Explorer C10 TV Antenna

Explorer C10 TV Antenna

Long time readers of this site will know by now that we favour the Explorer C10 antenna as it has proved itself time and time again at club meetings to be the best aerial available in Australia for your A'van. In the past the literature for it has been lousy, but things have changed for the better, so we can now bring you the specs and diagrams. First up it is definitely not the best looking aerial you will ever come across. It is in fact anything but spunky! It is basically two aerials in one - UHF and VHF and it is relatively simple to set it up to suit any polarity or combination of polarities - few others allow this. It works on 240 volt or 12 volt DC, but the instructions for using it with 12 volt leave a lot to be desired. The manufacturers seem to have missed the point that many users will be free camping with possibly no 240 volt available.

A friend of ours sent his back as he thought it didn't work on 12 volt. This was because no 12 volt fly lead is provided - you must cut it "off" the plug pack. Your average DIY person will eventually work this out. Our point is they shouldn't have to.

The cables supplied are absolutely first class using "cable TV" connectors. The booster amplifier is mounted in the wall - absolutely a breeze to install in an A'van. The aluminium mast is telescopic and really good quality. The entire unit has a 3 year guarantee, but in our view is a wee bit on the flimsy side, so it needs careful handling. Throwing it in the boot is just not on and it is very unwise in our view to travel with it attached to the mast. Surely it's not beyond the designers to make the VHF elements fold in easily?

The photos above show the omni directional Winegard, The Sensar 2 and the right picture shows you how it erects automatically - you don't need to go outside the van to change anything! The photos below show the internal raising and turning control - very neat and compact. The other photo shows Winegard's much neater approach to supplying DC to the TV plus it shows the little switch for turning on the booster. This is all very cleverly short circuit and polarity protected.

On the Explorer C10, the way the 12 volt plugs into the face plate could be improved. The set up used on the more expensive USA Winegard Sensar 2 would be a good place to start. (before you all get toooo excited the Winegard is not suitable for an A'van though as is, because it is not designed for a sloping roof) All Explorer need to do is supply a cable with a crimped fitting to go behind the plate and fit a switch on the face plate. You MUST be able to turn this sort of device off as they use "phantom" power and will eventually flatten your battery if free camping or storing your A'van.

Winegard outlet box

Winegard controller

The Explorer Kit comes with an Australia wide tuning guide booklet. We found this pretty useless as the maps are just toooooo vague and the print quality is quite frankly atrocious. If this is important to you, a fellow caravanner has written a really good A4 book on this subject. All you need is a compass and a rough idea of where you are of course! The book is called "TV Across Australia" and you can buy it at most major caravan accessory shops or direct from the author at abd@bigpond.com. The website lists it at $28.95 incl. GST and postage. The book is in its 3rd Edition but sadly the website doesn't give any shots of actual pages. We have however seen it in the flesh and it is very good and if you are a "TV-aholic" it really is not expensive and could be classed as a must have!.

The advertising used by Deeper Image never actually mention how it performs which is a shame. (actual places etc. and distance from transmitter) They do sometimes compare with other aerials by using reviews by users. The Sensar 2 as used on pop tops etc. is the clear market leader as you just wind it up and point. Deeper Images advertising usually mentions the DREADFUL omni model made by Sensar. We feel this is a wee bit misleading. Another really weird thing is we recently helped a fellow club member fit a "Happy Wanderer" type antenna. Now the boards in this are all branded Phaselink EXACTLY the same as our Explorer. In their blurb Deeper Image virtually write off this type of aerial, yet they seem to be moving into this field themselves. Anyone got any clues? Siggy Nowak reported on this aerial in last months A-Clinic. You are quite welcome to email Siggy if you need more info as he is a self confessed antenna freak! (soccer fanatic)

The cost is pretty steep at $313.20 RRP. You can get it on special every now and again at Camec or Caravan Accessories etc. More info from explorer@deeperimage.com.au. Deeper Image does have a web site, but rather oddly there is nothing on there about antennas! All the circuit boards are marked "Phaselink" but a web search brings up zilch. We strongly urge you if possible to try and see ANY aerial you are interested in actually working. The easiest way to do this of course is to attend any local club rally. It's quite amazing what you discover in doing this! One chap at Crowsnest Qld, used different antennas for different channels! You might like to watch the DIY section for details coming up soon on how to install a C10 in your A'van. So even with the many reservations stated above it is currently the best aerial money can buy for your A'van camper and yes we do use it and recommend it.

Bob Eustace

UPDATE 8/7/02

Hi there, it's Ken from Access Electronics in Rockhampton, Queensland here. I have a customer with me and he is having trouble receiving VHF broadcasts from the transmitter. He has the UHF component of this antenna and he has spoken to other people in the caravan park he is staying at for the time being about this antenna and they say they have the VHF component which is simply connected to the UHF component. I was wondering if you could help me by providing information about suppliers of either the whole antenna in the picture or just the VHF component. Any help regarding this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Ken Dwyer
Access Electronics
Email: Ken.Dwyer@AccessElectronics.com.au
Ph: 07 49221058
Fax: 07 49222139

Hi there Bob. I have just spoken to "the factory" on the number you gave me and they told me that the customer that came in today would somehow have just the UHF component of the Explorer C10 kit. This antenna may be able to have a VHF element added to it depending on a code that is written on the Printed Circuit Board in a black box on the antenna itself. If this code is either PL10, PL20, PL30, then a VHF component would NOT be able to be added to the antenna. However if the code is PL10D or PL30D then the antenna is suitable to have the VHF component added. The difference between the PL10D and the PL30D is that the 10D is un-amplified and the 30D is. Now to see the actual PCB where the code is written, on the bottom of the antenna there should be a clip you can undo to get inside this box. There will then be a further two clips under that, as the antenna is weather proof this provides protection to the PCB.

The man I was talking to on the phone said the complete Explorer C10 kit would be fine for this area, however a more cost effective solution is the C3 Kit which consists of a small UHF antenna and extendable VHF elements which would also be great for the Rockhampton, Yeppoon and Emu Park areas. The company I was talking to are also going to send me some information on their products.

Thanks for all your help today and I hope you can use the the information I have provided.

Regards Ken