Replace Batwing with Dish ANT
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Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=13254
Printed Date: 02 May 2024 at 3:25pm
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Topic: Replace Batwing with Dish ANT
Posted By: mcarter
Subject: Replace Batwing with Dish ANT
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2019 at 4:14pm
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Replaced my batwing TV ANT on 2015 178 with a Magnadyne RVTB-B dish style antenna. The batwing performance was not impressive, it caught low hanging branches and always made cover install a pain. My other complaint was the distribution box and consistent issues with the amp switch. Removing the batwing was not difficult. I had to remove the radio assy., cut the 12V AMP line and disconnect the ANT coax. I cleaned off the lap seal and removed four screws that held base on. I thoroughly cleaned mounting surface, used the existing mounts hole to install Magnadyne base. The biggest issue I had was the antenna hole through the roof was not centered in the base. There's an approximately 3" hole in the Pod interior and a 1" hole in the roof. I used a 1" hole saw to make and additional hole more closely centered on the base and that allowed me to use the same mount holes. The Magnadyne ANT has the TV and the radio ANT in the dish, so there are two coaxes that have to come thru the roof. Once ANT was installed I moved inside. The kit comes with a new distribution panel and it operates much simpler than OEM. There is no 12V wiring going from box to antenna, so that wire can be removed, there no coax from box to radio (Radio ant is in dish on Magnadyne.) You do have to hardwire the 12V for AMP operation. Outside configuration is the same as old with ANT TV and Satellite ports on front. Installation was done in about 3 hours, cost about 70 bucks. Once installed I did a channel scan and picked up 10 channels more than batwing. That was here at my house in the clear. The dish is considerably smaller, making access to roof on that side mo' better. Also in my kit I got a radio ant extension cable so I did not have to buy any additional cables. Remember before you start you need sealant. Approximately 1 tube. I also used tape sealant on bottom side of base. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Replies:
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2019 at 7:39pm
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Congratulations! I'm glad the Magnadyne was suitable for you. The hardest part for me was getting the wires though as the interior holes and roof holes were offset from one another. That may be because the roof was replaced on ours when it had to be repaired after the accident. Since the antenna I got used the same base, I was able to just swap out the head unit and keep the original metal base in place. I have three bases now. One is the original on the roof. One is the metal one like the original from the first replacement bat wing antenna that broke when it hooked a tree at a friend's house. The third is the plastic one that came with our flying saucer antenna.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Craneman
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2019 at 8:13pm
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Any pictures?..... ------------- Jo and Gary, 2010-174,2011 F150 
Jo and Gary 2010 174 2011 Ford 150 |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 26 Oct 2019 at 3:14pm
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After installed.
https://postimages.org/">  ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 26 Oct 2019 at 4:45pm
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For comparison, this is mine: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712&PID=107933&title=our-escapod-mods#107933 - http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712&PID=107933&title=our-escapod-mods#107933 After using it for some time, I still would recommend it if it were to again be available. The Magnadyne is a good alternative and, apparently, also works well. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 26 Oct 2019 at 5:30pm
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I agree, the Magnadyne is available. What I liked was the getting rid of the 12V wiring and the distribution cable to radio unit. Just a simpler, less complicated install. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 26 Oct 2019 at 9:53pm
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We use a DTV antenna here at home. We get many dozens of channels, including at least 8 PBS channels. The unit we use here has a built-in amp, and the amp is powered through the same coax as the TV signal. Is that the way the Magnadyne works? ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 27 Oct 2019 at 9:22am
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Good question. The Magnadyne has two cables going into the base of the ANT dish. One is a coax for TV the other is a Motorola connector for AM/FM to radio. There is no 12V wire like the batwing had. Also the batwing had the AM/FM ANT signal from the distribution plate to the radio. The sole 12V connection is at the distribution plate and powers the TV/Cable switch. In reading the reviews I noticed a buyer having issues with the "AMP" switch staying ON (it wasn't), which was a major issue I had with the batwing. I actually have two like distribution plate assys for my batwing, as I was constantly battling with it. The Magnadyne tech support answer was replace the ANT dish, which fixed the issue. I looked on line for a discussion about the ANT dish workings, but as yet, no joy. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 27 Oct 2019 at 3:35pm
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I installed a King OmniPro omnidirectional antenna and we receive almost as many stations as we did with the crank up bat wing antenna in our old camper the Vibe. But that is only when the weather is rainy or very humid cloudy days on sunny days and low humidity there are stations that we will not get so it depends upon the weather as to how many stations we get. All stations are about 50 or 60 miles away in Huntsville Alabama there are no local stations.
------------- 2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018- 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 27 Oct 2019 at 7:33pm
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Thanks, the day I changed antennas was within hours of tests with no weather change. The test showed an improvement with the Magnadyne. The King OmniPro is advertised at 50-60 miles, while the Magnadyne, rated at 35 is closer to 25 I think. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2019 at 8:41am
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Looks good, glad it improved the reception.. The earlier Pods came with a omni-directional saucer style.. when the bat wing was introduced many new owners reported reception that seemed way less.. but we honestly only used ours a couple of times.. 3 years in with the Lance, and the antenna has never been turned on except the first weekend here to make sure it worked.. If we are in a park, with cable, we will usually tune that in, mostly to check the weather. I know I have seen many big rigs over the years that appeared to be using one of the flat wire stick on antennas stuck to a drivers window or side window, rather then the crank up / directional on top.. ------------- |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2019 at 9:52am
Many antenna sellers don't publish gain information, in which case, I would just look elsewhere. The other issue with many so-called omni antennas is that they aren't really omni-directional, but have high and low gain lobes. I've never seen an antenna seller publish the antenna gain plot, maybe because most consumers wouldn't know what they're looking at anyway. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: David and Danette
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2019 at 11:29am
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I prefer not to watch TV much when camping or at home but my wife does because she is disabled unable to do much walking. There is a Omni antenna that got my attention but not many reviews because it is fairly new, I found it on amazon.com its name is SKYBOXE UFO price $117 but not sure if it would be much better than the Magnadyne or the Omni Pro but am a little curious.
------------- 2018 Vista Cruiser 19BFD (2018- 2012 Vibe 6503 (2014-2019) 2009 r-pod 171 (2009-2014) Middle Tn 2014 Ram 1500 Quad cab |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2019 at 4:02pm
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The Skyboxe to my knowledge is directional. There is some work and modifications that would be required to mount it on my Pod, and I'm not that fascinated by TV to do that. If I can't get OTA TV, I start going thru DVDs. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2019 at 7:45pm
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The SKYBOXE UFO antenna claims "720°Dual-Omni-Directional". Ain't no such thing. The maximum direction for an omni antenna is 360°. I would look at this with very skeptical eyes. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |