Shark Fin Antenna Replacement

Camp4two · 09-02-2021, 08:21 PM

Camped two months this summer in our 2021 Jay Feather 25RB and consistently got 4 or no digital channels with the shark fin antenna. After connecting my backup King OmniGo portable outdoor antenna at the same locations, I got 26 or more digital channels. Coax connections behind the wall plate were okay. The problem might be the coax connection at the shark fin.

We have owned 3 former TTs all with Winegard rooftop antennas and got many digital channels within 30 miles of transmission towers. Our first TT with a shark fin antenna and it has been horrible.

Has anyone replaced their shark fin antenna with a Winegard Air 360 or 360 plus omnidirectional antenna or another antenna?

Advice please, based on your shark fin replacement.

Jolvi · 09-04-2021, 07:49 AM

Can you share how you connected the King Omni Go. We have one and have not tried it yet. My thought was to connect it to the satellite/cable connection turn off booster and let it go.

Camp4two · 09-04-2021, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolvi

Can you share how you connected the King Omni Go. We have one and have not tried it yet. My thought was to connect it to the satellite/cable connection turn off booster and let it go.

I tried connecting it to the satellite/cable connection, switching to the CATV output on the wall plate and it did not work. I had to connect diirectly to the TV with the supplied signal booster bypassing the ampiified ANT/CATV wall plate. As a work a round, I ran the coax cable from King antenna (either on the tripod or magnetic mount) under my entry door to the TV.

https://www.amazon.com/KING-OA1501-P...s%2C225&sr=8-3

My shark fin antenna is under Jayco warranty. I'm going to let my Jayco dealer determine if this antenna needs to be replaced. If so, I will replace it with a Winegard Air 360 antenna.

bdanford · 09-04-2021, 08:06 PM

I have a 2021 212qb and discovered a tiny button that turns on the powered shark fin with a small green indicator light. It was next to the coax and 12v mount. Don't know if you have something similar.

Camp4two · 09-04-2021, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdanford

I have a 2021 212qb and discovered a tiny button that turns on the powered shark fin with a small green indicator light. It was next to the coax and 12v mount. Don't know if you have something similar.

Welcome to the forum. Yes, I have a button on the wall plate next to the TV to switch the signal to cable or antenna.

Jolvi · 09-05-2021, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camp4two

I tried connecting it to the satellite/cable connection, switching to the CATV output on the wall plate and it did not work. I had to connect diirectly to the TV with the supplied signal booster bypassing the ampiified ANT/CATV wall plate. As a work a round, I ran the coax cable from King antenna (either on the tripod or magnetic mount) under my entry door to the TV.

https://www.amazon.com/KING-OA1501-P...s%2C225&sr=8-3

My shark fin antenna is under Jayco warranty. I'm going to let my Jayco dealer determine if this antenna needs to be replaced. If so, I will replace it with a Winegard Air 360 antenna.

Okay got how to do that, we have 22RB so same floor plan kind of. We ordered ours and when we first saw the floor plan, old graphics etc it had a King on it so we just assumed. But guess the accountants decided this was better. Like I have said talked to Jayco and Steiner Enterprises the manufacturer of the antenna and they are unaware of any problems.

dalfaro · 09-05-2021, 01:48 PM

Here is a thread on how horrible the shark fin is. Also there are photos from when one user replaced his. https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...nna-75914.html

Camp4two · 09-07-2021, 05:47 PM

Got our 2021 25RB to my Jayco dealer service dept. today. I should know next week the cause of the shark fin antenna's horrible reception.

If my dealer has to remove the shark fin for furter inspection (warranty service) I will replace it with a Winegard Air 360 dome antenna. I will Post back my dealer's findings and the Winegard Air 360's performance.

TMTEX · 09-08-2021, 07:12 PM

There are many posts about it on this site and others. I also have a 2021 with the same issues. My old 14 yr old camper had zero problems with TV reception

gunafulltime · 09-17-2021, 07:16 PM

We are disappointed in our shark fin. We are not getting strong-signaled local affiliates, like we did with the King.

TMTEX · 09-20-2021, 03:06 PM

I purchase a coax cable tester. All the cabling is good. Its just a POS Antenna

oldmanjim · 09-22-2021, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camp4two

Got our 2021 25RB to my Jayco dealer service dept. today. I should know next week the cause of the shark fin antenna's horrible reception.

If my dealer has to remove the shark fin for furter inspection (warranty service) I will replace it with a Winegard Air 360 dome antenna. I will Post back my dealer's findings and the Winegard Air 360's performance.

Anybody using this model Omni Direction TV antenna. Would definitely be interested in any more feedback on this unit.

mrpavette · 09-22-2021, 04:58 PM

The shark fin antenna is a piece of junk. It don’t work very well camping to the woods. When I take my travel trailer to my house in the city it gets good reception. Same thing when you take it to the dealer who is in the city it gets good reception. So thats why the dealer and manufacture say the have no problem. Where they have it located on my Jayflight 29RKS the a/c unit would probably interfere with other antennas reception. Should I replace it. Very disappointed with Jayco and wouldn’t buy anoyher.

