Winegard replacement Lessons Learned

[AppliedThinking]

Our 98 Sunsport did not have an internal conduit from the Winegard base plate to the pre-amp control switch. So, they stuck the antenna coax out on the drivers side and ran it across the top. Doah!!

We had the roof done in the Rhino coating since the rubber layer was leaking all over the place. Better, but... the worker sprayed right over the external coax cable and Winegard antenna base plate Double Doah!!

Water got underneath the Rhino coating which did major damage to the base plate. What a glorious mess! I had to grind off several of the screws and use vice grips to take out the screw bodies. Took me some time to remove the old caulking as well. Trimming the Rhino coating with a utility knife was a true pain in the tail. I had found out that an oscillation cutter works wonders later.

Purchased a new Winegard Sensar IV antenna from Amazon. Good thing I did this! Got the new base installed with Dicor 651SANSW-1 NON-Leveling Ultra Sealant System. Now ready for the Wing Antenna head, but... I hear rattling components inside the head? There is a trick to open the head, watch the youtube video from a gentleman out of AUS that really helps. Turned out to be a loose inductor coil and 4 screws. How did this get past QA? Again, the youtube video gave me a hint to where everything goes. Mainly the PC amplifier board and VHF dipole section.

BTW, there is no mention in the installation documentation of how to access the Winegard antenna head or internal active PC board. Youtube is the source.

Used a signal tracer to ID the coax runs. Found sever corrosion on each of the RG-59 connections and had to remake them. The folks at Gulfstream connected the incoming cable RV leg to one side of the RF Splitter (What were they thinking ??). The new Winegard pre-amp control has a termination for the incoming cable TV connection. No wonder why our connection to the campground cable TV never worked! Now, all new coax connectors, dual splitter (main TV and Bedroom jack), and cable TV lines are back together and stuffed inside the passenger side overhead area.

All connections are now protected with vulcanizing rubber tape, two opposing wraps of quality 3M electrical tape and coated with liquid tape.

Time to lubricate the topside worm gear with White Lithium grease and cross my fingers that the Wing Antenna active pre-amp PC board is functional. If not, then it all goes back to Winegard via Amazon (with the caulking and grease) to be replaced...

Tools and material:
- Quality multi surface ratcheting coax crimp tool with correct dies
- Wire Signal tracer - mine is old school similar to this Amazon product:
Proster Tone Generator Kit, Wire Tracer Circuit Tester,200EP High Accuracy Cable Tester,Line Finder,Inductive Amplifier, Probe Kit with Adjustable Volume for Network Cable Collation
- Dicor 651SANSW-1 NON-Leveling Ultra Sealant System - 10.1 Oz, White, High Performance, Non-Yellowing, Fast Curing, Durable, Highly Compatible, UV Stabilized
- Vulcanizing rubber tape and 3m High Temp tape, and liquid tape.
- nickle anti-seize for each RF connector threads.