We replaced our original Batwing with a Razar Air a decade ago, over a weekend, while awaiting outside a shop in Bend for other service on the next Monday.
The Air can use the existing Winegard Sensar lift and rotate mechanism, and is multidirectional, giving improved reception. After getting the old antenna on my home workbench, I found the electric connections inside the batwing had corroded and essentially disintegrated. Some of the external connections on the roof weren’t optimal either, so using more effective and corrosion preventing connection techniques was part of my retrofit. I used the shorter lift arm than the original so wind wouldn’t have as much potentially damaging torque, and had to do a little re-engineering on the fly, but I like that the Air model lies relatively flat on the roof while traveling.
Some non-lift models and brands, King Jack, and Tram for example, and even certain Winegard versions, stand up enough to more likely snag tree limbs, etc. than the folded down Air or Sensar batwing. When researching them as options, I read some not so great reviews, and my service guy said he’d had to replace a lot of that style - he advised against them. I liked that when upright the Air presents a broad face to intercept off-air signals, and I could re-use the existing crank up mechanism.
I abstained from the usual blue crimp connectors, favoring soldering wires and using shrink tubing, with Lexel overlaying the connections. There are better insulating connectors available these days, as an option to hand soldering; they can have solder built into their midst that melts around inserted wires and shrinks and seals with applied heat gun heat or careful flame, all in one shot.
As to performance, I’ve found our Razar Air better than the old batwing, works well with the booster, and doesn’t need as much turning to tweak a signal. It even works while laid down in some optimal areas. I note that it may not be readily available now, as I had to do some unexpected effort to find it online.
https://www.rvpartscountry.com/rayzar-air-hd-antenna-white.htmlAll that said, today I might consider the newer Winegard Rayzar Automatics and the Air 360 models. I admittedly don’t know anything about them, but I would be researching them if I needed a replacement.
Joel
