Finally got my CM 7777 hooked up to my main floor tv. After hours of troubles hooking it up (was trying to pass DC through splitter that wasn't a DC power pass one), I finally have it hooked up to my main floor tv. I have also diplexed in my BEV signal, so in 8 months (when my contract expires), the diplexers will be gone.

Well, here are my results (max 10 bars on Samsung plasma, min 1 bar for signal):

2.1 (Buffalo) 10 bars (fluctuated between 8 and 10 later in evening)
4.1 (Buffalo) 10 bars
5.1 (Toronto) 4 bars
7.1 (Buffalo) 10 bars
9.1 (Toronto) 7 bars
17.1 (Buffalo) 8 bars
18.1 (Hamilton) 7 bars
23.1 (Buffalo) 8 bars
25.1 (?) 3 bars
26.1 (Buffalo) 6 bars
29.1 (Buffalo) 4 bars
36.1 (Hamilton) 2 bars
41.1 (Toronto) 6 bars
44.1 (Toronto) 8 bars
49.1 (Buffalo) 2 bars
57.1 (Toronto) 6 bars
64.1 (Toronto) 8 bars
66.1 (Toronto) 5-6 bars

I'm getting all the channels I want!:cool:

As you can see, the main Buffalo channels are my strongest. Any recommendations? ie, should I aim a bit more towards Toronto to make those signals stronger? I'll be adding a DC pass splitter this week - signals may drop then...

To get back to my channel 9.1 problem, HEIGHT was the answer! I finally got a hold of an engineer at CFTO and he claims that at my location and elevation 18' above ground is not high enough. So I'll add some height and see but I did finally manage to snag 9.1 on a sunrise scan, wonder if the hour made a difference?

Bob:D

Just built a SBGH6 wide-band for an attic install.

My results pointed towards toronto:
5.1
9.1
15.1
18.1
25.1
36.1
44.1
64.1

I would like to add 41.1(Global) and 57.1(City)... I see the 41 and 57, and they look pretty good (better than 9, and I pick up 9.1), so shouldn't I be able to pick up the HD broadcast then? Maybe a pre-amp is needed? I have about a 20 to 30 foot run from antenna to tv.

edit: Just got 41.1, had to angle the antenna about 30 degrees, though the signal is very weak, so I'm think a preamp might be a good idea.

Thanks for any advice.

Also, pointed towards Buffalo:
15.1
17.1
18.1
23.1
29.1
36.1
49.1

Just an update. Tried to find a better spot in my attic, so positioned the antenna pretty much dead centre and about 3 feet higher than before. Now I get:

5.1, 9.1, 15.1
17.1, 18.1, 23.1
25.1, 36.1, 41.1
57.1, 64.1, 66.1

I lost omni2, but I gained City and Global, which I would rather have anyway. Maybe a preamp or a better balun might get me the omni back, and possible Fox, and improve City. But for $15 in materials I'm pretty happy with my results so far.

I live in Burlington between Guelph Line and Brant just north of Lakeshore. We have just discovered that our rotor is caput. Our combo antenna is directed towards Buffalo-ish. From what I read on this site, we are getting a small percentage of what we could/should/will be getting.

I am struggling with getting a 8 bay antenna and directing it to TO and a pre-amp for the combo, or getting a new rotor and a preamp for the combo. Without the rotor, there won't be any fine tuning. Will this be a huge disadvantage?

Should I direct the 8 bay to Buffalo and the combo to TO? Does it make a difference?

We have a tower outside the house. Which antenna should be mounted higher?

Does it matter that the antennas are different types and will there be interference if I put them both on the same tower?

We had Tut's TV come out about 10 years ago. Are there any other local options for installation?

I appreciate any advice.
Thanks
D.

D:

Some initial advice, read through this thread and see what others in Burlington are getting and with what- probably Channel Master 4228 (or knock-off) for BUF and something smaller for TOR (eg 4221). You could start w/o rotor but then you probably need two antennas, the BUF aimed antenna should be mounted as high as possible. Different antennas should not be a huge problem, I think others have done it. You might be OK with what you have with just a little upgrade- check the antenna, check the cabling, etc.

