Thanks both of you for the tips and encouragement.

I did check the antenna just now, and it seems to be absolutely free of any shorts in the wires/rods that connect to the balun.

Am also going to try a different piece of cable, just in case the other one had damage.

Might be a few days, but I will post again. THIS IS NOW A CHALLENGE!!!

I'm trying to add a pre-amplifier to boost my reception of Seattle stations like KING, KIRO, KOMO and KZJO. But the local stations and even the Bellingham repeaters will overload my tuners. My final configuration was to aim my antenna about due south and use a simple bow-tie aimed due east. I then combine the signals using a simple splitter. By itself, I get pretty good reception. I jury rigged an attenuator by adding one or two more splitters before the pre-amp. I can get a weak lock on the Seattle stations.

The big problem seems to be that I lose CHAN-DT when the signal from CHEK-DT is strong. Has anyone else noticed this? Does that make any sense? They are at opposite ends of the UHF spectrum, CHAN 22.1 UHF 519 MHz, CHEK 49.1 681 MHz

Attic mount Antennas Direct CPA-19 pre-amp and Clearstream 4, Hauppauge HVR-2250, TV Fool report

Wow, you're so far from Seattle and you can pick up those Seattle stations consistently (albeit weak signal) with NMs -12 dB or worse? That's amazing... and your just using a Clearstream 4 and in an attic.. wow!

I have trouble just picking up your Vancouver stations and I'm in the opposite direction with similar NMs. Used HD-8800 and DIY M4.. and on good "tropo" days like the past few days I can pick your RF 22, 20, 26 and 43 with very weak signal... I rarely/never get RF 17 (co interference with local RF 17 here) , 32, and 33 (co channel with local RF 33 ION here).

I do have KT-200 pre-amp, as my coax run is 100+ feet.

Be236 - you will probably have a harder time because the power levels broadcast are alot higher from the Seattle stations then they are the Vancouver stations generally speaking. A moded cm4228hd might be the only way you are going to get those stations (somewhat reliably).

Yup, I realize that. I just dont know why BC broadcasters (Shaw, Rogers) are so "cheap" on electricity to output so low ERPs, compared to US stations. heh...

Or maybe they're just discourage people from getting free TV, and subscribe to cable, instead? (heh)...

Well, I sent back my HD-8800 as it had the same performance as my M4.. so I figured I'll build another M4, turn that into M8, and see my performance hopefully get better....

... or move to a location (as shown in TVfool) to have better NMs. Currently I'm at a place where NMs to BC are about -8 dB... There are some spots around Everett where I can see NMs of +8 dB! :-) And it's only a few kilometres away from where I'm at now.. heh.

Also, I heard even a modded CM4228HD is not much better than HD-8800.. so I might go with Yagi next (91XG, or CM3023, or MXU 59)?

The power levels are less because the elevation is much higher vancouver are around 600+ meters above sea level with the exception of orcas and tiger most seattle stations are only around 200+ meters so they broadcast at higher powers to compensate for the lack of height. With sensitive antennas we can pick up the stronger broadcast strength but the other way around not so much

Yeah, but you can see, as you mentioned, those Seattle stations on Orcas or Tiger Mtns, still have much higher ERPs than your broadcasters.

No fair...

Also, why does CBUT (RF 43) have 100kW power, while CHAN RF 22 only has 40 kW or so... and then CTV is even less, etc.. hehe... not consistent.

the higher you go in mhz the more power is neeeded generally speaking to reach the same coverage area, plus the hight is not idential for all of them so there is some differences there as well, I agree with you though they could all use twice the power they are broadcasting at but there are additional rules around transmitters close to the border aswell.

I added a pre-amp to my attic mount and was ecstatic upon getting KOMO, KIRO, and KZJO at about 5/10 signal strength according to my TV. But, occasionally, one or more stations will simply drop to zero. I guess this is "tropo"? Do other see this?

Anyways, because they are unreliable, I pulled them from the Windows 7MC guide. I tried working around them, scheduling some shows to record from a Canadian network. But that is also unreliable because CTV randomly shifts shows between CTV 1 & 2.

Any good solutions other than streaming missed episodes from their websites?

Sometimes channels that are far from your location will drop out that is the nature of ota signals. I get that from Seattle stations as the distant is 90 miles to some of the towers from me. There is not much that you can do about that if you already have good gear.

Tinkindling (and others) - you can receive this PBS station in many Greater Vancouver locations with the necessary effort. Note they are on channel 28 (twenty-eight). Tvfool.com - at Quesnel and King Edward location - might indicate this as a one-edge shot. A fellow OTA'er in North Vancouver near sea level can even receive it as a one-edge shot. BUT you may need a full gain antenna (such as an 8-bay bowtie or 80-inch long corner reflector LP yagi) and a preamp. They are a little lower transmitter power that others at the same site, like KVOS ch 35. Point your antenna to KVOS and you are going to be lined up for ch 28.

Ndnile (and others) - it is too bad that the regulators do not force all transmitters at a site to use similar transmitter ERP. Because when we want to amplifiy and distribute the combined signals for delivery to our many TV receivers, there are fewer headaches when all the channel levels are about equal. You don't want the strongest channel to be overloading an amplifier and creating non-linear distortion that wipes out the weakest channel. In Vancouver, I combined individually pre-amped north facing (to Mount Seymour) and south facing (to Mount Constitution) antennas using a simple 2-way spliiter with an attenuator (pad) on the stronger of the two signal inputs. You have to vary the pad value and then check for usable receiver "signal bars" on each desired channel. A second 2-way spliiter with a 75 ohm termination on output 2 simulates a 3 dB pad - two in series = 6 dB etc. or you can buy a bunch of small in-line pads like 3 dB, 6 dB, and 9 Bdb and try them individually or in series etc. In my case a 6 dB pad on the Mount Seymour line worked best. This is a really convenient arrangement because you can then distribute one "combined" signal line off to all TV's, OTA PVR, WinTV/Media Center PC, etc. without needing to worry about any physical antenna switch.

Hi:

Apologies if I'm asking for information that can be found in previous posts... been reading for a while and hoping for some advice. I've been subscribing to cable and ready to cut the cord. All I really want is CBC in HD (to catch the playoffs). Now, I live in a ground floor apartment at Quebec and 15th, facing North but with no line of sight to Seymour. Installing an outdoor antenna is most likely not an option.

Is it worth it for me to order something like the Winegard SS3000 through Amazon (as I can't seem to locate any local dealers), or would something simpler work well for this? I've read about others even using simple rabbit ears?

Thanks in advance for helping out newbie! :)

jeremy

I would go to a place like London Drugs and get their Terk TV-4 indoor antenna just to try but make sure can return it if it doesn't work for you. CBC should come in good at your location and remember it is now UHF 43 remapping to channel 2.

Also check out the Indoor Antennas listed in the Antenna Chart so that you have a clearer idea of what antennas are known to be better options than others. As Jaygeetee says, try to buy from a place like London Drugs that gives a full refund if the antenna doesn't work out.