

j

 

[2goofycampers]

The reception is not great on some channels. Also we have to rotate the antenna when we change channels to get the picture in.

 

[peg110]

our new Coachmen Catalina 343QBDS has a stationary antenna. No raising, lowering, turning, etc.... While we haven't used it much, at home I get decent reception on it, but I don't get all of the channels in the area as I do with my HD antenna I have in the house in a window.

 

[Teamubr]

The reception is not great on some channels. Also we have to rotate the antenna when we change channels to get the picture in.

Good friends bought their first camper last year. It was a T@b with one of the round stationary antennas. It may have just been their trailer, but camping at the state parks near here that are on the fringe of TV reception. I could tune in a decent signal rotating my crank up antenna, where our friends could only get a couple of channels.

I think the stationary are ok if you are close enough to the transmitter, but the crank up will pull in a weaker signal.

j

 

[Barney Fife]

Our last two campers had the mushroom antenna on top. We don't get nearly the good reception that we used to get with the crank up model. Although the new kind is easier to deal with and you can't forget to crank it back down before leaving, they just don't seem to do as well as the old style.

 

[burnaroonie]

Well I put some rabbit ears and tinfoil on my colander, but it has not improved the reception any.

No wonder! That setup is to keep the alien's out of your brain!

 

[seashoreCM]

Most of the better quality outdoor antennas need to be rotated for the best results. The technical characteristics are such that the antenna is more sensitive to stations it is pointed towards.

Antennas that don't need to be rotated have more or less uniform sensitivity to stations in all directions but this sensitivity is usually less than that of a directional antenna pointed at the station in question.

A booster can be added to an omnidirectional antenna to improve the sensitivity but the same booster could also be added to a unidirectional antenna for even more sensitivity. Boosters have their limitations, for example a strong station could be made so strong that it overloads the TV circuits or a really weak station still can't be brought in because atmospheric noise or stray signals from stations on adjacent channels get mixed in.