New TV antenna

[Georgia Mike]

I searched for TV antenna and the first two pages were about WiFi and other things. I know they aren’t as popular because we stream everything but I still use the antenna to get local stations like abc, nbc because you can’t stream those. Anyways, I have the batwing crank with a panel type antenna on the end that just doesn’t work to well. I looked at the King Jack antenna but I see in the reviews that it doesn’t pick up VHF only UHF. I realize most HD channels are in the UHF band but some are still in the VHF band so i found that the   https://www.amazon.com/Winegard-RZ-6035-Rayzar-Antenna-Digital/dp/B01B9K5SII/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1   has both bands. Does anyone have this Windgaurd antenna or another that works really well?

[Steve P]

Mike - I don't know the answer on the antenna.  When I searched on "batwing", one hit in particular titled Multi-directional Antenna" from July 2023 seemed to have a lot of useful info.

You may be interested in knowing that, YouTube TV does offer ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.  And you can stream the locals for up to 3 months before you are required to return to your home area (or is it 2 months...?).  The channels will still be Atlanta, but the programming will be network shows/series.  If you want the network stations in the area you are visiting, yes, you will need an antenna.  My batwing is still up top, although 95% of the time it's just a trip hazard.

Happy hunting!

[Scotty Hutto]

I have the King Jack antenna and it works well for us getting HDTV signals.  Can't speak to the Rayzar.

[Doug Hoegh]

Your original Winegard Batwing most likely has just the VHF antenna.  Winegard makes an add on piece for UHF that literally bolts on your existing antenna. With the height and ability to turn your current unit I would just add the piece.

Here’s the link. It’s called the wing

 

wc-790.pdf

[jacwjames]

I added the RV-Wing to my Sensar to pick up digital channels.  Does a pretty good.   I can even pick up some stations when the coach is parked in the metal garage.

I did try a King Jack antenna but it didn't pick up as many channels as the Sensar with RV-Wing when I was parked in the same spot.   So I took it off and put the Sensar back on.  

Agree that it is nice to be able to pick up local channels for news etc.  I do have a ROKU TV and can stream if I have phone reception. 

 

[Rikadoo]

Those antennas look like they should do a great job, im still driving past low hanging trees in my hood. I rebuilt the old bat wing an it still gets that what i need when im out there. I also added wifi, so for my old non smart tvs i bought the fire stick so though im not a big tv watcher its nice to have something when its bad weather. When i first started longer trips i would go to a used cd store for my entertainment to get all the oldies, even though they are less expensive seems now theres not many of the oldies i want to see for the 3rd time🤦‍♂️

[Martinvz]

I do not agree that you cannot get the broadcast channels when streaming.

You can stream you local ABC/NBC/ CBS/etc channels on the Roku device using Live stream, what ever ‘local’ means to you. There are MANY cities and channels to choose from that are streaming Live. The downside is they may have some advertising but mostly ‘we will be right back’ is displayed on the screen.  
In theory, you can get a lot of broadcast channels, including Sky News and others  when using this on your Roku device. 

[cbr046]

Yeah, you can get local weather on your smartie phone (if you have cell reception) but nothing beats a local weather forecast.

- bob

Edited January 6 by cbr046
yeah, I'm a batwing user with the UHF attachment. Just don't forget to lower it before "Drive"

[Georgia Mike]

55 minutes ago, Martinvz said:

You can stream you local ABC/NBC/ CBS/etc channels on the Roku device using Live stream, what ever ‘local’ means to you.

I’m not sure how the Roku device picks up local abc,nbc,cbs or fox stations unless you hook up an antenna to the Roku and then your right back to what I’m asking about a new antenna for the rooftop to pick up the local stations wherever you happen to be camping. 
I did not know the YouTube tv had local channels that you can travel with. I will have to look into that. 
 

 

[Jdw12345]

Roku works through the internet and you download the tv networks app onto your Roku and watch the desired content, at least that’s how it works for me at home.

[Tom Whitlow]

My experience is that you can't get "Live, local network TV" except with an antenna.  The streaming content isn't the same.  Our antenna was destroyed by Hurricane Milton last October.  We couldn't watch any of the normal network New Year countdown programs.  The streaming network content was disappointing.   Since we watch almost no TV, we hadn't even noticed it was gone.  We ended up watching something called Fox Now TV.   No so good.  Our antenna is on a 45-foot tower.  I'm almost 79.  After the first 10 feet, I chickened out.  The antenna guy is bringing his climbing harness and a new antenna next Saturday.

