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Old 03-08-2014, 07:17 AM   #21
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I upgraded to a Jack using the existing batwing crankup. I found out there were issues with the existing coax and ended up replacing everything from the antennae down to the power supply/splitter. On my 90, the coax runs across the ceiling then down through the refrigerator compartment. I was able to pull the ceiling partially down after removing the front vent bezel and pulling some of the paneling staples out. I also used the old cable to pull the new.

I was disappointed that the kit only came with an adapter plug to inject 12v into the antennae. I purchased a wall outlet separate and mounted it so the backside is in the refrigerator compartment. I tapped into a 12v source there. The rest of the trailer had new coax installed to front and rear when the PO did the floor restoration.

I'm happy with the performance. I combined it with a 12v flatscreen TV. I was surprised how many channels we got at Norwalk since it's flat out there. Much has to do with distance and terrain. At Rocky Gap we only got the one NBC station out of Hagerstown. But that's in a mountain valley out in the booneys.
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Old 03-09-2014, 01:14 PM   #22
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Ok, I have our sunny our of storage and I may not have as big of a problem as I thought.



The location sticker for the antenna (circled) is equidistant between the wall and A/C - 10". It's even closer to the cabinet I was wanting to go through. I'm thinking I may have the support members I need for mounting the antenna, and still be able to pass the cable down inside the base and fish it into the cabinet space that the TV is mounted on through the ceiling. I'll find out soon enough.

Also, the light I was wanting to use for the 12v supply couldn't be any closer to the closet/cabinet, so I'm thinking that it won't be any problem getting some wires to the power supply. I'm going to mount the power supply below the TV on the closet/cabinet in a handy spot.

First things first - my shopping list:
  • butyl tape
  • calk
  • 2 1/4" hole saw
  • 1" self-drilling screws.
  • single gang old work/remodel box
These are the things I know I need, but don't have yet. Am I overlooking anything?

Edit:
Here are the only cover/stickers/labels on the ceiling.


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Old 03-09-2014, 06:09 PM   #23
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I would spring for the backless low voltage box it's much thinner and works like a sheet rock box. Can't get much better than that drill right on the spot!
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Old 03-09-2014, 06:22 PM   #24
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Thanks, Tim.

Yes, I've used those before. My only concern about an open-back box is that it will be mounted in a cabinet that we use as a pantry. It used to be a closet, but it was too short to be of much use for hanging our clothes. I put a couple of shelves in it for food storage. Don't want cans of food or anything bouncing around against it. Wouldn't want to break it. A remodel box will protect it from damage.

Since I've never done anything like this on a TT before, I'm going to hit the spot dead on, and stop when I get through the ceiling panel. I'll make sure there isn't a rib there for me to cut through or weaken - before I get into in too far.
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Old 03-09-2014, 06:56 PM   #25
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Would a surface mount box work on the cabinet?

Wire from the ceiling could still come down inside the cabinet with a thin plastic wiremold over it and go into the back of the box or even wiremold on the outside of the cabinet to the box.
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Old 03-09-2014, 09:28 PM   #26
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Thanks, Gene.

I have considered Wiremold, and could go that way - if necessary. I'll try the invisible route first. I've used plenty of it over the years, so I'm very familiar with it.
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Old 03-10-2014, 05:35 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dtstanton View Post
Thanks, Tim.

Yes, I've used those before. My only concern about an open-back box is that it will be mounted in a cabinet that we use as a pantry. It used to be a closet, but it was too short to be of much use for hanging our clothes. I put a couple of shelves in it for food storage. Don't want cans of food or anything bouncing around against it. Wouldn't want to break it. A remodel box will protect it from damage.

Since I've never done anything like this on a TT before, I'm going to hit the spot dead on, and stop when I get through the ceiling panel. I'll make sure there isn't a rib there for me to cut through or weaken - before I get into in too far.
If it's going in a wall I don't think the wall will be deep enough for a full sized box. Good plan only cutting the plywood first.
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Old 03-10-2014, 07:36 AM   #28
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If it's going in a wall I don't think the wall will be deep enough for a full sized box. Good plan only cutting the plywood first.
Not in a wall. It will be going in the side of the cabinet/closet, so the whole inside of the cabinet will be available.
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Old 03-10-2014, 04:23 PM   #29
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Ok, I got all the stuff on my list and I think I'm ready.

I was doing some checking, and I don't think I'm going to be able to stick to the location of the sticker. Had I gotten a crank-up, I could. The Jack is about the same height as the A/C housing, and it will hit if I put it there. It needs a little over 8" clear radius to turn. I'll have to move it a couple inches outboard to clear it. I don't think that will be a problem, though. (I'm trying to do all the prep/planning I can in an effort to prevent issues.) When I get started working on it, pics will be forthcoming.

At the moment, cleaning the garage must take priority.
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Old 03-10-2014, 04:45 PM   #30
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Dale,

Just a thought.....do you have a stud finder? If so, it may be of some help in finding the limits (perimeter) of any solid support material in the ceiling in the vicinity of "sticker".
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Old 03-10-2014, 08:54 PM   #31
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Dale,

Just a thought.....do you have a stud finder? If so, it may be of some help in finding the limits (perimeter) of any solid support material in the ceiling in the vicinity of "sticker".
I do. Somewhere. Been keeping my eyes open for it.
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Old 04-02-2014, 06:30 AM   #32
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I have installed 2 Jacks. I love them, you made the right decision. I put one in on the popup that we had, that was simple, nowhere to really run the wire in the wall so we let it hang, it was taunt when popped up. The last one I put in was in a Intervec Falcon Class B. I didn't run the wire through the wall, but along the wall where the ceiling and the wall met and put some molding over it. You should be passing the wiring through the antenna in a seperate smaller hole. I will look for the install pictures and see if I still have them. It is a pretty simple install.
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Old 04-02-2014, 11:30 AM   #33
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Thank you, Ben - and welcome to SOC!

