I don't see this subject anywhere, but if it is I apologize. Does the Winegard also serve as an Over the Air antenna. My research says no. What is the method for all of you current owners for over the air tv reception? Thanks. Also does everyone like the Winegard unit? Does it boost the hotspot signal on your smartphone? Then run Roku? Thanks Just trying to understand.
The Winegard range extender is also your over the air antenna. In the cab push one button for OTA, push the other for extender. Have never used the extender, can’t comment. The OTA works fine. All this assumes you have a current model LTV.
Winegard has several models with different features. Some are WiFi only or WiFi+4GLTE. Unless you have an older RV, it should be this newer model:
ConnecT 2.0 4G2+ (4G LTE + WiFi Extender + Over-the-Air TV + AM/FM Radio)... (https://winegard.com/products/hdtv-digital-antennas/vhf-uhf-antennas/connect-2-plus/connect-2-4g2-plus)
In looking this up, I also noticed that Winegard now officially supports T-Mobile cellular. They must of recently been certified because a couple months ago I checked and T-Mobile wasn't listed (although there were users stating it worked by inserting the T-Mobile SIM).
Cellular Data | Plans | Winegard Company (https://winegard.com/plans/cellular-data)
Yes you could just set your phone as a hotspot and connect the Winegard to boost it. But that might not add any value, or even slow things down. It would effectively be one hotspot repeating another hotspot. Repeaters usually cut the effective bandwidth since it adds one more duplex hop for the datastream.
Within your RV, the phone's hotspot should provide enough signal on it's own. The best advantage of using something like the Winegard for direct LTE reception is it's far better cellular antenna (than your phone's) and its location on the roof. I remember traveling by car using Waze and having to hold my phone against a window in vain hope of picking up any cellular signal.
Thank you both for your comments. Makes sense