Getting TV reception on the road especially when exploring OZ can be a real challenge. This is due to all the different landscapes and terrains. Finding the right antenna for the job can be just as challenging.
Whilst there are a vast variety of antennas of all shapes and sizes to choose from in the market, not all of them offer the best gain or reception, especially in fringe areas.
When selecting an Antenna for your caravan or RV there are so many things to take into consideration.
The Majestic UFO X – Reception where you wouldn’t expect it.
Where will you be using it?
If you will just stay around well built up areas and major towns, then most antennas will do the job. However, as is the case with many RV’s, most of us like to get slightly off the beaten track. When travelling to regional areas, many are on the fringe and reception is harder to obtain. For this reason, a high gain antenna that can be used in the majority of locations across Australia is essential.
Where will you install it?
Installation, or more importantly the position of the antenna is critical. You must have adequate room and access to install your antenna. Some antennas rely on size to get the gain required for reception. This is great if you have ample room on your RV. However, many Caravans or RV’s may have limited room due to solar panels, vents, or roof top air-conditioning units. For this reason, selecting a smaller unit would be highly advantageous. The UFO comes in two sizes. The UFO – X for those with limited room, or for more room the UFO-XL may be more suitable.
(Read more about critical installation information below)
Some antennas can be quite large
How easy is it to use?
Having the best antenna in the world is great. It takes an hour to set it up each time and wishes to use it again will soon become frustrating. Tuning in is one thing, but the physical setting up is another. Some antennas require a construction license to assemble each time, then and astrology degree to align them with the stars. The most ideal antenna is one that is fixed at one location. It requires no physical setting up at all once it is installed. Ideally, you want to be in any location and just tune in the TV.
The UFO X is Small, Compact, Multi-Directional & easy to tune-in
The Majestic UFO X & UFO XL
In our search for the most versatile TV antenna in the market, specially made for the RV market, we have come across the Majestic UFO X Range of Antennas.
Majestic have long been developing and manufacturing TV’s specifically for the Marine & RV markets. Along with their advancement in this segment of the market, it stands to reason they would develop the ideal antenna specifically for this harsh environment. For over 15 years Majestic have developed their products to cope with the harsh environments that bobbing around on the ocean or bouncing up and down on roads brings with it. They also understand the difficulties in obtaining peak reception in fringe areas.
This has allowed them to produce one of the most efficient antennas on the market. Their first model, the UFO has introduced over 10 years ago. With rapid advancements in technology, they are now proud to bring their latest model the UFO X range to the market. UFO X has used the latest technology to provide an antenna offering high gain with a compact size. The antenna perfectly matches the Majestic range of TVs and will assure ultimate performance especially in fringe areas.
The UFO range of antennas come in two sizes.
The UFO – X
For those with limited room the X model is slightly smaller at 24cm diameter but still has a strong gain of 30 dB.
The Majestic UFO-X Smaller Size
The UFO – XL
The larger of the two and ideal if you have a bit of extra room. It has a 38cm diameter and a stronger gain of 34 dB
The UFO-XL More gain @ 34 dB
Things you need to know
Installing the UFO X
The antenna must be mounted in the correct location in order to work efficiently. Installing it where it has interference with other objects will affect its performance. In the case of a caravan this could be your air-conditioner unit or other roof mounted devices. The antenna must have clearance of these objects by at least meter or more. The antenna should also be installed as high as possible to reduce signal loss, if there is interference between the antenna and the transmitting tower it may cause signal loss.
Booster
The Majestic UFO X is a boosted TV Antenna and will require a source of at least 12 volts in order for it to operate. There is a junction box that is supplied with the unit. The junction box will require between 9V to 27V coming into it (depending on your power system)
The junction box supplied with the UFO X
Mounting
The unit comes complete with a deck mount, however if you require or prefer a mast mount, you will need to purchase it separately. The mast mount will allow you to offset the antenna on the side of your RV and or move it to your desired location. It would be highly beneficial for times where you do not have ample room on the roof of your RV.
The Mast mount can be used to attach to a pole
HD Channels
The UFO X is designed to work both Vertically and Horizontally meaning it will put operate in both directions without having to adjust the tilt of the antenna. It will pick up all Digital Channels provide your current TV has a Digital TV Tuner built in.
The UFO X will work on both Digital & Analog signals
Antenna Cable
The performance of antennas is also reliant upon the correct type and length of cable. Each Majestic UFO X comes complete with 10m of RG59 TV Coax quad shield cable, which is found to work best at this length. Increasing cable size may affect your rate of loss. If you do require longer cable, either a RG6 or RG11 is best suited to the job.
The UFO X comes with 10m of RG59 TV Coax Quad Shield Cable
Installation & Tuning
For more information about installation, tuning and regular questions about the antennas, see the FAQ Section HERE
Where to get it
The UFO X & UFO XL is now available in the Free Range Camping online shop, along with the full range of Majestic TV’s purpose built for RV’s. Premium Club Member Discounts are available.