[waterskier_1]

As Doug mentioned, if you add the "wingman" to your bat wrong antenna, you have one of the best antennas.  It is directional, meaning you have to aim it, but that also means you get more signal strength in that direction than any omnidirectional antenna. 

  -Rick N 

[Paul J A]

Just a F Y I.

Convert Batwing antenna to hold a wifi/ cellular antenna.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/my-30km-wifi-solution-19-miles-515316.html

 

 

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[Pduggs]

On 1/6/2025 at 10:22 AM, waterskier_1 said:

As Doug mentioned, if you add the "wingman" to your bat wrong antenna, you have one of the best antennas.  It is directional, meaning you have to aim it, but that also means you get more signal strength in that direction than any omnidirectional antenna. 

  -Rick N 

I love my old winegard batwing antenna. It works extremely well, but I’ve had to fix it a few times. Mine is the Automatic Sensor which raises, lowers, and rotates electrically. It was discontinued by Winegard because it often failed, as mine has now done. it no longer rotates or raises. I’ve tried fixing it several times without success. I finally got tired of going up on the roof to raise and point it manually. So I bought an omnidirectional antenna. Hopefully it’s as good or close. I haven’t yet installed it. 

 

[Steve P]

On 1/5/2025 at 2:10 PM, Steve P said:

Mike - I don't know the answer on the antenna.  When I searched on "batwing", one hit in particular titled Multi-directional Antenna" from July 2023 seemed to have a lot of useful info.

You may be interested in knowing that, YouTube TV does offer ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.  And you can stream the locals for up to 3 months before you are required to return to your home area (or is it 2 months...?).  The channels will still be Atlanta, but the programming will be network shows/series.  If you want the network stations in the area you are visiting, yes, you will need an antenna.  My batwing is still up top, although 95% of the time it's just a trip hazard.

Happy hunting!

Mike / all - I am wrong in the above reply about my description of YouTube TV and "local" major networks.  When I am in FL, I don't get my home channels from GA.  Instead, I get Central FL channels (WESH 2, WFTV 9, FOX 35 and channel 6, perhaps others). 

If you want Atlanta news & weather, most all the stations have their own app, so you could use those on a phone or tablet, albeit only for news and weather.  The shows/programming seem to be only available on an app like YouTube TV, Sling TV, Paramount+ or others, for loading onto a device  (see below).  We are monitoring the freeze/ice potential at home while in FL using the FOX 5 Atlanta app for example.

Note: considerable confusion is created by the use of "Roku" without the needed clarity of whether the reference is to the Roku app or a Roku device (upon which multiple apps can be loaded, including the Roku app).  There are also Google and FireTV devices, among others, upon which apps can be loaded.  

I'm a committed YouTube TV user because of the many benefits, but not a fan of their multiple price increases over recent years.  I'm exploring Sling TV as an alternative.

 

[jacwjames]

I've got 6 ROKU TV's between the house and coach.  ROKU itself as hundreds of preloaded streaming stations so as long as I had a decent phone signal I could watch any of these.  I also have one subscription to NetFlix, I may average watching 2 movies a month, wife uses it more. 

The ROKU TV comes preloaded with a bunch of apps.  Quite a few are free.  

I did go ahead an searched for a local station and loaded it onto the TV, it uses a 3rd party app "Haystack News" , it is free, to access the local station. 

I know when I was on my last trip I could get local news from the larger metropolitan areas that were preloaded on the RUKO but finding one close to where I was at was a pain.   But while I was in CA I did watch a couple stations to get an idea on weather. 

[cbr046]

If we stream on the road our 25Gb? cellular plan runs out of data in minutes.  Even without streaming the mrs' phone runs through it before the weekend is out (she likes instagram).  But, being on the road, we want to know what the local weathercasters are saying vs printed weather channel so "batwing" is the way to go.  The locals usually have their own spin on things. 

If you have Dish you can call them up and "relocate" your location to receive the new local channels.  You can't travel too far from home and still receive home channels.  Your home receiver will also relocate to the new location (not good).

We had Dish and 2 or 3 streaming services.  I wanted to add one more but my accountant said the cost was too high and would have to give up something (not giving up my accountant).  So I dropped Dish for the local cable to save $20.  I now have a much better appreciation for Dish, their programming and user interface.  Obviously Starlink is out (cost, trees).

Haystack News streaming is different than the local channel.  It's more like snippets here and there, with advertising that you can't skip through.  Nope, not for me.   

