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Post Info TOPIC: TV Antennas - again
Dick0


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RE: TV Antennas - again
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Linwood wrote:
Dick0 wrote:

I'm hoping also someone may know the answer or could shed some light, whether it matters which way the Winegard HV elements face towards the transmission towers. Can the mast be reversed?

The face of the flakes should be perpendicular to the rayline from the transmitting tower.

The lower flake for vertically-polarised signals could be transposed with the top flake but additional holes would need to be drilled into the aluminium strut. By the way the two flakes are identical in every way but one is installed with a 90 degree offset relative to the other.

 

Thanks Linwood. But can the mast be turned 180 degrees, and if so, will it receive any better reception. The "flakes" look as if they are facing backwards.

 



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"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special 21' towed by Jeep Diesel Grand Cherokee Limited"

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herks


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The Flakes can be aligned either way as long as they are at 90deg to the transmitter. I use an App(DTV Antennas) from the App Store to note the correct orientation and distance to the transmitter. The App will use your location to orientate your position.

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BBN2


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In many decades of experience I have never heard the expression "flakes" this side of Cadbury.


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Dick0


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BBN2 wrote:

In many decades of experience I have never heard the expression "flakes" this side of Cadbury.

Me neither, perhaps they resemble Snow Flakes. Linwood or herks may shine a light. confuse

Still wondering whether the fronts or the backs of the Elements (Flakes) should be facing towards the transmitters? confuse



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special 21' towed by Jeep Diesel Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, 360w solar blanket, Epever 80A charger and 4x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
herks


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Please see my last as it has already answered this question. As for Flakes call them what you like as long as people understand the intent of the discussion.
Now that things are becoming a tad silly, I will now bow out at this point!!! Thanks Folks.

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ianlaw


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herks wrote:

Please see my last as it has already answered this question. As for Flakes call them what you like as long as people understand the intent of the discussion.
Now that things are becoming a tad silly, I will now bow out at this point!!! Thanks Folks.

 



-- Edited by ianlaw on Wednesday 9th of September 2026 06:47:31 AM

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ianlaw


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Linwood wrote:

It may not be so simple.  There are certain locations where the vertical "flake" of a Winegard HV antenna will pick up a signal that is out of phase with the signal picked up by the lower flake. When they are combined through the dumb diplexer (combiner), the signals are subtractive and you are worse off. That can explain in some cases why the television works fine with the signal from either flake but not when they are combined in the diplexer.  Therefore it does not prove that the diplexer is faulty.


-- Edited by Linwood on Friday 4th of September 2026 07:22:50 AM

 



-- Edited by ianlaw on Wednesday 9th of September 2026 06:56:18 AM

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ianlaw


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ianlaw wrote:
Linwood wrote:

It may not be so simple.  There are certain locations where the vertical "flake" of a Winegard HV antenna will pick up a signal that is out of phase with the signal picked up by the lower flake. When they are combined through the dumb diplexer (combiner), the signals are subtractive and you are worse off. That can explain in some cases why the television works fine with the signal from either flake but not when they are combined in the diplexer.  Therefore it does not prove that the diplexer is faulty.


-- Edited by Linwood on Friday 4th of September 2026 07:22:50 AM

 

What type of antenna do you have Linwood?

-- Edited by ianlaw on Wednesday 9th of September 2026 06:56:18 AM

 



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BBN2


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Antennas have "elements" and they may have "booms" - they do not have "flakes".


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Dick0


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Thanks everyone for your comments.

I'll report back after I set up my next camp and see how TV signal reception transpires.

I am definitely learning.



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special 21' towed by Jeep Diesel Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, 360w solar blanket, Epever 80A charger and 4x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
Linwood


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BBN2 wrote:

Antennas have "elements" and they may have "booms" - they do not have "flakes".

Antennas usually comprise of a collection of director and reflector elements as well as a dipole whose dimensions are mathematically precise.  The whole unit is usually referred to as an array or an antenna.  The Winegard Sensar HV antenna comprises two arrays, one for horizontal polarised signals (the upper array) and the lower for vertically-polarised signals.  It is common parlance among people who are not trained in radio communications to call these arrays snowflakes or just flakes because of how they look.

I think forums should be a vehicle in which ideas and insights are shared among people with common interests regardless of backgrounds.  Those with experience and knowledge can endeavour to help other members.  I do not think superiority or pedantry in forums is either helpful nor necessary. 



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BBN2


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>It is common parlance among people who are not trained in radio communications to call these arrays snowflakes

No, it isn't.

Unless we use the correct English names for things we are patronising and misleading people. People are quite capable of grasping technical terms, don't talk down to them.




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herks


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Had to get up on top of the van today for some maintenance and thought I would take a snap of the correct splitter to use so not to create any more confusion.

 



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Dick0


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herks wrote:

Had to get up on top of the van today for some maintenance and thought I would take a snap of the correct splitter to use so not to create any more confusion.

 

 Thanks, herks, that's good to know.



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special 21' towed by Jeep Diesel Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, 360w solar blanket, Epever 80A charger and 4x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
Dick0


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Camped up at Springsure (Qld) presently. Very undulating terrain. TV transmitter about 7km away from town, transmitting Vertical Polarity all channels at 2kw power. Most house antennas are quite elevated, probably due to terrain.

Reception and Quality at 100%. I feel the new Winegard Splitter is an improvement. The next test will be at Mitchell.



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special 21' towed by Jeep Diesel Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, 360w solar blanket, Epever 80A charger and 4x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
Dick0


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herks wrote:

Had to get up on top of the van today for some maintenance and thought I would take a snap of the correct splitter to use so not to create any more confusion.

 

 herks, I'm wondering whether this splitter would be "better" than the Winegard splitter in any way?



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special 21' towed by Jeep Diesel Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, 360w solar blanket, Epever 80A charger and 4x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
herks


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Hi Dicko
Cant answer that one as the Wineguard one on mine was faulty so replaced it with the one above. Easier to obtain around here.

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Dick0


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Just an update. Set up camp at Mitchell. TV transmitter power all channels at 0.5KW horizontal polarity, distance from transmitters is 15km. Excellent reception.



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special 21' towed by Jeep Diesel Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, 360w solar blanket, Epever 80A charger and 4x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
Dick0


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Dick0 wrote:
herks wrote:

Had to get up on top of the van today for some maintenance and thought I would take a snap of the correct splitter to use so not to create any more confusion.

 

 herks, I'm wondering whether this splitter would be "better" than the Winegard splitter in any way?

As mentioned earlier I installed a new Winegard splitter, and as I reported, all was working well from then on with strong transmission reception.

However, curiosity got the better of me and I purchased the Kingray Splitter as you posted earlier.

I alternated both, several times, to see if there is any difference between them. So, I'll answer my own question... Yes there is!

The Kingray Splitter resulted in allowing a stronger signal to pass than did the Winegard Splitter. I don't know why and I suppose I don't really care, but the results were better.

For me, the strongest transmission reception has always been the key objective. The Winegard Freevision Sensar HV Antenna together with the Winegard Sensar Pro Signal Amplifier, as installed in my caravan, have shown to provide the best reception coupled to the Kingray Splitter rather than the Winegard Splitter.

From here on I will be searching for weak transmission signals to assess the overall system efficiency.

For those interested, I will post my results down the track (so to speak).



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special 21' towed by Jeep Diesel Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, 360w solar blanket, Epever 80A charger and 4x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
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