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Topic: King Controls Jack TV Antenna (Read 4138 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #20 –
Hello, 
  I received my Jack antenna this afternoon and have already installed.  10 minute job.
I'm in Little Rock, AR and on my old antenna was receiving 10 channels, new Jack antenna 18 stations.  All stations have strong, steady signals.  This was a great improvement.
Bought the Antenna at PPL RV parts store.  $44.66 including shipping.
Here's a link:  RV Digital Antenna - Replacement Head - PPL Motor Homes
Thanks to all on this great forum!!!  Dave Abel

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #21 –
Thanks for the PPL link, Dave. Cheaper than the same item from Amazon, which I was just about to order. Kudos!!

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #22 –
Got the Jack Antenna installed and a big improvement.  Technology is really moving forward.  It is amazing what you can do these days to upgrade the coach.  This is a cheap improvement, thanks to this forum for all the information concerning tvs, suround systems etc. I am gradually getting knowledge of how some systems work and what some of the things on the coach are for.  DAN

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #23 –
After I kept asking Jim questions about the Jack TV antenna everytime somebody posted, he wrote this up for me (and went out and bought a Jack antenna for me as starting Sunday, we will be on the road, getting TV off of our antenna):

 

Recently there has been lots of hype about needing a "digital TV antenna" for receiving over-the-air digital TV. This has been especially true in the RV community. I write this note to help explain what is going on.

The most important thing to know is that there is ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ANTENNA USED TO RECEIVE OLD ANALOG-STYLE OVER-THE-AIR TV STATIONS AND THOSE USED TO RECEIVE THE NEW OVER-THE-AIR DIGITAL TV SIGNALS. The only difference between analog TV and digital TV is the technology used to "package" the video and audio information contained in the electromagnetic waves broadcast from the station's antenna to your antenna. The electromagnetic broadcast waves have NOT changed. You do NOT need a special digital antenna to receive digital TV. You only need a TV (or decoder box) that is compatible with the new packing technology.

So, then, why is there all this hype about needing a "digital" antenna? It is because, unlike analog TV, digital TV reception is basically an "all or nothing" situation. With analog TV, weak stations appear with ghosts and other types of fuzz. While the viewing might not be perfect, it could be watched. With digital TV, weak stations produce a picture with broken up pixels or a blank screen. In my experience the broken up pixels images are not watchable. So, in the new digital world, unless you have a pretty good signal, you get no watchable TV.

For a viewer, the only way to solve this problem is to improve the antenna's receiving capabilities. This can be done by adding an amplifier and/or using an antenna with improved reception characteristics.

While most high-end RV's already have amplifiers in the antennas, the antenna designs are far from optimal. Most antennas are nothing more than a straight piece of aluminum (either tubing or a thin, flat plate). Some are a loop of aluminum tubing.

There are a number of antenna designs that improve on the basic straight or loop design. There are a gazillion TV antenna configurations for improved reception. Just do a Google search on TV antennas and you will see all kinds of odd looking things.

One simple method for making an antenna more efficient is to add an array of tubes or plates parallel to the side of the antenna element. These tubes act as "directors" and function something like a lens. Two antenna types that use directors are the Yagi and the Log Periodic Director Array (LPDA). There are examples of both these types and others at this website:

EV's Recommended & Top Rated DTV Indoor UHF/VHF Set Top Antenna Review Round-Up

The two popular RV "digital" antennas, Winegard Wingman and King Control Jack, are, what I would call, hybrid Yagis. They have "directors" similar to a Yagi, but do not follow a rigorous Yagi design. While there are small differences in the design details, both provide similar performance (some users say they are virtually identical in performance). Both provide significant improvement over the straight tube or plate design.

But, (isn't there always a "but"), this performance improvement comes at a price. The Jack and Wingman designs are much more directional than the straight tube or plate design. This means you have to be more accurate in pointing your antenna toward the broadcasting towers to achieve optimum reception.

So, there you have it in a nutshell.

Just remember, there is no such thing as a "digital TV antenna". A "digital TV antenna" is nothing more than a regular TV antenna with design features that make it more efficient. The reason you need a better antenna with digital over-the-air TV is the "all or nothing" reception behavior of digital TV.

Yes, I realize there are other antenna designs used on RV's. The other design I see most often is the "bow tie" design. It is very efficient and provides similar performance as the Yagi design.

I like the Jack design because of its compactness that should eliminate all the rattling around as you drive down the road.

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #24 –
Gayle,
Thanks for taking the time to explain the ins-and-out of TV reception.  I installed the Wingman with a new Winegard a couple years ago and the reception has been great.  Like you said, digital poses the problem of directions reception, so if some stations are in one direction and the others are not, I've found it difficult to tune-in.

We don't watch much TV when we camp so it's not critical to us.  We usually rent movies if the weather is bad.
Peter

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #25 –
Quote from: Gayle McNeece –

I like the Jack design because of its compactness that should eliminate all the rattling around as you drive down the road.

Yup - footprint is the sole reason we bought the Jack even though we had a Sensar plus Wingman.  In some situations, we had spatial issues when both the Sensar and our Trav'ler satellite dish were raised.  The Jack solved this.  It's definitely quieter while driving, too.

Michelle

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #26 –
Is there a more reasonably price signal meter than the permanently mounted one offered by Winegard for about $69?

