TV antenna

[Colducksi]

I have a 1998 170 Popular. Where is the tv antenna, and can a new external one be added, and if yes, how?
Thanks you.

[markopolo]

I'm 99% sure your antenna (‘Hide-A-Tenna’) is built into the fiberglass roof. It was on my '04. I think it is a simple dipole antenna.

Yes, you can add an external antenna. I'm thinking about adding a Winegard Sensar IV with a Wingman. Look at Winegard here: http://www.winegard.com/sensar/index.php

You'd have to drill a hole through the roof and run the coax cable etc.

Try the built-in one first. A signal amplifier might help.

[Colducksi]

Great, you are my one stop information guru!

[Mike]

Originally Posted by markopolo

I'm 99% sure your antenna (‘Hide-A-Tenna’) is built into the fiberglass roof. It was on my '04. I think it is a simple dipole antenna.

Yes, you can add an external antenna. I'm thinking about adding a Winegard Sensar IV with a Wingman. Look at Winegard here: http://www.winegard.com/sensar/index.php

You'd have to drill a hole through the roof and run the coax cable etc.

Try the built-in one first. A signal amplifier might help.

I looked to replace the antenna signal amplifier on my last 2 trips to the USA without success.
The one screwed into the inside wall of the entertainment unit, looks like a small splitter of
some sort, with a 12VDC power supply wire that disappears into the wall plate with the 2 cigar
lighter outlets. I've tested the hot wire and it has power, but I don't see any difference in signal reception with or without it in the circuit from the built into the roof antenna. I couldn't find a
similar shape/sized one to try, but found plenty of antenna boosters that looked like light switch
wall plates. I decided it wasn't worth continuing the search.
Some folks have had good results with those inexpensive amplified directional antennas you
can get at Radio Shack or Walmart, but they seem to mostly require AC power which would require
shore power, generator power, or an inverter.

[Colducksi]

I hear you, thanks. I guess that we should have more to do than concentrate on tv so much!

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Colducksi

I hear you, thanks. I guess that we should have more to do than concentrate on tv so much!

No, not at all. After a day of driving or just exploring the area, it's nice to relax and watch whatever
the local OTA TV stations have to offer. I added a portable satellite setup to our list of things we take
with us on the road. If we're going to stay at one place for a few days, I set it up, and we can watch
TV from home at our leisure. Uses a spare satellite receiver we also can use at home in the house.
Here's a link to my travails, and it has some pictures of how I set up my dish on the back of the
Roadtrek using a spare tire hitch mount, and some other house type hardware and a lot of wing nuts.
But it works.
It's a longish read, so be warned.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1283&hilit=satellite+rig

[TinyoneRV]

We replaced the original Samsung, analog TV with an inexpensive, 19" digital from Best Buy. Our nearest TV station is about 15 miles away. The new TV picks up their digital signal and gives a good picture using the built in loop antenna in the roof of our '04RT. I conclude we could get a pretty good picture from local stations a reasonable distance from our campsite. We also have the Winegard portable satellite antenna. I lower the spare tire and set the satellite antenna on the spare tire mount. Works great as long as I can get a clear shot to the southern sky and level the antenna before trying to aim to the satellite. I find I can watch satellite TV all evening on batteries. Also use the campground cable TV when available and if all else fails there's movies from the DVD. Very happy with this setup. My advice is don't get a new antenna until you're sure the one built in won't work for you.

[Mike]

Which Winegard sat antenna do you have? For which sat service?
I wanted to get the Winegard CarryOut GM-0700 for around $1000, for Shaw Direct, but they said it
wouldn't work well in the southern US because the "paddle" inside the little dome was too small to pick
up a decent signal.
Too bad, would have been a nice addition. My current set up is all manual, and usually takes me about
15-20 minutes from parking the van, to set up and satellite acquisition. The hard part is getting a
camp site with a southern window through whatever obstacles (trees? hills?) are in the area.