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Old 10-14-2014, 09:21 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 31F
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THOR #631
What to do with old crank up TV antenna?

Members,
I'm wondering what, if anything, people have done with their outmoded crank up TV antennas? We certainly won't be using it, and I'm wondering if we could just take it off the roof and remove the interior crank handle? I realize that we would still have some of the mechanism on the roof and in the ceiling and I don't think we want to remove it or attempt to put a dish on the roof.
Have any of you taken steps to remove your old style crank up antenna? If so, what was your experience?
Thanks in advance for replies.
John
Athens, GA

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Old 10-14-2014, 10:49 PM   #2
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THOR #908
We use ours, don't consider it outdated at all.....
in fact i have a similar unit in my attic at the house. We don't have cable or sattelite, and along with a DVR and streaming form netflix, really don't miss it.

Unless it's causing problems, I would just leave it if I were you..... you never know when you might want to tune in to see some local news or whatever....

But if not, or if it's broken or otherwise casuing problems, then I might consider removing what I could from the roof, but wouldn't worry with removing the whole works unless replacing or repairing the roof anyway.....
But I suppose it would be easy enough to patch the roof with a piece of the appropriate roof material and eternabond or dicor
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Old 10-14-2014, 11:58 PM   #3
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blw2
I hadn't considered that (local news). I guess it could be important in terms of weather and cultural events.
Honestly, I think most of our TV viewing will be through Dish TV, watching drama, documentaries, and sports.
I've also thought of taking the top horizontal arm and using it as a flagpole for the American flag. Maybe I could do both--use it for local TV and hang our flag on it!?!
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Old 10-15-2014, 01:27 AM   #4
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THOR #531
I'd keep it, even if not using it. It might make a difference at resale time if the prospective owners do not subscribe to satellite.
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Old 10-15-2014, 02:27 AM   #5
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You could always replace the old fashion antenna at the top with a new hi-tech HDTV antenna:
KING Digital HDTV Antenna Replacement Head - King Controls OA-8000 - Over-the-Air Antennas - Camping World
or this one:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...-wingman/44021
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Old 10-15-2014, 10:13 AM   #6
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FW28z,
That's a good point, too.
and
JamieGeek,
Your upgrade info is much appreciated. I'll go in that direction, keeping the mast and changing out the antenna. One question: Is the difference between the two antenna links that one needs power and the other doesn't?
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Old 10-15-2014, 10:14 AM   #7
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Thanks to all of you who responded. You've saved me from making a bad mistake!
John
Athens, GA
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:07 AM   #8
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JDHodge: I don't know as I haven't done either of those upgrades myself--however after reading this thread I may consider one.
Looking at the reviews and the product pages it would appear that the Winegard unit simply mounts to the existing head--if it also is a Winegard head--and has slightly better reception.
As is typical: "Your mileage may vary".
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:28 AM   #9
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I upgraded my Winegard with a Jack OA-8000 last summer. I was having trouble with the Winegard - it would work sometimes, and not sometimes. I first tried the "wingman", but that didn't help, so I went to the Jack OA-8000.

The Jack OA-8000 is indeed about 10% better in reception.

I think though that the Winegard antenna might have suffered from a nearby lighting hit or something as I noticed it had been worked on by a dealer or the previous owner (because I saw evidence of a shoddy repair). Well, I am sure it was a dealer as the previous owner was a Doctor, and I don't see a Doctor having the time or inclination to climb up on the roof for an antenna repair.

Make sure though that you buy the OA-8000 and not one of the other models. The OA-8000 is designed to use the Winegard roof mount so you don't have to replace the roof stuff.

Simply remove the coax connection and two pivot pins holding the Winegard antenna, and put the Jack in it's place, reconnect the two pins and coax.

The biggest risk is losing one of the E-Clips.

Both antennas use 12V power up the coax as they both have a 12V amplifier in the antenna. The Jack OA-8000 also works with my Sensar Pro. However, one model of the Winegard Sensar antenna does not have an amp in it (no need for 12V power), so if you are replacing one of those antennas, the Jack OA-8000 does include a power supply.



My Winegard antenna had an amplifier and power supply though, and it was 100% compatible with the Jack.



Here is the Wingman I tried first. If you use one, make sure there is enough "real estate" on your roof to accommodate the addition when the antenna is stowed. The Wingman has no electrical connection, there are just a few "parasitic" elements cut to the higher digital frequencies.

The Wingman made absolutely no difference in my situation (however, this may not be quite a fair assessment as I think my Sensar was not working properly in the first place).



Jack OA-8000 on the Winegard Mast.



Here is the Jack OA-8000 and adapter plate for the Winegard Mast.



And you don't want to lose the E-Clips. This hardware comes off the Winegard antenna (pivot pins and E-Clips) and you re-use it when installing the Jack.

They give you two extra E-clips in the box, and with the two you take off the old system, hopefully you will have enough to finish. Keep the old ones for spares.

The only other thing I had to do was install a 90Deg coax adapter on the Jack antenna as otherwise the coax would be slightly in the way of folding the antenna down.

You get a few extra pieces of hardware and brackets with the OA-8000 so that you could mount it to a mast or on your house. But I didn't need any of that stuff so I pitched it.
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Old 10-15-2014, 12:26 PM   #10
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THOR #121
I also went to the Jack, and retired the wingman. a lot better reception with it. Took longer to climb the ladder than to change over the head. We also have a dish tailgater that the main set uses. Janet is a football junkie and will have one game on Sat. and another over local channels.
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Old 10-15-2014, 01:02 PM   #11
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I'm too lazy to research.....

With the stand alone complete jack system, it's on it's own fixed place and shorter mast so the antenna is usable while driving. I also remember reading a claim about it being more "aerodynamic"

Am I correct to assume that when you put the jack on the existing crank-up mast, it is not useable while under way?
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Old 10-15-2014, 01:25 PM   #12
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THOR #121
Quote:
Originally Posted by blw2 View Post
I'm too lazy to research.....

With the stand alone complete jack system, it's on it's own fixed place and shorter mast so the antenna is usable while driving. I also remember reading a claim about it being more "aerodynamic"

Am I correct to assume that when you put the jack on the existing crank-up mast, it is not useable while under way?
The crank up mast is not designed for underway use age. However they do have a stand a long one also. You can see them on Amazon
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Old 10-15-2014, 01:51 PM   #13
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THOR #531
The Jack antenna version that uses the Winegard mast (OA-8000) is not deployable during movement. However, it will still receive a signal as the antenna can still be powered and receive signals. You may not get optimum reception though as you cannot aim it.

However, the Jack antenna is less directional than the Winegard, which will mitigate having to aim it a bit.

Of course, the "original" short mast version of the Jack (OA-8100 or OA-8200) requires you to remove the existing Winegard mast, which might require sealing holes, etc. both inside and outside.

As well, the inside antenna base (where the rotate knob is located) has a signal strength meter and gain control knob. It looks like it gets its power for these features from the Coax, but that means you may or may not need to wire in their 12V/coax adapter rather than use the Winegard one (or the one in the video switch if that is what you are using for power).

So for a retrofit, I suppose the decision is ease of installation vs. being able to aim the antenna while traveling down the road.

And I suppose, if you were ingenious enough, you could come up with a short mast that didn't need to be lowered for the OA-8000 version.
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