96 Bounder - straight from the "horse's mouth - a little different answer but still what you said - see answer from "Kathy" at Winegard below:
The white winged Batwing antenna has a distance of up to 55 miles, but not 75-100 miles. The white winged Batwing does have better reception than the metal winged Batwing though. You will have better reception by replacing it, but your distance is only 55 miles.
Thank you for your e-mail
Kathy
Les
2000 Ford F-250SD, XLT, 4X4 Off Road, SuperCab
w/ 6.8L (415 C.I.) V-10/3:73LS/4R100
Banks Power Pack w/Trans Command & OttoMind
2006 Nomad 3150 Double Slide (Bunkhouse)
Hensley Arrow
Jordan Ultima 2020
Well, in response to all the answers here, my "silver bat wing" does work, I can see that by turning the amp off and on, but if the white one works that much better, I'll probably replace it... What with all the digital channels out there now and a Hi Def TV in my TT it will probably be worth the 50 bucks or so...
Eric, did you retain the same wallplate/amplifier when you switched out the head???
I solved the whole problem with mine. I had a '76 TT with the old silver spider, upgraded to a '06 5er that already had the new white batwing antenna. LOL. Just had to remember which connection to connect to behind the tele and push the button.
See 'ya on top
Keith
I replaced my antenna probably 8 years ago or so......I was camping with a friend that had a 3 year newer coach than mine and he had perfect reception with many channels available and I had very poor reception on one or two channels.....the only difference I could see was his had white wings...mine had silver wings......I called winegard and asked them how my buddies TV came in so much better than mine.....that was when the tech person asked me what color my antennas wings were........as far as 75-100 miles compared to 55 miles.....being that was 8 years ago, I'm sure their personel has changed many times since then......apparently the silver one is non amplified where the white one has a built in amplifier.......
But, the difference between the two antennas was remarkable......night and day difference.....and yes, I used the same power supply that was originally in my coach.......I have since quit using that one and went to Winegards newer distribution box with built in power suppply......
VS-5312 Features
5 video inputs include TV antenna, VCR and Auxiliary plus seperate inputs for satellite TV and Cable TV.
3 video outputs allow for independent viewing of signals at two different tv sets with an additional recording option from the VCR.
(10" W x 5.4" D x 1.5" H)
I have a 1999 Cardinal fifth wheel that I bought in 2004. The camper had an Antenna-Tek batwing type antenna with an amplifier built into an outlet in the bedroom. The TV reception was bad from the start (2004). It didn’t seem to matter whether the antenna was raised or lowered or what direction the antenna was pointed, the reception on my TV didn’t change.
I finally started trouble shooting. I climbed on the roof and disconnected the 75 ohm coax cable from the head of the antenna. I connected a 25’ length of 75 ohm coax to the cable that was disconnected from the antenna. I took the other end of the 75 ohm coax cable and fed it through the bedroom window and had it beside the cable outlet in the bedroom. I removed the cable outlet and disconnected the 75 ohm cable that led to the antenna. Now I had both ends of what should have been a 75 ohm cable loop. I put my multi meter on resistance so I could measure for continuity and there was none. I measured the center wire and the outside mesh and neither showed continuity. I now knew that I had a break or disconnect in the cable.
Upon further investigation, I found that the 5’ coax cable lead, from the antenna head, connected to another section of coax cable in the ceiling right below the roof mounting plate. This connection was badly corroded. The center wire was completely eaten away at this location. The ceiling and roof were not damaged by the moisture that evidently caused the corrosion.
I replaced the 5’ antenna coax lead and the approximately 8’ inside coax cable to the booster and this fixed everything. I got quite good TV reception or at least as good as anyone else. The original Antenna-Tek batwing head was painted white and it had a crease on the front blade, probably from an encounter with a tree limb, but I continued using it. Recently the front blade broke in two during a very hard wind. I ordered a replacement from Antenna-Tek and the new one sent was shiny metal. The new one works just as good as or better than the original one.
My antenna is new as the TT is a 2006 and I don't have any real complaints although I'm always looking for a bit more performance... I'm in the process of setting up for Direct TV (Satellite) but I would still like the option of the better antenna... I'll make my decision as we get closer to Spring but for the 50 bucks or so for the new head, it seems like the prudent thing to do...
After reading the previous posts about painted and unpainted Winegard batwing type antenna heads being either amplified or non-amplified, I was curious about my AntennaTek antenna. My 1999 Cardinal fifth wheel came with an amplified AntennaTek antenna which had a white painted head. When the front blade on the head broke in two, I ordered a replacement head from AntennaTek and the new head was unpainted (shiny metal). The new unpainted head worked as well as the painted head for me. Anyway I emailed AntennaTek to ask if there was any difference in their painted head and the newer unpainted head. Their answer was that both heads were amplified and that they just stopped powder coating (painting) their heads a couple of years ago.
At least in pictures, the AntennaTek antenna looks almost identical to the Winegard batwing type antenna. In summary, if you have an AntennaTek batwing type antenna, the older ones will be painted and the new ones will be unpainted but they are both amplified and work just the same.
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