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?
I must be somewhere between you two. I'm around Navan Rd and Orleans blvd, and drooling at your reception results. I really should buy an outdoor antenna soon...
Definitely. Really, the only thing that I need it for is watching Senators games in HD. You know, those nights when CBC MTL has the habs, and CBC TOR has the Laughs, and the Sens gets shoved to 208. Hopefully, some of those games get produced in HD...
The antenna is pointing somewhere between S-E and S-S-E. About an hour ago, I got a glimpse of WWNY, but also WKTV... Wow! We could have an NBC! No more signal from those two, but I see a weak signal for WWTI and WPBS. I would need to climb to help things out... not going to happen!
Speaking of signal, I did see a signal on 35-1 (Watertown) earlier, and now 47-1, 19-1 and 44-1 (Syracuse). Too bad the antenna's pointing towards WCFE... Will CBOFT-DT, CJOH and OMNI-TV get turned off tonight?
Edit: WWTI is coming in (11:33), I see a signal on 29 again (WKTV Utica) and WWNY is back (11:38)
So my tower install guy came back again today to finish up my dish install for 97W on the 33" dish, we manage to get a strength of 91% and quality of 78%
We also realized that my antenna on a channel master rotor is not turning, which will explain why I haven't been able to lock onto other stations. He is going to come back with a new motor to try it out
Thanks for the reply and hyperlink (OTA: Ontario Parts, Sales, Service, Installers thread).
Where in Ottawa? AltaVista / Elmvale Acres.
What do you mean by '….but may help receiving the American stations…' ? I was hoping I will get them.
Right now, I do have an outdoor antenna (4 bay) and I am able to get 6 HD channels. The others (non HD) channels (except couple of them) are not clear. I thought by using Winegard HD7698P, I will solve both problems, 1) I will get more HD channels (American stations), 2) and will get better quality local/non-local VHF/UHF channels.
I was pondering a similar question. What is the best simple general antenna solution for the Ottawa area after the transition?
It depends where Global really ends up, but if it stays on 6, we are stuck requiring VHF-lo (Global), VHF-hi (CTV) and UHF (the rest). Since OMNI is moving down we will probably require from a 2-51 solution.
Not everyone wants 4 antennas on their roof like me. Do you think the best low price options for local reception would be something like a CM3018 or CM3020?
A two antenna solution (pairing a vhf antenna like an antennacraft CS600 or Antennas Direct V15, with a CM4221) may be a better bet. VHF pointed to camp fortune, UHF on rotor or midway between manotick and CF. However this may complicate some.
Those would likely be overkill for central Ottawa, as there likely isn't any hope of receiving American stations (except maybe most parts of Orleans, but they should really have their own thread). If Global stays on 6, I think a CM3014 or CM3016 would be good enough as a single antenna solution, though a rotor would likely be necessary.
A two antenna solution (pairing a vhf antenna like an antennacraft CS600 or Antennas Direct V15, with a CM4221) may be a better bet. VHF pointed to camp fortune, UHF on rotor or midway between manotick and CF. However this may complicate some.
I agree a two antenna solution would be much a better option, though, as you say, it might be a bit too complicated (or bulky) for some. The choice of UHF antenna really depends on your exact location. For many a reflectorless antenna would be best, but a CM4221 is a good start.
As suspected, the only American stations you have any hope of receiving are WCFE and WNPI (both PBS with WCFE being more likely).
I think your best bet would be a 2 antenna solution with separate VHF and UHF antennas.
For UHF, I would recommend a Winegard PR-8800 for you and point it towards WCFE. It has excellent gain for the lower UHF channels so should do well with WCFE. It should also pick up the HC broadcasts (about 45 degrees off axis) on a side lobe and the CF broadcasts on the back side.
As I said earlier, it is tough to recommend a VHF antenna right now as we don't know what global will be doing. The VHF-HI signals will be strong, so you might be able to get away with only the 8800 after the analog shutdown. You could also use a small cheap VHF/UHF combo antenna as a VHF antenna if you are wanting the VHF analog broadcasts until the shutdown.
lima20, I doubt you'll pick up nbs and abc all year long reliably. Could you please post your TVFool link, I searched for it and never found it. These summer days, you'll get better reception but come winter or bad weather, it should be more difficult to pick up some stations reliably. My guess is you have a shot at WCFE/WNPI (PBS) and the future WNYF-LD(Fox/CBS, maybe) to pick up reliably.
I already get the WCFE and WNPI stations with no problem, and once the new rotor goes on 2morrrow, we will see how far the long range channel master antenna really works
New rotor went in yesterday, and during the day, we were able to pull in after pointing the long range uhf/vhf/fm channel master in different directions, the following channels steady
cbc-4.1
CBS,FOX 7.1, 7.2
cbc- 9.1
city tv HD- 17.1
pbs- 18.1, 18.2, 18.3
sun tv- 20.1
omni hd 1
omni hd 2
wcfe- 57.1, 57.2, 57.3
For those who still want or require the entire VHF/FM/UHF bands the 8200 is one of the last of the big brute combo antennas to do that. If by pure good fortune you should come across a Delhi 937 in good condition with the UHF booster kit on it you'd have the very best of that category, but for a brand new product the 8200 is great. Any rotor and/or tower and/or mount needs to be suitably beefy for such an antenna.
I don't know whether HD Radio stations from the U.S. will penetrate to the Kingston area but if so, you can read about those options in the Canadian AM/ FM Radio and Music forum.
how about '8 Bay Multidirectional Ultra Clear HDTV Outdoor Antenna with Super Strong Design ANT-7287'? is this a good antenna for HD channels? Is there a significant difference between 4 bay and 8 Bay Multidirectional?
Clone antennas typically don't perform as well as name brand ones as they aren't built to the same standards. The nice thing about the PR-8800 is it is better optimized for the new, smaller UHF band, giving you more signal strength where you need it most.
Is there a significant difference between 4 bay and 8 Bay Multidirectional?
A folding 8-bay antenna is not much different to combining two 4-bay antennas with all the same problems. A normal 8-bay antenna will provide twice the signal strength (a 3dB increase) as a 4 bay antenna.
You can see a very nice antenna chart mentioning best in class performance antennas for different situations and channel ranges here http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=97121
The document is even up to version 7.1 !
Eventually I found time to do the following:
1) Winegard HD8800 8 bay Antenna
2) Channel Master Pre-Amp 7777
3) Height of antenna is 15 feet.
So far no new channels (just previous 6 digitals), but stronger signals.
Any idea?
Thanks in advance.
Which NBC? WPTZ Plattsburgh, WKTV Utica, or WSTM Syracuse?
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