How to Get the best from your Antenna

12 Apr, 2021, 8:11 AM

Written: March 21, 2014

Wilkgard Technology Group is a partnership of individuals who have spent collectively some 90 years in the antenna business. Our background is signals, antennae and cables. We have sold and installed antennae and systems for individual homes, caravans, hotels, villages, schools and airports. This background has provided us with the opportunity to design and manufacture the best possible Caravan Antenna System in Australia.

Our Caravan Antenna system was first released more than 20 years ago. Over time it has been refined and improved significantly and much attention has been paid to the individual components of the system. This has resulted in a vastly improved product, better pictures and many more happy customers.

Explorer is today purely dedicated to the Pursuit of Excellence in the Caravan & RV Market. Our goal is to be the No 1 Customised Supplier in the market place in Australia and develop and sell to the export markets.

Manufacturers now use our ‘thru the wall’ connection system.

Many manufacturers now accept our ‘thru the wall’ connection system. They install the passive version in their caravans as a standard fitting with some installing our new range of passive splitter versions. The ‘thru the wall’ idea was created by explorer and is now copied by a number of other suppliers. This connection fitting which is part of every explorer antenna system saves signal by keeping signal losses to a minimum. Generally the cable and connections supplied by a manufacturer are of a poor standard. These cables and connections could be used when the country was predominately VHF but today it is 93% UHF and digital. Times have changed, the technology has changed but in general the manufacturers are still using 1950’s technology. Pixilation has now emerged as a new problem. The ‘thru the wall’ connection kit came about because of this situation.

Another of our firsts

Another of our firsts was the Free copy of the Caravanner’s Guide to TV Transmitters across Australia first produced in 1976. This is included with every explorer system and has recently been updated and is now supplied on CD. This has also been copied by a number of other suppliers.

Our systems have always featured an inbuilt booster, which is a must when many transmitters across the country, are low powered. You can see the transmitter and still be on the fringe as far as signal pick-up is concerned. Our competitors are now copying this concept but without the same electronic expertise, so have to rely on other suppliers to provide the missing pieces. This approach creates a hotch-potch of connections which ultimately cost the caravanner vital signal in fringe areas.

Explorer is very proud of its achievements

Explorer is very proud of its achievements and we are flattered that so many of our ideas have ultimately been copied, or at least there has been an attempt to copy them – it suggests we are doing it right.

Here are some key facts that every Caravanner should know:

• There are 3700 transmitting sites.
• Nearly 90% are UHF (ultra high frequency). This translates to ‘the length of the wave that is travelling through the air’.
• There are approximately 3 sizes of transmitters. Father, Mother and Baby bear to paraphrase a famous children story.
• Almost 50% of signals are transmitted with a vertical pattern and the other 50% are transmitted with a horizontal pattern. For best results you need to change the orientation of your antenna to accommodate this and pick up the signal.
• Caravan Parks are historically located in pretty places by the sea, near to a mountain range or under some shady trees. All places that are not conducive to a good signal.
• The position of the antenna can make a big difference, even within the same caravan park.
• Typical caravan cabling and connections are of poor quality. An analogy would be a hose and poor fittings with lots of holes in it – the water never arrives at the sprinkler. This is a big issue and the reason why we sell a complete system is to totally bypass this problem.
• Caravanners on the road often need help to get good television reception.
• You will find as you look through and begin to understand our products that we have gone to a great deal of trouble to address the 8 facts listed above.

 

Sally Garden
RF Consultant Founder
Wilkgard Technology Group P/L