Adventures in Antenna Replacement

[Roger]

As part of my continuing upgrades for my 1999 24RB, I decided to replace the old Delta antenna with a new Winegard RV-3095 using Steve Solberg's excellent posting as a guide. Here is a summary of my experience:

REOMVING OLD ANTENNA

When I went to disconnect the cable it pulled right out of the connector! Apparently it was installed improperly. Also it was not a waterproof connector and water had gotten into the cable. No doubt this contributed to the poor performance of the Delta antenna.

After removing the mounting screws, the antenna pulled right off. None of the goopy sealant that Steve encountered just a bead of RTV around the base.

INSTALLING NEW ANTENNA

To enlarge the existing 1.25 in hole, I chucked two hole saws on the same mandrel. First a 1.5 in and then a 1.25 in. This allowed the 1.25 in to act as a pilot for the larger saw and kept it centered in the hole. It only required a bit of cleanup with a coarse rat tailed file for a perfect fit.

The local hardware store didn't have any butyl caulk so I used a product called "Mortite". It's billed as a non-hardening weatherstrip and caulking cord. I put two runs of this around the base of the new antenna. Following Steves suggestion I bought stainless steel screws instead of using the ones supplied.

As the existing coax cable was bad, and since I didn't want another connector out in the weather, I removed the coax pigtail from the antenna. I cut off one connector on the 20 ft coax supplied with the antenna and ran it through the support tube in place of the original pigtail. I then taped the connectorless end to the old coax so I could use it to pull the new cable into the coach. Well! No matter how hard I pulled I couldn't get the old cable to budge! After exhausting my vast storehouse of words learned during my 25 year military career, I finally decided to remove the refrigerator vent to see if I could somehow snake the new cable through. I found that the coax and several other wires ran through a cable clamp mounted towards the front of the vehicle. I removed the clamp and this allowed the new cable to be pulled through with ease.

After getting everything hooked up to the new wallplate I discovered that the hole was too big for the mounting screws. After some headscratching, I decided to use the old insert from the Braun wallplate. This mounts in the hole properly and provides the correct hole spacing for the new wallplate. There is insufficient space behind the insert for the cables so you must run them down the right side and up through the opening in the bottom. It was a tight fit but I managed to get everything squeezed in!

PROBLEMS/SUGGESTIONS

Due to the antenna base being mounted on the sloping part of the roof, the end of the batwing contacts the roof long before the bumpers on the housing. I now wish I had used the Winegard leveling wedge. Also, if you
intend to use the "Wingman" for more gain, the antenna will not crank down between the 'fridge vent and the AC unit. This will require the fabrication of some sort of support so that the antenna will stop before the Wingman hits something. In this case use of the wedge might not be necessary.

RESULTS

Meager so far. It seems that all but 2 of the stations in the area have gone digital so I'll have to await the arrival of my new TV.