TV antenna installation

C

Carvervirgin

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Jan 4, 2012
RO Number
32836
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323
I am interested in installing a glomex TV antenna on my boat. As I am reading on the install instructions it consistently states that the antenna should be the tallest item on the boat and if placed close to the radar you will get "ghosting" of the images. As I look around my marina, nearly every antenna is on the radar arch right next too and many times, lower than, the radar. Is it true that you must install higher than the radar? I would love your opinions. Thanks
 
My Glomex is mounted taller then the Radar however it is mounted forward on my hardtop. With Digital TV there is no such thing as ghosting anymore you either get great signal, the picture pixelates then you get no signal. Digital TV really is an all or nothing there is no real middle ground for the picture or sound quality. Which model are you looking at? I have the Glomex V9112 A&B mounted about 28" above the hardtop and 5 feet forward of the Radar. Since the Glomex has no active components in the antenna running the Radar will not damage the antenna or the inside preamp A & B switchbox.
To answer your question it's more about what is between your antenna and the TV station location then how high it is on the boat. I would recommend getting it at least 24 inches above the average hieght of your arch if you have a cloth top they work well on the arch even with the Radar radome mounted higher. For instance I get about 24-26 stations in my slip when I move into the center of the Bay I get over 40 stations. In the slip I have trees towards the mainland within 1000 feet. On the bay well it's just my boat and a few miles of water. The takeoff angle to the horizon is more importent then any shadowing the radar might produce. However I mostly use a KVH M3 on Direct TV I mainly use the Glomex for a few local news stations that are no longer on Direct TV.
Bill
 
Bill, I am considering the glomex Altair . I have a radar arch and the fly bridge top is soft. The radar arch is really the only option for the highest point. The aft deck top is a hardtop but is tiered lower than the arch. Would that' work? I looked at the V 9112 as well, any thoughts on which model? Are these things hard to install? I have 2 TVs currently and they have cable connections and there is a main connection in the shore power box on the swim platform. Thanks John
 
When it comes to antenna's an Mfgr's recommendations, all say they should be the highest, giving an 'unobstructed view' to the antenna!

both my gps and tv antenna's are below the radar - that's just a result of the radar arch configuration. The wifi antenna is above the radar, as is the majority of the vhf antennna.

You say cable tv is available - is the boat currently wired for cable (some boats, like mine, came factory wired for either cable or antenna tv)? for travelling on the Lake, your biggest concern on Champlain will be the hills/mountains obstructing the signal's path.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Carvervirgin

I am interested in installing a glomex TV antenna on my boat. As I am reading on the install instructions it consistently states that the antenna should be the tallest item on the boat and if placed close to the radar you will get "ghosting" of the images. As I look around my marina, nearly every antenna is on the radar arch right next too and many times, lower than, the radar. Is it true that you must install higher than the radar? I would love your opinions. Thanks

Click to expand...


Our Glomex is not higher than our radar, and we have good reception depending on other obstructions around us at the time. In our home slip, we receive about 20 stations -- because line-of-sight to the west (DC) is blocked by the boat next door. The other day we were at a different marina with basic access to the same stations (DC and Baltimore) and we locked onto 52 stations... many of which are blocked in our home marina.

You might consider your normal orientation to likely signal sources; if the radar isn't in that line-of-sight, it shouldn't cause any particular problem. In our case, there are no TV sources emanating from the direction our radar antenna usually sits in relation to the Glomex.

And what BillyIII said about digital signals anyway.

-Chris
 
Nearly every antenna installation wants to be the "tallest item on the boat"

Sometimes you simply have to assign priorities and compromise on the rest.
 
John' I have DTV using a KVH M3 and 2 Jensen LED 12VDC TV's I chose the Glomex V9112AB model it allows you a connection to either cable, an RF TV source or Satellite TV in addition to the Glomex over the air antenna. This model has a preamp inside the boat for the Glomex antenna only. In my configuration the Salon TV gets either service the stateroom TV has a 2 way splitter off of the KVH M3 reciever coax feed. I have a 2nd KVH reciever for the front TV but have never used it, currently it gets it's feed from the Salon KVH reciever. Since it's only my wife and I we uaully watch TV together and agree on the programming. However the Salon TV also has a DVD/ BlueRay that feeds the Jensen TV's audio/video inputs. Our main TV is the 12VDC Jensen LED TFT 26" unit. All of our various TV systems run directly from the entertainment breaker panel off of the boat's 12VDC house bank. I don't want to run an inverter or generator while on the hook to watch TV. At the dock it really doesn't mater if the system is AC or DC. The Glomex V9112A&B requires 12 or 24VDC for the internal switchbox/ preamplifier.

Bill
 
quote:
Originally posted by Good Grief

When it comes to antenna's an Mfgr's recommendations, all say they should be the highest, giving an 'unobstructed view' to the antenna!

both my gps and tv antenna's are below the radar - that's just a result of the radar arch configuration. The wifi antenna is above the radar, as is the majority of the vhf antennna.