Features & Specifications
For a full rundown on all the features of the UFO X & UFO XL read on below
Size:
The Majestic UFO X has had a major facelift with the redesign of the technology use in the internal electronics and the case design. These technical advances have allowed the Majestic UFO X Marine TV Antenna to be smaller than the previous UFO model. The UFO was 30cm (10”) in diameter, the new UFO X is supporting an improved reduced size of 24cm (9.4”) in diameter and it is more powerful than the previous model. The UFO XL is 38cm (14.9″)
Gain:
Firstly the main engineer improvement is the High Gain of the UFO X which is at 30dB versus the previous model at 28dB. The UFO X has a 30dB High Gain Amplifier built into the Antenna which is a 58% increase in signal performance on the UFO. (For every 3dB Gain the signal level doubles). The UFO XL is stronger again with a 34dB gain. This gives you a huge advantage over other TV antennas because now you have a very strong signal in the antenna that has not had any interference being induced when it received the signal, and with a very strong signal being sent down the cable, the electrical interference is insignificant compared to the strong signal. Once the signal is sent down to the junction we do not need to do any filtering or cleaning to give you excellent digital reception.
Vertical and Horizontal:
Both the UFO X models have a vertical and horizontal plane incorporated to give you the performance needed in both Vertical and Horizontal locations. This feature is rarely found in TV Antennas as most are either designed to work in a Vertical or Horizontal application. For those that are looking for a TV antenna that can perform world-wide covering both vertical and horizontal, digital and analog signals then the Majestic UFO X Marine TV Antenna is the ultimate choice.
SNR:
Signal to Noise Ratio. This is one of the most important factors of a TV Antenna which has an amplifier. The lower the signal to noise ratio the better the amplifier performs. Basically we are comparing Signal vs Noise. The more signal we have and the less noise we have the better the amplifier works. The UFO X uses state-of-the-art-technology to produce a very low a signal to noise ratio of 3dB which is extremely low compared to most other brands. This means that more signal is amplified and less noise is amplified, which in turn means better performance. This also significantly improves distance performance, as the further you get the signal is weaker, and the noise of electrical interference, other noise still remains high, so the UFO X Amplifier is able to clean the signal and give you exceptional performance.
Ground Independent:
The UFO X is also designed to be ground independent (does not need a ground plane or be grounded) to amplify the TV signal. This design is very specific as most installations do not allow for a proper RF Ground, which is totally different to an electrical ground. This is another brilliant engineering design by Majestic to make this antenna perfect for boats or any non-metal roof installation.
Lighting:
One of the most important features of the old UFO was the red light Majestic had on the Antenna and Junction box, this allowed for easy fault finding. The UFO X has been upgraded, and the Majestic engineering team have done some major changes in the lighting too. When the Majestic UFO X Marine TV Antenna antenna is powered up through the junction box, there are two lights which light up. The junction box has its own Green LED light to indicate that there is power getting to the junction box. Then the UFO X has a Bright Blue light which shines through the case giving you easy identification that the UFO X is powered up. These lights are much brighter that what used in the past, and use the same amount of power as the previous versions.
Voltage Range:
Most Antenna brands claim they are 12 Volt, and technically yes they work on 12 Volts. However the issue is the level of tolerance that most of these Antenna have, most 12 Volt TV antenna have a limited tolerance, generally between 11V and 14V. This can cause many people problems especially when they have long cable runs, or the battery voltage drops a little (especially late at night), or even if they have a poor power connection. The Majestic UFO X TV Antenna is designed to work from 9V through to 27V DC, therefore ensuring you will not have any power issues. The TV Antenna is not designed to work on a 24V system if the charging goes above 28V DC.
TV Reception:
One important factor in being able to receive TV signal is the signal level. The Majestic UFO X TV antenna which has the highest gain at 30dB for its tiny 9″ size, or the UFO XL at 34dB, so you can be assured that if there is any chance of signal reception, you will be the one that can get it with the Majestic UFO X.
UHF/VHF/FM:
The UFO X is capable of receiving signal on different frequencies. Throughout various countries, there are UHF and VHF signals for Digital and analog TV. UFO X can pick them up and integrate the process in the antenna and amplify them. It sends a nice clean signal down the cable for your TV. But more importantly, the UFO X can pick up FM signal and boost this performance. The UFO X Junction box has Two Outputs and you can use one of them for the FM Signal to give you improved radio performance. The two outputs from the junction box incorporate UHF/VHF/FM so it does not matter which port you use for the different devices.
Operating Frequencies:
VHF – 47MHz – 230MHz
UHF – 470MHZ – 862MHz
FM – 87MHz – 108MHz
Warranty:
Majestic products are designed and developed in Australia and exported globally. With over 15 years of experience, Majestic stands by the quality of products providing a 3 year worldwide warranty. Our engineering design team has paid attention to all the important details. It ensures that you can enjoy many years of reliable performance in the toughest conditions where domestic brands will not survive.
Upgrading: For those wishing to upgrade, the Junctions boxes are fully interchangeable between the Majestic UFO and the Majestic UFO X. Therefore, you do not need to change the Junction if you upgrade to the UFO X higher performance Antenna.
Where to get it
The UFO X is now available in the Free Range Camping online shop. It is with the full range of Majestic TV’s purpose built for RV’s. Premium Club Member Discounts are available.
