Getting more television stations

[Pickup jockey]

When the switch from analog to digital signals happened a few years back I took the older digital set from the house and put it into the TT. I went from receiving 10-13 stations, to maybe getting 2-3 very local stations on the best of days. I am using the original antenna. This did not bother me at first as we spent little time in front of the tv (mostly news). But lately we would like to find other things to watch and expand our viewing diet. Looking for simple way to improve our chances to acquire more stations without going the dish route. I am sure that some of you have overcome this problem and have a quick fix, I hope! Thanks for your input and stay safe .

[JDug66]

Hi PJ,
When you say "original antenna" does it have an amplifier built in? Is it a digital antenna? If you want to stay strictly with Over The Air broadcast signals you could upgrade to a powered digital antenna. We've found that even with our digital antenna we usually camp too far away to receive many OTA broadcast signals. But we can usually get a cell signal. We've been streaming our Cable TV, Netflix, Discovery+, HBO MAX and Hulu through our ROKU device and Verizon Hot Spot. Same stuff as we have at home, just using the Verizon wifi hotspot instead of home internet. Of course the next purchase I want to make is a cell signal booster, so I guess that's not staying in the simple fix category.

[Marine71-76]

We switched out our regular antenna to the King Antenna for OTA. Better reception.

[Woodworker]

Have you done a scan. Once you do that you should find more channels. It should be in the set up on your t.v.

[norty1]

We also have the same problem or just reality.

The digital signal is more directional. Sometimes we can shift the antenna slightly and rescan and get either more or less but you have to rescan every time you move it.

We have a signal app, (Antenna Point) that shows the direction of the stations which helps but digital ota is very unreliable if the signal is not strong!

[TWP723]

I think the newer units are wired better or something...IDK. We get minimal in our trailer (14-18 stations) but almost 3 times as much with the new 5'er.

[Kim Gass]

In nearly a month of camping were it not for the PDI I would have no idea if the TV worked.

Seemed we were never closer than 150 miles to a broadcast station. I am not wanting to go satellite and cable is not available in remote areas..

Oh well its camping.. had no cell or internet for the most part too.

[16WhiteColly]

We have gotten use to that too!

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by norty1

We also have the same problem or just reality.

The digital signal is more directional. Sometimes we can shift the antenna slightly and rescan and get either more or less but you have to rescan every time you move it.

Very very true. And the stations are still moving their channels around on frequencies. You may need to RE-scan after they've moved one. If you've always gotten "7.1" for example, and now it's gone - try a rescan.


A couple of other thoughts. Digital is much more "all or none". The older, analog signals would degrade and you'd watch a snowy signal. Digital's got to be all above a threshold, or you get nuttin.



Not only is digital more directional, it's also more susceptible to a bounced signal (called multipath.) If your antenna is getting one signal from the tower, and it's also picking up a reflected/bounced signal from a mountain or water-tower, your TV is going to get confused.


Finally - not all Digital Tuners were created equally. Several years ago, it was common to find a cr*ppy tuner in the cheaper TVs. Things seem to have smoothed out in the newer ones, but if your TV is a few years old, it may not be as adept.


Start by using that App or an on-line app to figure out where the towers are and point your antenna to the tower. The scan.


We've got a 25 year old Big Radio Shack VHF/UHF antenna in the attic and it's able to work in a digital world perfectly. But, in Denver, we're lucky in that most TV Towers are co-located on a nearby mountain. Makes aiming easier.

[wiscampsin]

We don't watch much tv when camping but I do like watching the news/weather/sports sometimes. Two campers ago we had the old crank up style antenna with a Wingman attached. Got channels crystal clear from 40+ miles away. The saucer style antenna we have now is a piece of junk. Maybe 5-6 channels that pixelate now and then.

[rjackson]

FYI an antenna does not know if a signal is analog or digital, the difference is frequency, most (if not all) "digital" are in the old UHF range, which is shorter in range and more directional

[norty1]

pconroy Your post 9 is spot on, analog was much more forgiving on signal strength but also along with that a plane flying over could make it crazy.

Anytime you watch ota w/ digital, it's a crap shoot so don't let it spoil your day or trip. We don't watch much either but do use a ROKU box to connect with our hotspot to watch some streaming services when it's available.

When not, we read and play board games.....dang it and that's all!

[Pickup jockey]

Well there is comfort in common misery. I am still using a batwing with a wingman attachment running on the oem booster found in the bedroom wall(2011 27.5 BHS Eagle ultra lite H/T ). From your many comments it's really a luck of the draw and a real case of location ,location and location. Guess I will have to spend some time in upgrading to something better $$$. Thanks

[RogerR]

I picked up a 19 inch tv with a DVD built in that runs on 12 volts. We bought a couple of cheap DVDs that we never saw and keep them for a rainy day.

Maybe had the tv out a couple of times since we got the trailer in 2017. Just so much more to see and do then watch tv. Dominoes, a walk, and a bed time snack all seem more important.

[Iraqvet05]

The number of stations your receive is influenced by a number of factors. I suspect, in your case, the tuner in your old TV isn’t that great. I’d try a newer TV before assuming the antenna is the issue and check your preamp. The antenna is just a dumb device in the equation and there’s no such thing as a digital antenna.

To complicate things a bit more, many larger network areas are starting to convert to ATSC 3.0 digital format, an upgrade from the 1.0 digital format that launched in 2009. A few stations in Kansas City just launched 3.0 this week which caused my TV to loose stations until I rescanned them. Most new TVs do not support 3.0 (aka NextGen TV) but the FCC is requiring stations to simultaneously broadcast 1.0 for the next 5 years. There are 3.0 box tuners but they are about $200 at this time.

[Bayoutalker]

If your tv is from pre-digital days you need to upgrade it. The newer TVs get much better reception than just a few years ago. Maybe sure you do have a good powered antenna also. It will still depend on location and terrain but that will give you the best chance.

[CatheyMartin]

We had the same problem for a while until another camper told us we could rotate the antenna. Now we generally get 20 or more channels wherever we are.

[gypsmjim]

Our camp is located in a valley. 30 years ago we got several stations in the winter, but none in the summer when the leaves were on the trees. Now as the trees have grown we get zero stations all the time.

We tried a king and other powered antennas to no avail. I even put in a pole and got the antenna up about 20 feet. Still nothing. So, its can be a matter of location.

Also, only 1 of our cell phones work (different carriers and different towers). But our family knows better than to call us at camp unless there is an emergency.

We just came back from an extended vacation. We came home rested and happy. Then we heard about Afghanistan. We didn't know. Now not so rested and happy any more.

Boy I'm sure glad the TV don't work...

[Bill Johnson]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

In nearly a month of camping were it not for the PDI I would have no idea if the TV worked.

Seemed we were never closer than 150 miles to a broadcast station. I am not wanting to go satellite and cable is not available in remote areas..

Oh well its camping.. had no cell or internet for the most part too.

Because of the curvature of the earth the longest distance is around 70 miles. The antennas that say 250 miles reception is bs. Also every splitter that is in between the different tv's cuts the signal by 50 percent or more. I have an antenna at home that was having bad reception, it had splitters in between. I replaced the splitter with a Channel master booster and it works great 7 dB gain on each of the 4 channels for 4 tv's

[Isaacs]

Campgrounds don't tend to be near large metropolitan areas so I think you're always going to be a bit limited. I subscribe to YouTube TV at home and love it. I can take it with me anywhere I can get a wifi signal or a use a hotspot.