burlmart wrote: Anyone here know how the Wingman can deliver its received signals to the antenna mast and amplifier,...
Without going into a lot of complex antenna theory, it doesn't actually receive signals, it directs them toward the main active antenna. In the process it make the antenna receive from a narrower direction than if the directors were not there.
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tbolt2000 wrote: I dont know if this would help. But this is a website that you punch in the zip code and it will show you where all the digital tranmitters for that zip code.
At my S&B which is about half-way between Los Angeles and San Diego,
I use the C2-MBS antenna shown at the bottom of the linked page (after you enter your zip code).
Saw it at Costco - figured I'd give it a try - although I didn't have high expectations.
Very pleasantly surprised!
*Excellent* reception (incl stations with HD) - did nothing special regarding alignment. It's about 15' above ground level.
IMO - as a step up from the Wingman, this or similar antenna could be easily clamped on/off the top of an RV roof ladder - and aligned if necessary.
For me (entering zip code) shows 26 channels within a 60 mile range - which is probably the number I receive.
(Never counted 'em, LOL!).
Went to RV at about 6:30 AM and without raising the antenna (it is under a metal roof as seen in sig pic below), got the 2 analogs and 14 digital (picked up one and dropped 2 from yesterday at 2 PM).
Pretty sure I've tried this before w/ no Wingman with far fewer stations coming in. It clearly pulls in stations better.
I hope it proves capable of pulling in a BR station when we are in a small town about 60 miles north in MS.
I did some reading and underatand Wingman is a Yagi-Uda antenna that is highly directional. That said, it will sure be good to have a TV with ADD Channels feature like we discussed earlier, so at the c.g. you can use multiple antenna positions to scan in more stations. And then use OP idea of building a local area station library.
Yesterday, we had pulled it out in the open where it had a clear shot facing west - that is where I did the before and after Wingman test. We are 12 miles east of the BR towers, and 60 mi east of Lafayette.
Might have been more precise had it been done at night, I suppose. The test scans were more than an hour apart in the middle of the afternoon. (This is no 5 min job until you figure how to line up the four holes and get the 1st rivet on with only your two hands, a wobbly Winegard antenna mast, standing atop a 9' ladder, with the sun glaring and reflectimng off the white plastic into my retinitis pigmentosa eyes - but I got it!)
MNtundraRet wrote: It is not possible to do worse with the Wingman.
Unless, like you said, the antenna was not optimally aimed. Since the Wingman focuses the beam tighter, it makes it pick up properly aimed signals better, but signals that are off to the side won't be picked up as well. If the antenna was pointed off-axis, it might have had fair reception, which could get worse when the beam is narrowed by the Wingman.
burlmart: picture a flashlight beam, it's much like the antenna reception beam but in reverse. Shine the beam on the wall and look at the spot: it's brightest in the center, and gets dimmer as you get to the edge. Shine the light so the side of the spot is illuminating a target. Now imagine that the flashlight beam gets narrower so that the spot gets brighter but also smaller (or if you have a MagLight flashlight, turn the reflector so the spot gets smaller.) That target that used to be on the dim edge of the spot is now in darkness. The antenna works just the same -- as the beam gets narrower, it can pick up more stations that are in the center of the beam, but may lose stations that are off to the edge of the beam.
selectsplat wrote: This would be idea. Especially if I can take the output for the first booster, and route that into the second booster, then out from that to each of the TVs.
You should be able to chain two boosters. Just be aware that it's possible to boost the signal too much and overload the tuner. That can make the signal quality poorer just like turning up the volume too much and just getting distortion. Also, if it's a very poor signal to begin with, adding a booster may just boost the noise as much as it boosts the signal, and you'll still end up with a poor quality signal. Good reception is not just signal strength, it's a combination of signal strength and signal quality. Boosters can often help, but they are not always the answer.
Also, the booster that is in the batwing antenna needs power. This power is often injected by the wall plate that has the power switch on it, but it can also be by an external switch box (which will also have a booster power switch.) In either case, any additional splitters, boosters, switches, etc, should not be placed between the antenna and the power source (wall plate or switch box.) It should be placed after the power source, and preferably before any additional switches or splitters. (If boosting and splitting, boost first, then split so that you get the best quality signal. If you split first then boost, you increase the chance of boosting the noise as well as the signal.)
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I have noted on some other recent posts the fact that the King Jack antenna does rotate 360 degrees versus known problem of Wingman of being stuck with direction needed not being possible due to direction parked on a site. Using the Wingman attachment makes the range to rotate to somewhat larger since the antenna is even more directional.
Has anyone out here yet tried adding a second inline amplifier to the Kingman antenna yet? Can you get close to my 105 mile diameter range yet?
I use my Garman E-Map measuring tool to check out distances from my current location to cities/towns where channels are found.
It would be nice to not have to reverse the way parked to allow my antenna to point exactly at wanted transmitter.
* This post was
edited 05/08/12 10:18am by MNtundraRet *
Just a further thought on this topic. Since King created the Jack Antenna as competition or replacement for the Winegard antenna. Why did they not create a base for their antenna with a base and bolt-holes to fit existing cut-out for the Winegard?
* This post was
edited 05/08/12 10:17am by MNtundraRet *
burlmart: picture a flashlight beam, it's much like the antenna reception beam but in reverse. Shine the beam on the wall and look at the spot: it's brightest in the center, and gets dimmer as you get to the edge. Shine the light so the side of the spot is illuminating a target. Now imagine that the flashlight beam gets narrower so that the spot gets brighter but also smaller (or if you have a MagLight flashlight, turn the reflector so the spot gets smaller.) That target that used to be on the dim edge of the spot is now in darkness. The antenna works just the same -- as the beam gets narrower, it can pick up more stations that are in the center of the beam, but may lose stations that are off to the edge of the beam.
We just got back from camping in some of the boonies in Minnesota. Last week we were in Zippel Bay State Park on the south shore of Lake of the Woods on the Minnesota Canadian border.
I set up my trusty modified antenna system and had a slighty snowy colored analog channel with good sound from Winnipeg Canada. This is about 220 miles as a straight line. I also got digital HD stations up to 140 miles away.
It most likely helped to have long stretches over water and Indian reservations with little electronic noise in between.
I am learning to understand my Insignia HD TV better. When in "Auto" ot "Add" search it will show each channel as "found" or not "not found". Not all stations are added to the count. But if I write the number down when "found" such as channel 9, I can go back after the scan and enter channel "9.1" and then turn on the "signal meter" on TV menu. There are many stations seen with a signal that don't register in the channel list.
I now rotate the antenna slighly to watch for a rise on the meter. If I can get the signal to "high red range" around "30" on 0 to 100 scale, I get the signal to watch the station. I do this after sun set when there is less interference on weak signals. These stations are in the 100 to 150 mile range and can be picked up after dark in low populated areas between station and my location.
If you run the "add search" at this point the signal may be picked up and added to the station count in the TV's memory. The link between channel's VC (virtual channel) and RF (physical RF channel) may already be there since any channel number keyed in that does not exist will always show zero on 0 to 100 signal scale.
I am still waiting to hear from anyone who has added a second amplifier to the "Jack" antenna. What is your current range?
* This post was
edited 06/19/12 06:03am by MNtundraRet *
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