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There are a few but why?  The batwing, with the Wingman addition is one of the best available.

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Mark & Dale
Joey - 2016 Bounder 33C Tige - 2006 40' Travel Supreme
Sparky III - 2021 Mustang Mach-e, off the the Road since 2019
Useful HDT Truck, Trailer, and Full-timing Info at
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24 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

Is there an antenna that could substitute s Batwing? Would like to remove it. 

I had the older style batwing, without the Wingman.  I swapped it out for the King Jack, smaller and sleeker.  I found that UHF stations came in a bit better.  However, the VHF stations do not work near as well.  The big, wide wings on a batwing are especially good at receiving VHF.

Conclusion:  add a Wingman to your older style batwing for best reception.  Replace the batwing with a King Jack for a sleeker and smaller antenna with less performance.

Everybody wanna hear the truth, but everybody tell a lie.  Everybody wanna go to Heaven, but nobody want to die.  Albert King

 

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The bottom line is that there are no roof mounted OTA antennas that will give equal or better performance than a Wingman equipped batwing. King makes a line of "Jack" directional and "Omni" omnidirectional roof mounted OTA antennas that are smaller and sleeker looking than the batwing, but do not offer the same level of performance, particularly on the low and high VHF channels, as the batwing. Those VHF channels are becoming more important now, as more stations are moving there from UHF due to the current UHF channel repack that's eliminating some high end UHF channels for TV service.

Does the batwing really shade enough of your solar panels to make a significant difference in performance?

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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Had a Braun electric antenna on my coach and a tree branch removed it for me. My ceiling has fancy stuff on it, so could not drill a hole for the Jack or Winegard rotating antennas.So I tried this one https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/entertainment-comfort-camping/tv-antennas-tv-satellites-electronics/antennas/rayzar-auto-over-air-antenna_22-0996?jt=1&jap=1o2&js=1&jsid=36859&jcpid=8a8ae4cd48005458014820e2e0170ec4&jkId=gcp:se_36859:pp_378367320183:ag_15211804824:cp_194253624:n_g:d_c:cr_52737673584&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvezZBRDkARIsADKQyPmmFRnfkWAlhTkEEXQQEzPYwsrF9Za8TnFOD8nlpxBncMIkjry-F6kaAlHYEALw_wcB Did not expect much, but was pleasantly surprised that it did pick up almost as many channels as my old directional UHF/VHF antennas. Most of the stations I get are about 35 miles away. Only need one wire [coax] from control panel inside.

 

Foretravel 40ft tag 500hp Cummins ISM  1455 watts on the roof, 600 a/h's lithium in the basement.

 

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Why not just crank it half way down ? You'll likely get very close to the same amount of channels and only have early or late sun to worry about any shade . 

Maybe you're over thinking ? Are you gonna spend a dollar to save a nickle ?

Goes around , comes around .

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On 7/3/2018 at 12:16 PM, GlennWest said:

I may be over thinking it. Plan is, since roof acs going away, lots of room for solar. That will only item to shade.

 

I would think the batwing would cause little to no shade on a panel so the loss would be negligible. 

2013 Newmar Dutchstar 4318

2019 F150 KR 4X4 

BlueOx 10K Tow Bar

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  • 4 weeks later...

The Winegard Sensar ( batwing) antenna with the Wingman ad-on is still one of the best for an RV.  It is one of the few that elevates and height is a major factor in reception distance.

The Wingman is needed to enhance UHF reception which most TV transmission has been moved to.

There is nothing that makes a antenna special for HDTV, the frequencies are the same.

 

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Mark & Dale
Joey - 2016 Bounder 33C Tige - 2006 40' Travel Supreme
Sparky III - 2021 Mustang Mach-e, off the the Road since 2019
Useful HDT Truck, Trailer, and Full-timing Info at
www.dmbruss.com

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3 hours ago, Poetaso said:

Hdtv antenna will do waay better than the batwing one. Check the article on the list of them the market provides And find a good one https://prizedreviews.com/best-outdoor-tv-antenna-for-hdtv/ . Wish you luck. 

There is no such thing as an Hdtv antenna.  TV antennas are uhf/vhf and have been for 60 years or more.  Most TV stations now broadcast on uhf, but some still broadcast on vhf, so you need both as you travel around the country.  There is none better than the batwing for rv'ing.