CITY-DT, Sun-DT and Global-DT are the toughest from Toronto but Sun is available from Stoney Creek. You need lots of height. Buffalo are easily picked up; Fox is the exception.

I use a Silver Sensor antenna hooked up to my TV routing through first an RCA 25 db signal amplifier then to a digital converter box and then finally to my old Toshiba CRT HDTV in our living room.

We get a number of channels that come in very easily such as PBS, CBC, E!, and CTV. With some fiddling I can get ABC, and CBS (and some other local stations that I never watch)

What I would like to do is get ABC and CBS in more easily and possibly get FOX, NBC, CityTV, and Global to come in. These channels are all close but fails to get a solid lock to make the channel watchable.

My wife doesn't want a big external antenna nor something that looks ugly sitting on top of the entertainment unit, so is there anything I can do to help me get better signal?

rays:

my wife felt the same way, I told her it wouldn't look too bad (a CM 4221) and when she saw the results- free HD, she is now bragging to her friends about. See it you can do an outside mount near the back of the house or a side you don't go near.

She was right upset when Lost cut out for a full segment between comercial breaks last night, I told her this wouldn't happen if we had a larger antenna and she still didn't bite :(

This is your opening for that outdoor antenna!

By the way, the same happened to us when we first went all OTA. Things would drop in and out and I would be sitting next to my wife getting the gears. Nest day I was back outside on the roof! Eventually, it all got tweaked, thanks to macroblocking during her favorite shows.

Hmmm, I guess I have my wife to thank for our solid OTA reception...? Shhhh!

My wife doesn't want a big external antenna nor something that looks ugly....

Fair enough, but when people think "outdoor antenna", they are probably thinking of those big VHF/UHF combos. A 4221 is MUCH smaller - about 3' high, 2' wide, 6" deep. Most people can't even find my antenna unless then stumble upon it.

My response to "outdoor antennas are ugly!" is "Are they uglier than a satellite dish? Are they uglier than a cable junction box in your front yard (if the cable is buried)? Are they uglier than a wire strung to your house from a utility pole (if overhead)? ;)

This is my first post in this forum and I need your help in figuring out a sound issue i'm having. I currently receive all the hd channels with sound perfectly on my terk antenna HDTVa but when I try NBC (2.1) there is no sound. The signal is full strength so i'm not sure what's going on. I've tried using the optical out from my tv and tv speakers but still no luck. My old RCA CANT501 was able to produce sound but I haven't been able to test it out since i dropped it on the floor. I would appreciate everyones input on this!

I am in Burlington and receive WUTV 100% rain or shine with a homemade GH10, as discussed on the Antenna research and development forum. I am getting FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS rock solid with the antenna mounted just above the roofline of my second storey roof pointed roughly in the direction of Grand Island. That is with a $1 balun, poor quality RG6 and a splitter dividing the signal. Skip the 4228s - build a Gray Hoverman.

http://randomramblingsofatechnophile.blogspot.com/

opilion,

What Canadian channels are you able to pick up with your GH10 design? I'm going to be moving to the Hamilton Mountain shortly and I'm hoping to build a SBGH or GH10 very similar to yours.

I just bought a Jensen Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna ($59.99 CAN) with remarkable results! My brother-in-law works for Rogers maintaining cell towers and asked me why I was wasting all my money with Cogeco. I live in Burlington (Tyandaga) which is essentially on the side of hill with line of site views of Buffalo and Toronto.

I haven't measured the signal strength for all channels but I can tell you that most come in at between 25% and 60% (with 5.1 CBC coming in the strongest).

4.1 WIVB CBS
5.1 CBLT CBC
7.1 WKBW ABC
7.2 WNGS
11.1 CHCH-SD
17.1 WNED PBS
17.3 WNED PBS Thinkbright
23.1 WNLO CW
36.1 CITS CTS
41 GLOBAL - very poor
44.1 CJMT OMNI2
49.1 WNYO MYTV
57.1 CITY IND - very poor
64.1 CFMT OMNI1

missing (or poor quality): CTV, NBC, FOX, CITY, GLOBAL

Questions:

1. Since I'm already getting great results from a simple indoor antenna can I expect "great" results if I invest in an outdoor/attic one?