@Steve P you're not missing much.  Friday morning in Flowery Branch, it's 31F with a light dusting and the news media is spread throughout the region like it's snowmagedon.  Forecast is 30F every hour until 1am.  It is snowing tho . . . . maybe I'll take the motorhome out and practice my donuts in the school parking lot. 

@Pduggs let us know what you think of the omni vs batwing next time you're out. 

- bob

 

[Georgia Mike]

6 hours ago, cbr046 said:

Friday morning in Flowery Branch

That’s funny, I bought my first Motorhome from a guy in Flowery Branch. It’s about 1 1/2 from my house. 
So I think I’m going to go with the winegaurd antenna that looks like the King antenna. I had a Batwing with the added little antenna on a travel trailer and it did work very well but I’m trying to get rid of the things to do when leaving the campground list and that’s one more thing to do. 
Btw, I have the Batwing mast but not the antenna as you can see in the picture.
 

Edited January 10 by Georgia Mike

[Bruce Hull]

On 1/5/2025 at 2:35 PM, Scotty Hutto said:

I have the King Jack antenna and it works well for us getting HDTV signals.  Can't speak to the Rayzar.

I put a king jack on mine and it was worse than the bat wing!!  Maybe I need to replace the wire???  Just not sure what the problem is?

[jacwjames]

15 minutes ago, Bruce Hull said:

I put a king jack on mine and it was worse than the bat wing!!  Maybe I need to replace the wire???  Just not sure what the problem is?

I did the same thing.  King Jack got less channels then the Batwing so I switched it back. 

[Dave Pumphrey]

On 1/9/2025 at 11:37 AM, Pduggs said:

I love my old winegard batwing antenna. It works extremely well, but I’ve had to fix it a few times. Mine is the Automatic Sensor which raises, lowers, and rotates electrically. It was discontinued by Winegard because it often failed, as mine has now done. it no longer rotates or raises. I’ve tried fixing it several times without success. I finally got tired of going up on the roof to raise and point it manually. So I bought an omnidirectional antenna. Hopefully it’s as good or close. I haven’t yet installed it. 

 

I also have the original electrically operated batwing on our 2000 Dynasty, I believe it is the sensor. It doesn't move electrically, & was tied down by previous owner.

When we got the coach, there was an omni antenna new in the box in the closet, I think it is a Winegard. There was also just the wires on the roof from an old Satellite dish, which had been removed. I pulled the wires out, exept for the coax, & mounted the new antenna in that location, covering the hole. I planned on attempting to repair the sensor, as it would be better for areas not close to towers. I have not gotten back to this project, but been thinking if it is a broken gear, possibly someone with a 3D printer could make one. The omni works ok if stations are not very far away, but I believe the directional could do better when stations are further away.

This project fell to the bottom of the list when we started streaming, using a Firestick, via Starlink, to connect to my Tablo over the air DVR at home, connected to the antenna in our attic. We can watch our local home channels & recorded shows anywhere.

[cbr046]

11 minutes ago, Dave Pumphrey said:

I also have the original electrically operated batwing . . . . . been thinking if it is a broken gear, possibly someone with a 3D printer could make one.

A quick Google yields many hits, but most gears are for the crank-up type. Some vendors offer parts for a variety of models.  Knowing your electrically operated Wineguard model # would be very helpful. 

- bob

[Georgia Mike]

37 minutes ago, Dave Pumphrey said:

connect to my Tablo over the air DVR at home

Dave, this sounds like it’s what im looking for. So you hook this Tablo up at your home to your OTA antenna and record your shows then watch it anywhere while your traveling as long as you have internet?

[Dave Pumphrey]

33 minutes ago, Georgia Mike said:

Dave, this sounds like it’s what im looking for. So you hook this Tablo up at your home to your OTA antenna and record your shows then watch it anywhere while your traveling as long as you have internet?

Yes, but be aware the newest Tablo, Gen 4, does not support remote viewing. This is the main reson I got the Tablo in the first place, Although the ability to record is nice as well. I have the older one, now called Legacy. Although discontinued, you might find a used or refurb one. When Scripts bought tablo, they apparently did this to try to push people to streaming their content, as the new ones also receive streaming channels.

I can even watch on my phone.

[Georgia Mike]

Thanks for the info. I was just looking at reviews and found as you said you can’t view it remotely. I have also read that you can’t get the legacy app for the one you have and the new app doesn’t support remote viewing so it’s basically useless for what I want. I’m going to look for another alternative