Everybody wanna hear the truth, but everybody tell a lie.  Everybody wanna go to Heaven, but nobody want to die.  Albert King

 

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We had the king jack and it was prone to catching tree branches. It was damaged and didn’t do a very good job of picking up stations even when new. I installed the razor air although I had to buy the one with the crank up assembly. When we use it, I am very happy with the signals it receives. It came with an amplifier that works great. You only need to install the new head and amplofier. https://www.rvrepairclub.com/video/rayzar-air-great-upgrade-to-your-standard-rv-antenna-007781/

Ron C.

2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3

2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime

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According to Winegard, the Rayzar has poor high VHF (7-13) reception, and no low VHF (2-6) reception unless the tower is next door. The only good full spectrum RV OTA antennas are the Sensar III with an add-on Wingman or the Sensar IV with an integral Wingman. Both also have built-in amplifiers. Adding a SensarPro signal finder/in-line amplifier power injector replacement to either one boosts their performance even more.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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I just purchased an ANTOP UFO  AT415B antenna for a fixed location. It sure beats anything I have ever tried and I hadn't taken it out side yet. Sure puts my Winegard Razor to shame.  They claim some models are RV rated but I wouldn't want to add any more height to my already tall RV.  The 414 series antenna may be the best for RV Mounting. They have better antennas but a rotor would be required.

Clay

Clay & Marcie Too old to play in the snow

Diesel pusher and previously 2 FW and small Class C

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Clay, good luck with the antenna.  I am not a fan of any omnidirectional antenna.  They perform equally bad in all directions.

Ken

Amateur radio operator, 2023 Cougar 22MLS, 2022 F150 Lariat 4x4 Off Road, Sport trim <br />Travel with 1 miniature schnauzer, 1 standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot

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The ANTOP UFO antenna is yet another example with poor to non-existent lo-VHF  channel reception. Under the current in progress FCC mandated channel repack, there are 17 stations moving down to join the existing 43 lo-VHF channels, including stations in Boston, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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9 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

The ANTOP UFO antenna is yet another example with poor to non-existent lo-VHF  channel reception. Under the current in progress FCC mandated channel repack, there are 17 stations moving down to join the existing 43 lo-VHF channels, including stations in Boston, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh.

http://dennysantennaservice.com/better-vhf-tv-reception-.html

Agree, you just need the longer array for low VHF signals.

Foretravel 40ft tag 500hp Cummins ISM  1455 watts on the roof, 600 a/h's lithium in the basement.

 

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8 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

 Under the current in progress FCC mandated channel repack, there are 17 stations moving down to join the existing 43 lo-VHF channels,

As far as I know I''m not impacted by the 17 channel move but I haven't seem the list or have I researched the 600 MHz spectrum sold last year.  My present closest VHF channel to the fixed location I referred to would require a rotor and of no interest. Another seldom viewed channel is above 36 but wouldn't care if I lost it.. One fringe channel that was maybe 49 relocated a couple months but still in the UHF band. Channel 13 was picked by the ANTOP antenna when I did the little test a couple days ago. And last comment , the ANTOP antenna I have yet to run the cable, is primarily a local channel backup in event of satellite failure. 

Do you have a list of the channels that is converting back to VHF. My interest primarily is west of the Mississippi River.

Thanks Clay

 

Clay & Marcie Too old to play in the snow

Diesel pusher and previously 2 FW and small Class C

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I think most of us here are active/mobile RV'ers that visit various parts of the country at times, so having the full TV spectrum capability is likely more of interest than it would be to a fixed location/seasonal RV'er.

Here's the most complete listing I'm aware of:

https://www.rabbitears.info/repackchannels.php

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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Note that while the list shows 152 stations going off the air, that's a bit misleading. While those stations are giving up their licenses, many will actually remain on the air as a sub-channel under another licensee.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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Since the VHF band was taken for first responder use mainly because the VHF band has a longer range, I don't think there is much room for more VHF stations.  They may be renumbering stations with the remap function.  Most of the "VHF" band channels today are actually UHF remapped.  I guess stations like low numbers for promotion.

This was debated a lot back in the Digital TV transition.  Digital TV is not necessary HDTV but it is how all TV in the US is transmitted.  At the time, over 50% of US households received their TV via cable or satellite.  

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Mark & Dale
Joey - 2016 Bounder 33C Tige - 2006 40' Travel Supreme
Sparky III - 2021 Mustang Mach-e, off the the Road since 2019
Useful HDT Truck, Trailer, and Full-timing Info at
www.dmbruss.com

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