Winegard Wingman bat-wing Add-on UHF Booster

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Okay...sometimes things like this don't work, or barely make an improvement...or work but it makes no sense as to why...this is the later.

The Winegard Wingman is a UHF signal booster.  It is a small mini-antenna with a special internal winding of coils...not exactly sure HOW it works.

But I do know that it DOES work.

It is non-electrical...and it clips to the bottom of your already existing Wingard Sensar head.  You pull out 4 of the rubber stoppers under your existing antenna, line up the holes on the Wingman, and push these little plastic snap rivets into place, securing the Wingman to your Sensar.

Thats it.  End of installation.  No wires to hook up, no cables to run...nada.

But somehow it creates a field of...something...near your antenna...and very significantly boosts your UHF signal.

And digital channels are UHF.

Performance?  It works, and it works well.  For example, before we bought it in New York, we were getting 4 analog channels, and 13 digital channels.  Once I installed it, we still only got 4 analog channels...and 37...yes, not a typo...37 crystal clear digital channels!

It makes that much of a difference!

A year and a half later, it still works just as well, is still firmly attached to the base of the Winegard Sensar head, and the powder coat finish looks as new as the day we bought it.

I'm not sure why it works, as said before.  I'm guessing it sets up an electromagnetic field, either directly or through induction, that resonates with the incoming digital signals and boosts them.  Reminds me of the big electromagnetic boxes with dials you used to be able to get to boost AM radio signals.

A great product that works.

We got ours on sale for 29.99 at Camping World...you can probably find them even cheaper.



Kev 

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Bat-wing is a Yagi antenna (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagi-Uda_antenna) upgrade tuned to the UHF band where most HD digital TV resides.  The Winegard Sensar base unit was primarilly designed for analog VHF (channels 2 -13) with some UHF support (initially channels 14-69; dropped to channels 14-51 in 2005).  Along came HD digital TV and best performance moved to the VH-hi (Channels 8-13) and UHF band so, Winegard developed the Bat-wing add-on to achieve better UHF band (channels 14-51) performance.

The add-on portion is for the Winegard Sensar III model antenna only.

The design was incorporated into the Winegard Sensar IV model antenna (no add-on required).

You can buy just the Bat-wing add-on (RV-Wing) for a Winegard Sensar III model antenna (RV-3095) or replace the complete Winegard Sensar III model antenna head assembly (RV-2005) with a Winegard Sensar IV model antenna head assembly (RV-205).   As long as your crank assembly is in good condition, then all you need is a head assembly. http://www.winegard.com/wingman/index.php.  If you need to replace the complete setup (crank and all) then go with Senar IV (RV-395)

Not sure if the Winegard Sensar antennas will mount up to the older rabbit ear style antennas like mine used originally.  My crank assembly gave up eons ago and I will upgrade to something newer.  However, I think I might go with the directional Jack antenna (no crank up; just rotation directional; http://www.jacktv4free.com/products_rv.html).  One less thing to break down.  Complete system costs the same as a Winegard.

Dave

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Good to know, Dave!  Our antenna array that was on here was in great condition...but I didn't know you could buy just the heads until I had already bought and installed the Sensar III.  Now they have a Sensar IV...lol. 

If you have the Sensar III, then the Wingman is a cheap upgrade that works.  If you have an older model, then you can get the Sensar IV head and not have to bother with the Wingman.

Kev

[HandyDan]

Just to clarify, what you added is the Wingman, not the Bat-Wing.  The batwing is the long flat metal parts that makes up most of the antenna.  I do like your assessment of the add-on.  I think I'm going to get one for mine. 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Dan...see what happens when this old head of mine tries to REMEMBER what things are called, instead of looking at the paperwork that came with it?  Yep...it is indeed the Wingman...and is now corrected in the post.

It works great...big increase not only in the number of channels, but also in channel clarity.

Kev

[Oz]

Bat Man, Bat Wing, Wingman.... early onset of sinility really screws with the head...  :)rotflmao

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Oh yes indeed it does, senility (not sinility) does mess with the brain.   :)rotflmao

Sorry, just could not resist!   

D

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I blame it on age...my wifey blames it on the vast quantities of beer I used to drink...lmao!  Guess its a good thing I only drink occasionally now, and have a six pack limit when I do...lol   

Kev

[HamRad Mobile]

Bat-wing is a Yagi antenna (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagi-Uda_antenna)   . . . 

Dave

Good morning, Dave;   

     Gee, I get to contribute something this time: 

     With all deference to you, sir, and I do recognize your demonstrated expertise in so many things associated with motor home RV, there is a minor error in your comment; the Winegard Sensar or "batwing" series of RV antennas is not a Yagi antenna. 

     It is a folded dipole usually horizontally polarized antenna today often fed with 75 Ohm coaxial cable (which may have a receiving preamplifier placed in the cable) through a 4 to 1 "balun" to both bring up the connecting coaxial feed cable 75 Ohm impedance up to the about 300 Ohm impedance of the folded dipole antenna (actually 288 Ohms in free space), and change from an unbalanced coaxial cable to the balanced configuration (no connection to ground) of the folded dipole.  In the past, this antenna usually was fed directly with "300 Ohm Twin Lead" parallel transmission line. 

     The Uda-Yagi antenna is usually a multiple element antenna with the driven element and the parasitic elements spaced along a fairly long boom or other similar usually horizontal antenna structure, but the radiation polarity of the Uda-Yagi antenna can be changed from horizontal to vertical simply by rotating the boom 90º in the mount to align the elements in a vertical attitude, but the radiation pattern of the Uda-Yagi antenna will remain the same along the major axis of the boom with the major lobe in the direction of the slightly shorter "director" elements and away from the back mounted "reflector" longer element. 

     While the antenna for years has been called a "Yagi" antenna, it was actually developed by Shintaro Uda who was a graduate student at Tohuku University, and when the directional characteristics of the antenna were recognized back in the middle 1920s, the place to present such a development was in the forum provided by the IRE or Institute of Radio Engineers (Now the IEEE) in New York City, but Shintaro Uda's command of the English language was very limited.  In discussion with Professor Hidetsugu Yagi, it was acknowledged that Professor Yagi's facility with English was superior, and he would present Uda's development at the IRE, and I believe that he did so in 1929.  During his presentation, he fully credited Shintaro Uda as the inventor of the antenna, but, as does happen so often here in the United States, because Professor Yagi had made the presentation to the IRE, his name became associated with the antenna in the USA, and consequently over most of the world.  It has been just in the last few years that the antenna which has been known in the USA simply as the Yagi antenna, now seems to be giving credit to Shintaro Uda as the inventor and is now developing a reputation as the Uda-Yagi or Yagi-Uda antenna.   I hope his grandchildren are proud.  Even his children by now are probably dead. 

     OK.  So much for today's antenna history lesson and technical discussion. 

          Enjoy; 

          Ralph 
          Latte Land, Washington 

[Froggy1936]

As a note: I have found if just stopping for a short time (overnight) My wingman with extra wing ,will work with most local channels without even winding it up  Though it has to have the power to it turned on . Frank

[pvoth1111]

Good morning, Dave;   

     Gee, I get to contribute something this time: ...

   
...       Ralph 
          Latte Land, Washington

Holy crap....Washington folks really know about antennas.

Must be something... ....in the air up there