[mflynn7]

My first post...

We use our travel trailer several weekends per year while tailgating at football games in State College, PA. We park in the same lot each time.

With our current setup, we are able to receive several TV stations (NBC and various local channels); however, we are not able to get the two that we really want (ABC and FOX).

For the past several years we tried a number of basic solutions...

1) we bought a 'wingman' for our existing Sensar RV antenna (all passive)
2) tried a different antenna (1Byone powered omni-direction antenna) mounted several feet higher than the Sensar
3) researched the location of the station towers to ensure we were pointing the antenna in the right direction (messed with this many, many times)
4) tried several different TVs on each antenna
5) Ruled out obvious issues such as bad cables, etc (Each antenna works fine outside of State College)

Internet research from a knowledgeable person who lives in the area claims a UHF high gain antenna is mandatory - along with a pre-amp. His quote was, "If I can't receive it at my house with a antenna 18 feet off the ground, with a semi clear view of the tower and a Winegard 8200U antenna, then you are not going to receive it with a Wingman type antenna."

Here is the catch....

On a number of occasions, friends of ours parked a few feet from us. They have the same antenna, but a different style RV. They simply ran the co-ax to their TV and viola --- they were getting FOX, ABC and many more. Only difference is their RV has a 'powered antenna'. They said if they don't 'press the antenna power button' inside the RV they get the same basic channels that we do.

If I need high-gain UHF antenna and pre-amp I will accept that. But seeing my friends simply plug in and get more channels suggests to me that I don't need an elaborate setup (not to mention no place to mount that type of antenna)

Based on what I have described, what is my next logical step? Do you think a quality booster would help?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.