RV Antennas

[mlts22]

Thanks for the link. I couldn't find them on Google for love, nor money.

[booster]

It is too bad that Winegard doesn't give any relevent specs on their antennae. Miles of reception mean less than nothing in the real world. At least the Sole gives the gain and power consumption.

Based on our experience at home, we are on the very fringe of where you can get broadcast tv with a severely amplified indoor antenna, 3 feet of height and getting above things like the roof vent should give the the Winegard a significant advantage. We can rotate our indoor antenna less than 10* and it will go from good to poor reception, and it is claimed to be omni directional! With the van in our driveway, the Winegard works significantly better when up, than down, aimed the same direction. It would be very interesting, and not too difficult, to have a Sole with on a trip, and just swap wires back and forth on the roof to test them both in the real world.

We don't have any real issue with the Winegard, but it would open up enough space for a third 100 watt solar panel

[markopolo]

Just updating this topic to include some info about Winegard's Razar Air antenna and ideas for making more roof space available for solar panels:

RT.SS did the Winegard batwing to Razar Air switch and has 200 watts of solar on a Roadtrek SS-Agile: http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/vi...hp?f=12&t=3505

Booster did it also and has 300 watts of solar panels on his Roadtrek 190P: http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/vi...hp?f=12&t=3574

The antenna on the Roadtrek Zion in this photo is at the rear of the van so it would allow more roof space to be used for solar panels:



I saw this Roadtrek Ranger with the antenna at the rear of the van:



My old van won't look too out of place if the rear mounted antennas become common place:

[booster]

Originally Posted by markopolo

My old van won't look too out of place if the rear mounted antennas become common place:

Does you antenna lower and rotate? I like the rear idea.

I also like your vent cap, looks more stable and durable than most others I have seen, many had clips on the inside that I could just imagine corroding off and winding up in the tank.

[markopolo]

I hope to make it rotate at some point. I have the wiring already in place for a 3-wire type rotor. The rotors or rotators are kind of expensive so I figured I'd catch one on sale at some point. Just a simple controller would do - no need for it to remember presets.

[avanti]

After our Sensar antenna got nailed in a hailstorm, I replaced it with a Rayzar. Works great. The same rotating mast supports a Ubiquiti Loco M2, which is a powerful, directional WiFi antenna/router:

[stanw909]

I wish David would tell us what antenna his new Advanced rv has. I would like to do away with the outside antenna.

[Mike]

My 2002 Roadtrek 190P has a built into the roof antenna. I had a look at it once during some unrelated maintenance. I still can't figure out where they found a metal coat hanger that large.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by stanw909

I wish David would tell us what antenna his new Advanced rv has. I would like to do away with the outside antenna.

I'm sure David will chime in when he gets a chance. As I recall AVR is just attaching nsomething like the Winegard Rayzar antenna under the AC unit cover on the roof.

[Davydd]

It is just the uncovered indoor Wineguard Razar model attached as I understand to the underneath side of the air conditioning cover. Keep in mind Advanced RV installs custom designed covers on the Coleman Mach 8 so I don't know if they do something special in regard to the mounting.

[wincrasher]

I'm amazed that an antenna would work in that location. It's basically sitting in a magnetic field, as well as the RF distortion/interference from the AC unit.
If their cover/shroud is metal, then that should make matters worse.

Have you noticed any difference in TV reception with the AC running or not?

[mojoman]

I plan on putting up a folding mast for antennas, Wifi, cell,maybe tv. Are there any you cannot mix on the same mast?

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

I'm amazed that an antenna would work in that location. It's basically sitting in a magnetic field, as well as the RF distortion/interference from the AC unit.
If their cover/shroud is metal, then that should make matters worse.

Have you noticed any difference in TV reception with the AC running or not?

You are a better man than me if you can actually watch TV in a B with the air conditioner running or you are a glutton for punishment.

We pulled in 64 digital channels in Phoenix. Anyone have experience in that area? I won't know how effective it is until I try it at home. I think I was pulling in somewhere in the mid to high 20s with our previous B.

[wincrasher]

I really don't understand why the AC in a van is so loud. I have the same unit in my travel trailer and it's about half as noisy. Probably the metal body.

64 channels in any metro area is pretty good, but it would be interesting to know if you got the same with the unit running.

I've been pretty happy with the King antenna that came on my Travato. It's certainly not stealth, but it doesn't stick up as high as the AC unit.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Davydd

You are a better man than me if you can actually watch TV in a B with the air conditioner running or you are a glutton for punishment.

We pulled in 64 digital channels in Phoenix. Anyone have experience in that area? I won't know how effective it is until I try it at home. I think I was pulling in somewhere in the mid to high 20s with our previous B.

Iirc we had about that many channels total back in Jan - Feb along I 10 in the Benson area and at least that many in Yuma. Didnt need AC as it was very cool overnight and during the day.
Tombstone was a let down. I guess I'd heard so much about it I expected more. Another one off the bucket list.