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Old 09-04-2012, 08:26 PM   #1
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Default Antenna brand?

Does anyone know the brand of omni tv antenna Cruiser uses on the 1213 Viewfinders? Ours is a circular antenna about a foot tall. Our HDTV reception is sub par at best.
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Old 09-05-2012, 01:37 PM   #2
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It is my understanding it is a Jensen Omni Directional antenna...mine sucks. I've been looking all day on a way to upgrade to either a better antenna or satellite option. This weekend was the worst reception ever. We never once had one solid station in for more than two minutes before it would skip, cut out or lose signal all together. The placement of the antenna so close to our AC unit I think made it even worse. You could actually watch the signal degrade everytime the AC kicked on. I am diappointed in this one feature. I have some friends who bought the same year Shadow Cruiser 280QBS, I have the 285RLS and they got the Winegard Antenna system. They like it. Good luck.
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Old 09-05-2012, 03:57 PM   #3
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Jensen it is... In my experience, any of the "omni directional" antennas are going to be less effective than a directional and they are even worse not being on a pole since they are closer to the trailer's roof and roof clutter.

The best antennas are going to be higher (height is your friend) and well away from the roof clutter (rotating electrical masses; A/C, roof vents, etc) make for lousy signal reception.

How easy the change-over to a crank up antenna is dependent on your year and model as to where they placed the omni directional antenna;i.e., do you have enough room on the roof for a fold down antenna arm, is the crank assembly going to be accessible inside, etc.

IMHO, the best antenna setup that I've run (and am currently running) is Winegard antenna arms/crank and amplifier with a Jack Off the Air amplified antenna. Basically the Winegard Sensar with the Sensar thrown out and a Jack installed.

Even the best antennas though are only as good as the television they are attached to. My Cougar came with a 32" Sansui...piece of junk. The tuner in it is very weak...I have a second television in the bedroom, a Vizio that I bought and installed. While in Butte, MT, two weeks ago, with the area on fire (literally) there was so much smoke that the Sansui could only find 2 stations and they were pixelating as much as they were clear. Turned on the Vizio in the bedroom to find 8, rock steady stations being received without changing a thing on the antenna. Needless to say the Sansui will soon be "history" and a new Vizio is going up in its place



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Old 09-05-2012, 06:49 PM   #4
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I second webslave on the "jack" antenna. My 08 FF had an antenna tech which is a knock off of the wine guard. It was junk. I replaced it with a "jack" and average about 30 channels now. The other nice thing about the jack is it has a light on the head to let you know if your booster is working or not. Mine mounted to my existing bat wing with 2 pins but I think if you google there are other mounting options if you don't already have a bat wing. Cost me about 50 bucks at the local RV shop. Nice upgrade
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