2. From my reading to get all Toronto and Buffalo stations am I going to need two antenna's? Since where Burlington is located could I get away with a single antennae that isn't too directional? Any suggestions on antenna for my scenario?

Hi faz68, I would use the Search This Thread tool to the upper right beside Thread Tools and put in the search term "Burlington" and you'll see plenty of results from where you live so that you can compare. :)

Good Morning!

I'd like to start by thanking everyone for the excellent information in this forum---it's truly unbelievable. That said, I would like to draw on your advice.

I recently purchased a new LCD TV, and have since been searching for the best way to harness OTA digital channels from my area. I'm located at Bronte Rd and Dundas (Oakville). I am at a high elevation, but without getting on top of my roof, I can't tell if i have a clear line of sight to the CN Tower (I'm pretty sure that the lake isn't in view, but close).

I've never had cable, always rabbit ears (just typical radioshack amplified), and through analogue have been able to get several channels in varying degrees of clarity. Now that I'm getting this new TV (delivered this sunday), I would like some advice on upgrading my antenna.

In reading the FAQ on this site and other peoples comments there is a wide range of options. From my perspective, I would love to be able to get a medium quality antenna (also, where to buy), and not have the need for a rotor (ideally). Given that I live between TO/BUF what are my chances of pulling in both without the rotor? Another newbie question is, can I run the cable from the antenna to my exiting cable splitter in my basement? In that case, I would connect it only to one jack in the house...but would hopefully save some time fishing wires across my livingroom.

Hopefully, someone lives in my area, and has had the same questions. I haven't been able to piece together the exact answers i'm looking for.

Hi Mebad247,

Since no one has stepped in I will try to answer some of your questions.

Given that I live between TO/BUF what are my chances of pulling in both without the rotor? Another newbie question is, can I run the cable from the antenna to my exiting cable splitter in my basement? In that case, I would connect it only to one jack in the house...but would hopefully save some time fishing wires across my livingroom.

You could install 2 separate antennas. On your roof or chimney. One for TO and the other BUF. Check out this installation to get some ideas. This is a prefect example.:)

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=901495&postcount=596


Your angle it quite large and this will help eliminate the need for a rotor. You could run the cable to your splitter in the basement. I presume you want to split the signal to 2 separate TVs? If this is the case you will need a distribution amplifier or a preamp. Is the existing cable RG59 or RG6?

Mebad,

I'm in Burlington at Walkers and Dundas (about 7-8 km west of you) and I'm able to pull in both Toronto and Buffalo with my CM4221. I originally bought two CM4221's to mount, but after mounting one and testing it, I was able to get the necessary angle to get both with one antenna. Fox is a little weak now, but everything else is pretty close to rock solid, so it's not worth the effort to try mount another antenna. I do have a distribution amplifier which helps a little. With no amplifier I had to choose between Fox and Global, but with the amplifier I get both. A neighbour a few houses down from me with a preamp (not sure what brand) does have difficulty getting all the channels I do, although I think his antenna (the second CM4221 that I bought and then sold to him when I didn't need it) is clipping (mounted a little too low) the house right next to him while mine is about 3 feet over my roof. My next door neighbour had issues too when he mounted too low and was clipping my house. He raised it up and now he's ok.

Having said all that, you might be best off trying to mount one CM4221 (not as directional as the CM4228 which I considered first but then read about on this fourm as being very directional) and play around with that. If you`re not satisfied you can always go through the effort of mounting a second and all the extra work, cable and splitters that will involve. Being in the Dundas and Bronte area means you are north of the old Iroquois Lakeshore which means you are really on a hill compared to the lake and downtown Toronto. Mount the antenna as high up over your house as possible and hopefully you`ll get good results.

It does take some playing around with and I did have the luxury of a small TV with set top ATSC box outside and another set of hands to help adjust the angle as we rescanned.

Good luck with whatever you choose. You`ll be very impressed by the quality of digital OTA with an outdoor antenna compared to analogue (or even digital) with rabbit ears. We had rabbit ears until last November and now can`t believe how amazing the free TV we get is.