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Old 05-29-2015, 04:44 PM   #1
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TV Antenna

Somewhat new to the TT thing. Only had a pop-up before with no real accessories. So my question is, the crank up tv antenna that is on the roof of the TT, is it even usable now that everything switched to digital format? I have not tried it yet as we don't have a tv for our TT but were thinking of getting one. Any info on how this system works would be nice.

Thanks and happy camping.
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Old 05-29-2015, 04:52 PM   #2
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Yes it works for digital signals also..... just make sure you turn on your pre-amp (little push button on your antenna connection plate inside)
Also, you can rotate your antenna by pulling down on the outer ring at the hand crank and turn the ring...... Just remember to re-align the two arrows on the ring before cranking your antenna back down.
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Old 05-29-2015, 05:04 PM   #3
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Something to add to Thom's advice...

You may have a signal strength option on the channel set up menu for the TV.

After I run the channel search, I'll pull up the signal strength indicator and use it to rotate the antenna for the best picture.

Even with a satellite antenna, because my Direct TV network channels are on the east coast feed, I rely on the over the air antenna to pick up regional sports programs.
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Old 05-29-2015, 05:17 PM   #4
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Many people don't realize that the analog-to-digital switchover that was such a ballyhoo a decade back is a good thing. Now, transmissions and new TVs are all digital. You don't have to worry about VHF / UHF. A transmitter, say once on channel 10, is now able to use that frequency space, and often does, to send out 10.1 (primary channel, in HD) and also 10.2, 10.3, etc. Usually 3 or 4 channels per frequency. This is where they put the oldies, the reruns, some movies, and the shopping channels. Here in the middle of SC, in a rural setting, we receive 29 channels OTA (over the air).
Go out and buy a little 12V or 120VAC TV and hook it up. You'll be surprised. It was our camper that made us decide to cut the cable at home!
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Old 05-29-2015, 05:58 PM   #5
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We cannot get one of our favorite channels on cable TV at home or satellite TV when on the road.

The only time we can enjoy the Create Channel is over the air in the trailer...

Create TV: Public Television's top shows in Cooking, Travel, Home Improvement, Gardening and Arts & Crafts

If it wasn't for college football season, I could probably get by OTA.
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Old 05-29-2015, 06:07 PM   #6
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Mike, here's what you do. Buy this for your home, and hook up one TV to it. Turn in that cable box. Keep the cable if you wish for any other TV's. I may someday go back to part-cable, I'd like to have HBO and some other channels. But for right now, the only thing I'm paying for is internet, using my own modem. Amazon.com: RCA ANT800F Flat Digital Outdoor Amplified Antenna: Electronics
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Old 05-30-2015, 12:58 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MartyG View Post
Mike, here's what you do. Buy this for your home, and hook up one TV to it. Turn in that cable box. Keep the cable if you wish for any other TV's. I may someday go back to part-cable, I'd like to have HBO and some other channels. But for right now, the only thing I'm paying for is internet, using my own modem. Amazon.com: RCA ANT800F Flat Digital Outdoor Amplified Antenna: Electronics
When cable companies stopped carrying FOX network a couple years ago I built an antenna out of coat hangers and a impedance matching transformer.
http://www.combobulate.com/images/antennapole-sm.jpg

Don't laugh. It picked up a bunch of over-the-air (OTA) channels including FOX and it was free!

Point is you can receive radio frequency over *any* antenna. That said, some antennas work better than others because of the frequencies in use.

All television broadcasts, digital and analog, are in the VHF and UHF radio frequency bands. Over 90% of the HDTV broadcasts are in the UHF, and less than 10% are in the VHF band. That means you need an antenna with good UHF/VHF but favoring UHF bandwidth unlike older antennas that favored VHF. I'm thinking about the one my mom still has on her roof.

What makes a signal to be HD is its content meaning the way a signal is modulated, and not the radio carrier frequency it's transmitted on. It's the job of an HDTV tuner and HD television set to demodulate those signals and to present the actual content on the screen.

Some might disagree with me on this but I've always favored directional TV antennas over omnidirectional because they're better at rejecting signals received from multiple paths. That's what causes "ghosting".

On the other hand the omnidirectional antennas work pretty well even if you can't pull in channels from 100 miles away right? And you don't have to turn them when you change channels.

You have to do what's easiest and most cost effective for you.

Ken

Hey! Here's a thought... Remember when you had to get up (no remotes!) and turn the vertical roll control on your set to stop the rolling pic?
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Old 05-30-2015, 01:10 AM   #8
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I forgot to mention this site: AntennaWeb - Home Put in your address, and it will tell you what stations you can receive. Color-coded for strength. If all your stations are from one direction, a regular antenna, pointed in that direction, works fine. If you are trying to receive from two or more different cardinal directions, consider an Omni, or a rotor device, or two different antennas multiplexed together. Yes, Ken, there was the Vertical Hold, and also, sometimes, a Horizontal Hold! I was a TV tech back in that day, part-time while still in the AF. Did it on weekends.
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