OTR AGIN · 09-23-2021, 10:18 AM

Going to climb on to the POS shark fin antenna bandwagon. Finally got tired of getting 3 or 4 weak digital channels (usually PBS or NBC) unless we camped within 10 miles of a large city (we don't normally like camping in large cities). Replaced the shark fin on our 2021 Jay Feather 22RK with a Magnadyne RVTV-B2 Omni-Directional Amplified TV/AM/FM Antenna from Amazon ($75) and immediately increased from 8 weak digital channels to 38 weak digital channels. The things I noticed when I replaced the shark fin was 1) the pointed end (front?) was facing directly into the A/C unit (4 ft away). 2) The coax for TV was very loose (possibly my problem) and 3) The footprint of the Shark Fin was very large (still haven't removed all the Dicor where it was).
As I mentioned, the Magnadyne antenna receives more channels but the signal is still very weak unless you are near the city that is broadcasting the signal (the picture and sound always seems to digitize at the very moment you really want to see and/or hear a specific line). Don't know if this is because the omni directional antenna is still short range or being blocked by the A/C unit. Our TV setup came with the "upgraded" input connection for TV/CATV. No button or green light to indicate whether the signal "booster" was off or on. Just and indicator of which input you have selected.
Would be interested if anyone has found a better antenna replacement that can receive a decent signal outside city limits.

TMTEX · 09-27-2021, 07:16 PM

I think I said before I am also one who has that POS antenna. I bought a coax cable tester and tested all the "cables" and they were all ok. I tested the cable also with the splitter and it failed from the outside jacks. Didnt matter if it was on antenna or cable. There was one time we stayed at a KOA that had cable but it didnt work for me and I blew it off. Changed the splitter
I bought a indoor/outdoor antenna ( see pic) and tested it through the CABLE connection to the TV's. Living room, Bedroom and outside. Worked perfectly
and I was in a area that wasnt near the main TV antenna's.

Jay2504 · 09-27-2021, 09:01 PM

TMTEX, that is the exact antenna that I bought because of poor performance with the shark fin. Even with no antenna amp. It was way better. Then I bought a Wineguard in-line antenna amplifier. Even better! I just put on a clamp set up on my ladder to use instead of tie wraps. I also moved my 4’-8’ pole one step higher on the ladder than I had it. I chose that antenna because I knew it would be put up and taken down a lot, so I wanted something more rugged than the typical Yagi type with the aluminum spikes. Jay.

TMTEX · 09-27-2021, 10:07 PM

What I have going on was a test run with the tie wraps. It was a idea I came up with a day before we left. I plan on cleaning it up and a much shorter cable but higher. I will even go with a better antenna if I find one. Do you have a link to that amplifier ? We arent TV people but I like the news (weather) and pisses me off that I cant get a local station on without it being all choppy. Oh and football at this time of the year. This setup was crystal clear on all 3 tv's
I watched a Josh Haylett video showing the Jayco 2022's and they, well the one he had didnt have a fin but a Circle Wingard antenna. Jayco knows the fin suck

Jay2504 · 09-28-2021, 04:17 PM

Unfortunately I am not good with links. It’s a Wineguard LNA-100 booster, on Amazon for about $27. It does help. The antenna that we have has about a 70 degree field of view. From what I have read,(and I could be wrong) every 8 inches higher you get the antenna, gets 1 mile farther before the curvature of the earth blocks the signal. In real life, I think that trees and buildings would come into play before the curvature of the earth. Jay.

Camp4two · 10-01-2021, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camp4two

Got our 2021 25RB to my Jayco dealer service dept. today. I should know next week the cause of the shark fin antenna's horrible reception.

If my dealer has to remove the shark fin for furter inspection (warranty service) I will replace it with a Winegard Air 360 dome antenna. I will Post back my dealer's findings and the Winegard Air 360's performance.

My dealer finally started working on warranty repairs. Service Advisor said there was nothing wrong with the shark fin antenna's reception. They got 60 OTA channels in my city. I will verify this. I could only get 3-4 OTA channels when camped in several cities during July and August.

I will replace the shark fin with a Winegard Air 360 dome antenna before our next trip later this month. I hope this Winegard antenna will permanently fix my issue. I'll Post results and photos of the installation.

Camp4two · 10-13-2021, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camp4two

My dealer finally started working on warranty repairs. Service Advisor said there was nothing wrong with the shark fin antenna's reception. They got 60 OTA channels in my city. I will verify this. I could only get 3-4 OTA channels when camped in several cities during July and August.

I will replace the shark fin with a Winegard Air 360 dome antenna before our next trip later this month. I hope this Winegard antenna will permanently fix my issue. I'll Post results and photos of the installation.

Update: I verified the shark fin got 60 digital OTA channels at my dealer. I spoke with the service technician who said he could find nothing wrong. Before I replace the shark fin antenna I will try it again at some different locations comparing the shark fin reception with my backup King Omni-Go antenna.

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