Foretravel Owners' Forum

Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: danilaprepeleac on May 24, 2022, 02:18:53 am

Title: Antena ,long blade roof
Post by: danilaprepeleac on May 24, 2022, 02:18:53 am
my coach has a winegard  and not sure what purpose does the wide blade antena has other than  rattling right above the cockpit.

can it be removed?

is it hard to seal the roof penetration?

how big is the roof penetration?
Title: Re: Antena ,long blade roof
Post by: Lt403 on May 24, 2022, 06:43:56 am
My cable broke at the connection to the antenna a while back. When I went to repair it the new connector was larger than the old and after I crimped it on it was loose.
I removed the antenna from the arms and have not had to deal with the rattling and bumping.
It's been over 6 months. I will try a different antenna before I put the old one back up.
Love the peace and quiet.
Title: Re: Antena ,long blade roof
Post by: Chuck & Jeannie on May 24, 2022, 07:58:56 am
1.  my coach has a winegard
2.  can it be removed?
3.  is it hard to seal the roof penetration?
4.  how big is the roof penetration?
1.  OK
2.  Yes
3.  No.  You will actually have two holes on the roof to seal - one for the antenna base and one for the cable penetration.  Make up a paper template that replicates the shape of the antenna base.  Mark the location of the existing screw holes in the template.  Copy the template onto a piece of thin sheet metal.  Affix the metal plate to the roof using liberal amounts of Dicor sealant and the original screws.  Do the same for the cable hole.  Remove the "antenna down" sensor from the roof and seal the screw holes with Dicor.  There will also be a hole in the ceiling inside the coach to deal with.  You can plug it with styrofoam to fill the hole, and camouflage with a small piece of suitably colored fabric.
4.  Not big...perhaps 2" diameter for the larger one?  I used metal plates as described above to cover the holes when I removed the OEM sat antenna from our coach roof.  See photos.

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Title: Re: Antena ,long blade roof
Post by: nitehawk on May 24, 2022, 08:50:55 am
I swapped the Winegard antenna for a Jack antenna. Then I glued a piece of carpet to the 1" tubing, between the tubing and the roof.
No more noises.
Title: Re: Antena ,long blade roof
Post by: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart on May 24, 2022, 10:35:48 am
We went from a Winegard to Jack and now the big antenna. If the antenna is seated in the little V shaped guide, it won't rattle. Good tip from Nitehawk about the carpet. Also round filed all the cable and amplifier in the back and went with RG-6 everywhere. Just down from the roof to an amplifier in the front overhead compartment and RG-6 from there. Pretty easy but just takes a little time.

Pierce
Title: Re: Antena ,long blade roof
Post by: kimosabe99 on May 24, 2022, 11:12:25 am
I'll throw this out just for informational value.  My Wineguard didn't work well when I first got coach.  What I tried was changing the cable between antenna post and roof connection with RG-6 replacing the RG-59.  I cleaned the connections with a brass bristle brush and used a bit of dielectric grease.  The thing has worked flawlessly ever since.  When I have a little more ambition, I'll pull RG-6 throughout.

jk
Title: Re: Antena ,long blade roof
Post by: oldguy on May 24, 2022, 11:51:16 am
When I bought my coach there was a Jack antenna and some material glued to the roof
so no rattling and then I shortened the antenna arms to make room for the solar and
glued different material down. There had been 2 different satellites on the roof and I
removed all the patches and epoxied all the holes. When I put in the residential fridge
the roof vent I glassed in the hole and the regel coated the roof. 
Title: Re: Antena ,long blade roof
Post by: MarkC on May 24, 2022, 04:29:45 pm
As others have stated. King Jack.  Fits the same hole, no noise, good reception.

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