JACK antenna

dsfriday · Post by **dsfriday** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:00 am

Sam, Kim told me they were using the stationary pedestal mount and not the stalk mount used with the old style antenna. I'm assuming they are mounting on the flat pwrt of the roof but the exact location, I'm unsure.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:53 am

dsfriday, lots of factors involved for TV antennas, I have the same problem as you with our Winegard Sensar III, I do NOT have the UHF adapter to get a better signal (no room) but you need to get your antenna as high as possible on the coach. I would like to think the "Jack" by King Controls would make a difference, I guess time will tell. Here's some info copy and pasted out of the URL's I've listed.

2. Higher is better. The higher an antenna is, the more direct signal it can receive from the TV transmitter, while at the same time reducing the reception of interfering signals from other household electronic/electrical appliances and reflected ghost-causing signals from other nearby structures. The higher the better, but any antenna should be at least four feet above the structure to which it is mounted, and ideally above the roofline.
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/info.aspx? ... ef28770259
The address/zip info tells you what you should be able to see in the area you are traveling in: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

Anyway as more people install the "Jack" the more feedback we'll get to make an intelligent choice.
Steve

dsfriday · Post by **dsfriday** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:07 am

Thanks Steve for info. In comparison to others, it seems the OEM stalk for the old antenna is shorter. Looking around at other RV's in camp, their antenna seem to stand noticeably higher than on our BFT. However, in talking with Kim, they are now mounting the Jack on their 2012's using the supplied pedestal, which doesn't look that high and he was raving about the improved reception. Hoping I can duplicate with a stalk mount and the issue of level doesn't cause much of a problem.

whemme · Post by **whemme** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 11:50 am

Back in 2008 while parked in the Humboldt County fairgrounds during the Born Free factory Homecoming that year, I happened to be parked next to a club member who had just purchased a new coach that was equipped with the Winegard Sensor III TV antenna whereas mine (a 2002 BF 26' RSB) was equipped with the older Delta TV antenna.

The only TV station that I could receive was the Iowa Public Broadcasting station from a antenna tower located about 20 miles away. In comparison, his coach with the Sensor III was receiving many more TV stations and I was amazed at the difference. I had the factory install a Sensor III antenna at my next opportunity and have been well satisfied. When the Wingman adapter became available (only $25), I installed that too as it improves reception for TV signals in the upper UHF frequency bands.

Now the square aluminum stalks on the Sensor III used by Born Free are the shorter ones that are approximately 18" long. Some may have noticed that Sensor III antennas on other brand coaches seem to be higher above the coach roof and that is because they they have the longer 30" stalks. As Steve says, higher is always better but Born Free uses the 18" high version because it fits and lays down in the stowed position on Born Free roofs better. My Wingman adapter fits and stows on my coach with no problems.

I have no experience with the new Jack TV antenna so can't comment on its improved reception over the Sensor III. However like Steve says there is no such thing as a 'digital' TV antenna being better than an 'analog' TV antenna. All TV antennas receive the newer 'digital' TV programming just as well as the older 'analog' TV programming for any given transmisssion frequency. Companies that are advertising their TV antennas being necessary for proper digital TV reception are scamming the public - false advertising is what it amounts to.

lafons · Post by **lafons** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 11:56 am

Does anyone have a update after installing a jack on a bornfree ?

Nancy · Post by **Nancy** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:55 pm

Had it done at camping world and it is AWESOME!

whemme · Post by **whemme** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:34 pm

Nancy,

Which TV antenna did the JACK antenna replace? The Delta antenna or the Wingard 'Batwing' Sensor antenna?

Nancy · Post by **Nancy** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:39 am

I have no clue....whatever was the original antenna when we bought the BF....I think it is the batwing.

lafons · Post by **lafons** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:17 am

Nancy,

I just order one to install my self . Is there any way I could get some pictures of yours mounted on the roof?
I am most interested in where they mounted it and how they leveled it if they did. Is it mounted on the inclined slop where the old one was mounted?
I'm excited to here you like it.

lafons · Post by **lafons** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 1:48 pm

Being level as I understood it from KING personal is important because if it is not then half the time in the 360 rotation it will be pointing downward and not at the sky. On our born free coaches I think that means that when it is pointed toward the rear then there would be a very weak spot. This would be true for 180 dregrees . I hope I have explained this correctly. I also am looking at replacing the delta rabbit ears on my 2001 rsb. It would be much easier if it did not matter if it is level.

Nancy · Post by **Nancy** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:59 pm

See photos below

lafons · Post by **lafons** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 9:29 am

Nancy thanks fo the great pictures. They are exactly what I needed to see. It looks like they mounted it on the sloped part of the roof and did not level it and you said it worked awesome . I will install one this w/e on my coach the same way as yours. I was not looking forward to making a special plate to level it on the roof and was hoping to get away with mounting it as your is. I received mine yesterday and am looking forward to installing it this w/e if weather allows. Thanks again.

P.s. your roof looks great, makes me think I need to clean and wax mine while I'm up there.

Nancy · Post by **Nancy** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:47 am

You are more than welcome Steve. The tech guy at CW was really great explaining everything to us too. Make sure that when you are done using it and before you take off down the road that the antenna is pointing forward. It doesn't tell you anything about that in the directions but he said it make a HORRIBLE noise going down the road from the wind hitting it the wrong way. There is actually an arrow to face the BACK of the coach on the unit that is inside where you tweak your signal.

I hope that makes sense.

tomzleapin · Post by **tomzleapin** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:10 pm

I am presently in south Florida traveling with a couple who have the Jack antenna installed on their RV. I swapped out my Winegard Sensar batwing which has the Wingman attachment with their Jack and can confirm that it does indeed perform better. They consistently get more channels with the Jack than I do with my batwing. I will be purchasing one when I return home.

lafons · Post by **lafons** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:03 am

FYI.. Just finished installing the complete Jack antenna on my 2001rsb. I like it a lot . I installed it on the slope in the same hole as the delta. The hole had to be enlarged, I chose to drill it out to a 2 1/8 hole. The roof is only 1" thick so it was close but worked well. The instruction say it works on roofs thicker than this but not this thin.It took about 4 hours total, this would be cut in half if you had done it before but I spent a lot of tme trying to be sure and not mess up anything. I especially like the sure lock feature on the jack. Makes finding the best reception easy before doing a channel search. I'd post pictures if I knew how but it looks just like the ones Nancy posted earlier anyway.

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