TV Antena

N

northern

Well-Known Member
Jan 17, 2007
3,526
Anacortes Washington
Boat Info
380 Aft Cabin 1989 Charts Timezero radar Furuno
Engines
Twin 454 strait shaft
Been looking at antennas and it seems 30dB is the best you can get for signal boost. Is there any with more gain?
 
I'm looking in to this now too and I'm interested in the responses you get.
My new to me boat has a satellite TV antenna that the previous owner installed and for some reason he probably removed a Glomex when he did it. The Glomex amplifier is still mounted in the cabin so I've been leaning towards one of their antennas. I just don't know which would be best.
I'm undecided about signing up for satellite tv because I don't have it at home. If I do decide to go for it I still want to have the over the air antenna as an alternative.
 
I bought the Shakespeare 19" seawatch. I had a glomex before and received about 10 channels, with the new one I literally get over 100!


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NotHerDecision, did you run new co-ax cable, or still use the glomex switch on the boat? Was it simply a swap of the antenna? I can't get my damn antenna off...
Mike
 
I'm chuckling a little because I struggled as well. I destroyed that thing getting it off. I did not run new cable, although it would be best. I left the glomex amplifier because it leaves an ugly hole if you remove it but the new one came with its own amplifier so I just mounted it behind the access plate where the glomex one is.

You are probably wondering if you can use the glomex amplifier with the Shakespeare antenna and the answer is no. I tried that but didn't have good luck with reception.

In addition, you have to change the antenna mount because the glomex used a smooth mount with setscrews holding the antenna on and the Shakespeare uses the threaded mount.

All in all I'm happy and it looks and functions great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I looked up the 19" Shakespeare and some say it has cable but not how much. Any idea if the cable and amplifier are standard package. I need 40 feet of cable by the time it gets to the TV area. Is it best to put the amp as close as possible to the antenna?
 
It did come with new cable and the amplifier. The amplifier mounts down in the cabin somewhere.

Josh
 
So I (along with several others) get far better reception and more channels with the glomex amplifier turned way down than with it cranked up. Seems counter intuitive, but true.

To remove the glomex there is a special tool that lets you screw and unscrew the coax cable up in the housing. Its a piece of black plastic with a long opening for the coax to slide through the side and a coax shaped inside to act sort of like a socket wrench.
 
JimFromMD said:
So I (along with several others) get far better reception and more channels with the glomex amplifier turned way down than with it cranked up. Seems counter intuitive, but true.

To remove the glomex there is a special tool that lets you screw and unscrew the coax cable up in the housing. Its a piece of black plastic with a long opening for the coax to slide through the side and a coax shaped inside to act sort of like a socket wrench.
Click to expand...

The closer you are to the TV towers, the less gain you need from the amp. I played with mine today and as always, my best performance is with it turned wide open. The Glomex and amp have worked flawlessly since install.

Bennett
 
spikedaddy99 said:
Nevermind, I found it.
http://www.imtra.com/468e09c9-d5f4-483b-99c5-1486b7ab4c43/antennas-glomex-accesories-detail.htm
Mike
Click to expand...

Funny enough my beef about needing to use this tool and the (in my mind anyway) somewhat backward design came up during my VSC when the guy asked what the wire was for. I said I hadn't gotten to put my glomex back on yet due to the cable end getting weak after several years of taking it on and off. I've added a service loop so I can work with the cable easier, but he said "why not make a short pigtail so you don't have to ever unhook it from the antenna again... then you just use a female to female connector to join the pigtail back to the main cable in the arch"... seems like a great idea... going to try it.
 
I asked West Marine how long the cable was on the Shakespeare 3019, they said 30 feet. They said if too short to use a one piece cable.
 
It's just cheap coax. Personally, I wouldn't splice into it due to loss and the lack of cost savings versus just buying a new piece.

Josh
 
UPDATE
We got the Shakespeare 19" with the booster. The cables from the old antenna were still in tack. IE I checked them out this a meter and there were no shorts and there was continuity between the inner cable and the shielding when shorted out oat one end. The length of cable from the antenna on the radar arc to the TV is about 50 feet. I purchased a 22" TV 1080 pixels from Costco $149 CDN. So far we have picked up Global in Nanaimo harbor with excellent picture. In Comox we can not pick up any stations. In a bay 6 knots from Comox we picked up Global but it dropped out as the boat moved at anchor.
The antenna is open on all sides but is lower than the radar. Should it be above the radar. I can do that by putting it on a 2 foot extension. Would this help get a single. Would an extension interfere with the radar?
 
Mine is below the radar without any issues. Here was my test... I took the tv to the dock and plugged it into a cheap little antenna from walmart and scanned for channels. I got 58 channels. After the Shakespear install I received 104 so it clearly works better and this test eliminated any issues from wiring and what not.

Josh
 
Thanks for info NotHer
Guess Canada does not have many TV channels that put out a good signal.
Will leave the antenna where it is.
 
Not an antenna question
We have the analog DVD and VCR on the boat the TV is digital. Is there a conversion box to hook between the TV and the DVD and VCR. At some of the marinas in northern BC they have a good collection of DVDs for lend so it would be nice to have a working system.
 
northern said:
Not an antenna question
We have the analog DVD and VCR on the boat the TV is digital. Is there a conversion box to hook between the TV and the DVD and VCR. At some of the marinas in northern BC they have a good collection of DVDs for lend so it would be nice to have a working system.
Click to expand...

You should be able to use the red, white, and yellow RCA cables to directly connect the old player to the TV as long as both have RCA jacks....

cliff
 
I finally got around to swapping. Took the Glomex off and realized the co-ax in the arch was broken. We shipped the boat in 2011 from Va. No wonder it never worked again...Now I have a nice new Shakespeare and didn't really need it. Had some harsh words with the boat yard that prepped her on delivery 6 years ago. My own fault for waiting...Works great now though.
Mike
 
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