Getting started.
I live just north of the Racetrack/Casino, Quinn Rd
I have lived with rabbit ears for years and want to upgrade to an outside antenna system for 3 TVs picking up as much UHF and VHF signals as possible to start with. By living with cheap rabbit ears running two TVs for years, I know I will be very happy with the improvements I will have going to a proper outside Anenna system for analog and digital signals.
I have been reading posts for 2 days now to get myself started and I think I have information overload and there are so amny things to consider.
I have gone to TVFOOL to find out channels and locations.
I understand I probably do not want a long distance setup as most station are fairly close.
I am not sure of the antennas I need for my area/use.
Does anyone live near me that has been doing this for a while who can help me get started?
flavoie, That is exactly what I was thinking. I doubt if I could put all three antennas on it, but I might be able to put the 2 VHF antennas on it, though it might be tight without extending the mast. If the 5Y6S is 6'x6' and at a 45 degree angle to the house, it will be 4'3" from the mast to the roof (along the diagonal). I don't know what my roof pitch is, but if it is 45 degrees the 5Y6S needs to be more than 4'3" up the mast, which doesn't give me enough room above it for the VHF-HI antenna.
Before you put it up is there any chance you could take lots of measurements and a photo or two for the Antenna R&D Forum folks to build some computer models?
Sure. I will try and get some measurements. May not get any good photos of it unfolded if I choose to install it in my attic, but maybe one of the other guys who also bought one can get photos (there were four of us).
Howdy Locals,
Is there a repeater on the Canadian side for 57.1 PBS? I am picking it up with my new DB8 in my attic and was wondering if it was really pulling in something from 93 miles away.
You have a (small) positive Noise Margin for WCFE on your TVFool, so with a DB8 in the attic, you should be getting WCFE most of the time. (On the roof, you should get it all the time).
No, it's not a repeater.
Over the past year, you may have had trouble getting 57.1, because the Communications Researh Centre had an experimental transmitter on RF channel 38, which is the same channel that 57 uses. CRC's 38 has since moved to 54 and then 51, so there is no longer any local interference to 57.
Geostar
It's all about gain at Channel 6. Since the 7-13 antenna is optimized for channels 7-13 I doubt it will be any good for channel 6, thus finding a VHF lo&hi antenna such as the vip302sr, a single cut yagi 6 like roger, or a VHF lo only antenna will be way better for global at 6.
A VHF lo&hi like the 302sr has the extra benefit of topping the 4228hd on VHF for 6, 9 & 13 in Ottawa, all post-transition channels global, src, ctv
Depends on your location
I get both PBS and wnyf(CBS,fox) reliably but lots of people in Ottawa can't.
Best way to know is for you to create your own tvfool report and post it here for fellow posters to help you figure which channels are attainable.
Edit: I just noticed your tvfool. Wnyf is attainable !
A roof or tower mounted antenna, with preamp, without a lot of trees around, should work.
I do have to specify that your db8 may not be good enough for wnyf(CBS,fox)
The gain of the db8 at channel 18 UHF seems way lower than the winegard hd8800 or channel master 4228hd.
With worse or equivalent tvfool than yours we had good results with a 8800 or 4228hd
Thanks, I realize I'd probably need to get a better long range antenna. The DB8 does remarkably well in my attic though.
I am at the southern edge of Avalon so there isn't much blocking me from looking south.
The Hd8800 and cm4228hd, although of similar size, do much better at the lower channels. Your db8 does really well at channels 25 and up but lacks the other 2 antennas at lower channels and you really need the extra gain to pick such a far transmitter reliably. Google hdtvprimer db8 and find the net gain chart. You'll see the cliff of gain going down quickly on lower channels. If your harder to reach channel was higher than 25 then it would not be as much of a problem...
The other part of it is some people have hacked the db8 and i don't know how well it helps the gain for channel 18. You could look it up.
heemu, Regarding GH design questions, I would ask in the design forum.
Regarding reception from CF, for most people the signals from CF should be strong enough to go through the reflector, but since you also have an apartment building between you and it, it is hard to say how much effect it will have. I would give it a try and see what happens.
Hello all. I'm looking for a post transition antenna which I can attic mount without a rotor. Hopefully something which will also work with ch. 13.
I held a CM4228-HD out a second floor window and pointed it towards South Colton. I was able to pick up 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 28.1, & 28.2 with about 30- 45% strength as well as all the local digital channels. When I moved the antenna into the attic, I pretty well lost 28.1 & 28.2 and the 18's were marginal.
I threw together a Steal Hawk with some aluminum grounding wire. Out the window I was just able to receive the 28's and the 18's were acceptable. Hung in the window, which directly faces South Colton, the 28's dropped off.
I would like to try making a SBGH or DBGH. Would someone be able to recommend a model which will work for my location. My coax run would be about 60 - 70 feet. If I require a pre-amp, how do I decide how much gain I need. I would be worried about over-driving my tuner with the stronger stations.
Recently I've become aware of the gain level of the Winegard 8800 eight-bay bowtie antenna -- especially on channels 14-50. It appears to test quite a bit better than even the most mammoth of outdoor antennas. Since you have some limitations on outdoor antennas at your place, I wonder if you have ever considered using one or two of these to try to pull-in the US channels from your attic? I wonder if it might work?
HWP, that is the antenna I am thinking of using. My biggest concern with it though is there is 37 degrees between WNPI/WCFE and HC, which is near a deep null for channel 20 on the HD-8800. So finding a direction that receives WCFE as well as CITY, CFMT, and CJMT post transition could be fun.
With a little luck SunTV will go off-the-air and you won't have to worry about 20 anymore -- haha.
What I liked first about that 8-bay antenna is that it ships unassembled -- which means it can fit easily into attics. The box is 6 1/2 inches by 6 1/2 inches. The great specs for post-transition are a bonus.
bowtie, you have about 110 degrees separation between CF and HC, which will make things more challenging. The thing I find most surprising is you are only 6.6 miles from HC but only have LOS to CITY (and presumably CHCH post transition) on that tower. Any chance of having the antenna a bit higher to get LOS for all HC transmitters?
You have a good shot at receiving WNPI, WNYF and CKWS (on either 26 or 36). Are you interested in any of these? CKWS will be analog for the time being but might change in 2012. This information will affect your antenna choice.
roger1818, I am stuck with an attic install. I was recieving WNPI & WNYF with the CM4228-HD along with all the local digitals with the antenna pointed directly towards South Colton. When I moved the antenna into the attic WNPI & WNYF became marginal.
My goal is to recieve WNPI & WNYF plus all the local UHF and ch. 13 on one antenna without a rotor.
Would a model of a SBGH or DBGH perform better in my situation than the 4228?
bowtie, do you have a low noise figure preamp like the cm7777 ?
In my experience, a preamp helps in all situations from my location.
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