I haven't even started on it yet, but everything I hear has been encouraging. Been giving the garage priority and some of the house priority. As soon as I get started, I'll try to remember to get pics as I go along.

-Dale
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Old 05-13-2014, 05:36 AM   #34
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I've often wondered about an antenna for our T1350. I haven't looked really close for the "roof hole" if even there is one. I have been busy on other projects restoring, sealing painting the trailer.
I do know that on the left hand side of the outer wall left of the awning is an add-on bracket for an exterior antenna that someone years ago installed. There is also a proper cable through-hole in the wall.

Because the add-on bracket is already there and existing holes I don't want to remove that bracket and reveal old holes only to install a new antenna in a new location. For the sake of esthetics I'll leave that alone.
Sorry about the finger over the lens but it just started to rain as I raised the camera for the shot. (Murphy's Law hard at work).

My other question is: which RV antenna is best? Being a ham radio person my self we know about elevation and gain. I know a few campgrounds that really are not that far from TV transmitters but I also know about other Tx sites (like Algonquin Park) that can be a fair distance from a Tx tower.

Over the years I have built many of my own HF antennas and other weird antenna for scanners and ham. But I really don't know much about today's RV antennas.
Even if they have preamps an amplifier can also amplify noise as well as signal. I saw that first hand in the cable industry. I retired as an RF Leakage (CLI) tech
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Old 05-13-2014, 10:01 AM   #35
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Hi, Jerry!

I just recently installed a Jack on our '88 T-1350. You can read about it and see what I dealt with at this link. It all went pretty smoothly, after I got over my uncertainty of the "how" and "where" issues of the planning stage.

I had to change the location from the factory "target" to get clearance for the A/C.

As for its performance, I was very pleasantly surprised. It does a great job! I would recommend it to anybody.

As far as the antenna dynamics are concerned, the Jack has an amplifier in the head. It still amplifies the digital signals throughout pretty much the same freq range as the analog. The only real difference is the type of signal. FM broadcast radio is still in the same place, too. As far as noise/EMI, I haven't noticed or recognized any issues, even with the A/C running.
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Old 05-14-2014, 07:48 AM   #36
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Digital is better at rejecting unwanted signals and intermod. Most amps are mounted at the antenna to reduce loss in cable runs. As far as an efficient antenna is concerned none of the "bat wing" type antennas are really that good they make up for lack of gain with the amp. A log periodic Yagi would do far better but more difficult to "aim". The amps are really broad banded they have to be in order to boast the wide range of possible signals from 60 MHZ to 1 GHZ. I have a “batwing” antenna with add on directors it’s OK but I do far better with a gain antenna (no amp) at home than I do with the batwing in the same spot but it would look kind of silly on the roof of the camper.
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Old 05-14-2014, 08:27 AM   #37
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We have a Jack installed without the crank up and other than the Rhino Flex sewer kit I would rate it a "best buy."
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Old 06-29-2014, 08:21 AM   #38
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As you folks can see I have two brackets on the side of my trailer left of the awning up-rights. Could be wrong but this looks like someone's after thought as opposed to a proper FACTORY install.

My problem is, while I'm trying to do a wee bit of a restoration, I don't want to add any new holes and don't want to remove items from existing holes, UNLESS it's to improve brackets in the same holes..
I like the idea of that Jack antenna but no new holes in the roof. Hence if it has a provision for a mast I might go that route onto the existing brackets. FYI our camping destinations are typically 125 to 175 miles from home. Yup, camping means no TV, but I do like my news and the weather channel and they're great for those rainy days. (Isn't that right my beautiful wife?).

I read a few websites where the 4 bay to 8 bay bowtie is superior to the Yagis I don't know how true that is,
I was bored last Friday so I built a single bay bow tie UHF. I used a cheap walmart coat hanger frame. This was a coat hanger designed to hang pants but as soon as I saw the rungs it gave me the idea. I ALSO brought out a deep cycle battery I had and hooked up one of those 75 watts AC inverters used for plugging into your cigarette lighter. TV powered up great.

With my single bay bowtie and 3 feet off the ground I pulled 10 stations east to west and rescanned for 12 stations north to south. Mind you with a bird flight path, I'm 30 to 40 miles from Toronto so it wouldn't take much. So, what would an 8 bay bowtie do at 25 feet?

My bottom line is: As well as they work, I don't want a home made for the trailer, I just don't want that red neck appearance

Any suggestions?
  • mast mountable
  • light weight
  • decent gain
  • not expensive
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Old 06-29-2014, 10:22 AM   #39
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Jack RV Digital TV Antenna - YouTube

PPL Motorhome: info on Jack antenna and retro batwing upgrade
.
They say AC power and I believe in a answer/comment section on page it is acknowledged it is DC....not AC power used. It comes with a AC to DC adapter.
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Old 06-29-2014, 01:01 PM   #40
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I watch that video last week when I was surfing. I also looked on line to several places that sell them. I know they're a decent antenna but still not sure of their distance capabilities. I heard, too, where they constantly said it uses AC wall plug. That's the actual power source. But often times that AC input has an output of another voltage in DC. More often than not it's 12VDC, but I have seen a few real odd ball voltages.
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