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #27 –
Kent,
The Jack has that option, and it is suppose to be much more responsive than the Winegard.  King's SureLock™ – Digital TV Signal Meter at only $39 or you can get fancy and get the base control when is mounted to your ceiling in place of the old Winegard lift and turn control .


or

Look at the bottom of the following link:  http://www.kingcontrols.com/userfiles/file/Jack%20-%20Surelock%20Presentation%20%5BCompatibility%20Mode%5D.pdf, the part that replaces your elevating crank handle.

The neat part of this is you can just swap out you Winegard head for the new Jack head without changing any of the wiring!

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #28 –
Installed Jack this AM in Conroe, TX. Channels went from 39 to 55 and one of the new ones was ABC, which made DW happy so she can watch Dancing w/ the Stars.
It is definitely directional; in two quadrants we get 55 channels and in the opposite two we get only 35. We noticed one channel pix-elating and a slight direction change fixed it.
I cannot tell if the red 12 volt indicating light is working or not in the bright sunlight.
Purchased from PPL in Houston for $40.58 including tax. It is interesting that while shopping in their store you must ask for "online" pricing at the checkout counter. In-store marked prices are higher.

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #29 –
Quote from: Dick S –
... Purchased from PPL in Houston for $40.58 including tax. It is interesting that while shopping in their store you must ask for "online" pricing at the checkout counter. In-store marked prices are higher.
My experience regarding pricing at PPL was the same as Dick's experience. For anything significant that you purchase over the counter at PPL, check the price on line. They sold me goods at the lower "online" price after I noticed the higher prices in the store and asked for the "web" price.

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #30 –
Ok things are not as they seem. I can not see that the red light is on on my jack antenna when I turn the booster switch on.  So now I think I may have removed something when I installed the new LED tv.  Can someone tell me where the built in antenna booster is located and what it looks like and where it is connected to the tv cable??? I am in a warehouse so the red light should be easy to see.  Tks for the help  DAN

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #31 –
Dan,

For me the booster is built into the multi-switch that you use to select Sat., Cable, Ant., etc. The boost power switch is the push button on the far left. Ours has a small red light to show when the boost is "on" (switch is depressed when On).

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #32 –
ok if it behind the black selection box I did not remove it.  My booster switch has a green light when on.  There are two 110 plugs in the tv cabinet.  One of these has a box plugged into it which saids something about the tv.  Couldn't read it.?? DAN

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #33 –
Dick:  Tks for the reply.  So from what you indicated, the boost connection is behind the selector box.  Other than the tv what would be plugged into the two 110 plugs in the tv cabinet.  You may have a different set up than mine.  My booster switch is located in the left wall in the selector cabinet.  Also should the light on the jack antenna be on when the booster is on?  I still have not been able to get it to come on.  I am just not very savy on these things.  DAN

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #34 –
Well in our case have a Bose AV unit plugged in up there. You might also have a satellite receiver, DVD or Blu-ray player, etc.
I am not sure the light on our Jack works either and if I remember Steve and Michelle reported the light on theirs did not work. Yet theirs and ours are working fine and receiving channels without problem. Maybe take it outside and test the operation?
I've attached a photo of our cabinet with the boost switch labeled. Hope this helps...

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #35 –
Quote from: Dick S –
I am not sure the light on our Jack works either and if I remember Steve and Michelle reported the light on theirs did not work. Yet theirs and ours are working fine and receiving channels without problem.

That's correct - our LED doesn't light but we do have 12VDC at the connector.  We also tested our Jack with and without power and there was a significant improvement in signal strength and number of channels when power was on.

Michelle

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #36 –
Dick /Michelle --Tks for the reply.  Ok I am not going to worry about the red light not being on. My booster switch is not like yours in as much as the 02 had the wall switch in the cabinet. Could be the  transformer etc was behind or in the tv cabinet and if so I may have removed it. Trying to locate where it is in the 02.  Tks DAN

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #37 –
Dan,

You should be able to measure 12Vdc on the coax on the roof. I think with the boost On you should have 12 volts between the outer braid and the center wire.

Dick

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #38 –
Hi, Michelle,

I too switched from the old batwing to the Jack antenna. I kept the existing external arm and simply removed the old batwing antenna and mounted the new Jack device, plugged in the existing cable and voila, a much stronger signal and much improved picture. I dont have a signal strength meter, but am very pleased. I did this on both of the FT coaches I've owned. I don't even rotate the Jack when I put it up.

Good luck and regards, Lee

Re: King Controls Jack TV Antenna

Reply #39 –
I too am considering moving to the new Jack Antenna by King Controls.  My relatively new Batwing installed for digital TV had half of its wing fly off somewhere between Alexandria, LA and the East Texas border.... YES, the antenna was stored before moving the coach. ;D

For those of you who have made the installation yourselves, do you have any pictures of the finished product?  Is it a head for head swap or a complete hardware swap?

I understand that this can be an easy swap for the former Batwing with Wingman, but when I read the instructions for the Jack Antenna it looks a bit more complex.  The only Jack Antenna I have been able to find includes replacing the entire Batwing hardware and mounting the Jack Antenna directly onto the roof.  Is this your experience?  I was thinking that all that was needed was to connect the cable from the Batwing and the 12V wire already at the rooftop and replacing the rotate wheel and crank assembly inside the coach.  I also heard that the hole required may need to be larger than the existing Wingman hardware hole through the roof. 

Thanks for any assistance.