Because the plastic crank-up mechanism on our Winegard antenna that came with the rig broke, we decided to get a new, updated antenna.  The Camping World tech talked us into the JACK antenna which looked like a good idea at the time.

I didn't like that it didn't stow close to the roof like the crank-down antenna, but it was no higher than our air conditioner, so we thought it would be fine.  What we really liked about it was the indoor signal meter with blue LED lights that indicated strength of signal as the antenna was turned.  That's a nice feature.

However, though it doesn't stick up too high, it's just not of very strong construction so it doesn't take much to break it.  David, at RVRoof.com, installs them when his customers want them, and he says he broke one just getting it out of the box.  We go in places where we sometimes have tree branches that barely clear our roof (as noted by the several rubber roof patches we had before our new roof), so the JACK antenna probably wasn't a good choice for us.

It was working fine, but that didn't make much difference when it no longer worked and we got up on the roof to find it was gone.    Now, it is possible that it wasn't installed properly.  David says that sometimes the installers don't test the turning aspect, and we didn't test it before we left the Camping World either.  It just worked in the position it was in, so it wasn't until we got to our next location that we tested the turning.  It was really tight and we had to put a little more muscle in it from the inside than we thought we should.  I felt it "break" loose and then it seemed to work like it was supposed to, but it is possible that part of the plastic broke when I did that making it weaker as we traveled.

At any rate, we wouldn't put another one on.  But I'm sure there are several out there that have had no problems.  Hope that helps a little.

igotjam wrote:

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I have been contemplating installing the jack antenna you had, but am hesitating based upon your recent journal entry.   In my prior investigations I had been advised of potential hail damage but nothing else.  The current crank up whips around a lot due to high winds so I was hoping to fix that problem with the jack.  I would be interested in your (and others) thoughts on changing to the jack or leaving my crank up in place.

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Due to mechanical issues as proven by Howard’s experience, and technical issues, I don’t recommend the “Jack.”  A “crank up” with the inexpensive Wingman UHF add on installed is still the best antenna for digital television.  If you have a new crank up antenna installed it should be the one with a small pre-amplifier as the new Winegard has available.

http://www.winegard.com/sensar/index.php

They haven’t changed the laws of physics and these “old” antennas with the little UHF add-ons still are the best overall for a bunch of technical reasons.

http://www.winegard.com/wingman/index.php

I suspect the pre-amp is making the difference in lindy’s case as his older batwing probably didn’t have this.

Winegard makes a product that works with the sensar antenna, or the old older ones, which has a pre-amp and gives you signal strength, etc.  $49 / $69 on the website.

http://www.winegard.com/sensar/sensar-pro.php

I’ve been dealing with over-the-air TV reception in RV’s and professionally for a long time so that’s the basis for my view.

igotjam wrote:

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Thanx for your responses. Lots to think about...I'm still not sure but leaning toward keeping the crank up I have. We do not have satellite and rarely cable so its up all the time. The howling wind was our basic concern. Pretty careful about trees but the breakable plastic is a concern (even more so in freezing temps, which we often see).

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You can add the little UHF antenna and the signal strength meter / pre-amp to the old crank up relatively inexpensively.  So you might want to consider those upgrades for relatively modest dollars.  They are do it yourself in most cases.

Also, make sure the coax connection to your antenna on the roof is not corroded, etc.  The center conductor should be bright and shiny.  It takes very little to significantly attenuate a TV signal, or any signal for that matter.

Good luck.

WestWardHo wrote:

 Good to know others have had issues with it breaking easily, though. We just had the Winegard Traveler DTV automatic installed and, oh my gosh, we love it. Anyone looking for a DTV HD dish, tripod and square base?

Sherry

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Sherry:

You may want to hold onto that tripod and portable antenna for those times of travel when trees or dirt (mountains) get in the way and you just can’t see the satellites from the roof top.  As Jack would say, “Ask me how I know this.”

Bill