You say cable tv is available - is the boat currently wired for cable (some boats, like mine, came factory wired for either cable or antenna tv)? for travelling on the Lake, your biggest concern on Champlain will be the hills/mountains obstructing the signal's path.

Click to expand...

Gene as a point of reference I tried 4 of the top of the line TV antennas even the smaller Glomex and was most satisfied with the V9112A/B. I had it ounted low at 1st but I have many obstructiojns and solar panels on my hardtop so I wanted to get the OTA (over the air) TV antenna away from the solar panels they generate lots of thermal RF noise and I mainly saw an improvement getting at least 2 feet of verticle and some horizontal seperation from the solar panels.
Bill
 
While manufacturers make a big deal of putting the antenna as high as possible, on a boat, the options are limited. I have no radar arch and the PO had installed an antenna on the flybridge dash. The Glomex I selected would have been too big to fit and even the original was in the way. In my case, the tides will raise and lower the boat and antenna six feet or more anyway regardless of where on the boat it's installed.

I decided to install mine under the dash where there was plenty of space (that's also where I put the GPS antenna). I tested it before installing it and either location produced the same results. TV signals pass through fiberglass just fine.

395712719.jpg


The only problem is the picture is upside down! ;)
 
Guys, please forgive my ignorance. The boat has 2 TVs. One in salon and one in the aft cabin. Both are 2001 Quasars with VHS built in (retro!) I plan on replacing them. The TVs have coaxial attachments in their cabinets just like a home TV would. On the swim platform in the shore power box is a cable TV hook up. In my uneducated head, I would install the antenna and attach it to the cable feed on the deck and viola' I have TV. Seems more complicated in reality. What is the A/B switch for? Thanks. John
 
I have owned 2 different models of 2001 Carvers, they both had factory installed shakespeare TV antennas mounted on the radar arch. Somewhere near the salon tv was an A-B switch that selected either the cable input from the swim platform (A) or the broadcast tv from the arch antenna(B). It might have just been the dealers I bought from installed them, but the Carver manuals with the boat, showed the factory installed wiring for the antenna and the cable TV input. If you have an A-B switch near the salon tv, then look for the antenna. If you don't have an antenna, then I suspect you will still be pre-wired for one to be mounted on the radar arch.
 
Are you sure you dont have the antenna? I know of a lot of 355/356 boats that had antennas mounted under the flybridge brow in the front of the flybridge port or starboard in the storage cabinet there. I'm willing to bet there was one installed there if there isn't now and the cable is probably laying there. Look for three small holes that screws may have been in for the mount.
 
370, that is an interesting thought. I truly never looked and the broker and/or old owner never pointed one out. There is a knob on the lower aspect of the helm that is unmarked and I have yet to figure out what it is for...I wonder if it is related. If I had antenna wouldn't the TV work to some degree? John
 
Ron....I am just curious. How do you get...and why would you....hang a propane tank upside down....assuming the pic is really upside down?
 
quote:
Originally posted by Carvervirgin

370, that is an interesting thought. I truly never looked and the broker and/or old owner never pointed one out. There is a knob on the lower aspect of the helm that is unmarked and I have yet to figure out what it is for...I wonder if it is related. If I had antenna wouldn't the TV work to some degree? John

Click to expand...


If an amplified antenna is present but not turned on... you might not get squat. We don't...

-Chris
 
thanks Billy - I get moderate reception w/ the circa 2003 Glomex (model unkn - amp incl) that came w/ the boat - - I attribute it to loss of the higher broadcast point that was the WTC :( so when the Liberty Tower is done the boat's reception should bennefit.

I've been thinking of replacing it w/ a newer one, such as the V9112AB - IF I don't change the height and continue to use the factory cable (I assume RG-58, I doubt it's 6) do you think it may improve reception???
 
quote:
Originally posted by Carvervirgin

Guys, please forgive my ignorance. The boat has 2 TVs. One in salon and one in the aft cabin. Both are 2001 Quasars with VHS built in (retro!) I plan on replacing them. The TVs have coaxial attachments in their cabinets just like a home TV would. On the swim platform in the shore power box is a cable TV hook up. In my uneducated head, I would install the antenna and attach it to the cable feed on the deck and viola' I have TV. Seems more complicated in reality. What is the A/B switch for? Thanks. John

Click to expand...

========================================

I bet those TV's aren't digital. If they're not then you either need a digital converter or new TV's.
 
quote:
Originally posted by cmariner32

Ron....I am just curious. How do you get...and why would you....hang a propane tank upside down....assuming the pic is really upside down?

Click to expand...

The photo is rightside up. I said the picture (meaning the picture on the TV) was upside down (because the antenna is mounted upside down). It was a joke. I guess you have to know your audience.
 
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