stampeder, today I only can get 5-1, 23-1, 23-2, 29-1, 29-2, 29-3, 43-1, 43-2, 43-3, I think it is due to the weather today. I will try another day.

Your quantity seems fine, but what I'm after is signal strength and relative reception quality results like you see in quite a few of the other results posts. If your tuner has a signal strength meter or other such reading in it, perhaps you could post what it is reading on each of the channels you get.

With a good quality outdoor antenna your quantity and quality of stations would be very stable except in maybe the biggest storms.

Here is signal strength:
2-1: 36%-45%
4-1: 79%-86%
5-1: 93%
7-1: 77%
9-1: 30%-36%
23-1: 100%
29-1: 79%-86%
43-1: 100%
53-1: 30-36%

I'm in a fifth floor apartment in old Oakville, facing the lake. I'm thinking about an OTA setup, but my views of Toronto and Buffalo are obstructed by buildings.

http://www.brentwilson.ca/balcony%20view.jpg

Do I have any hope of decent reception with a relatively compact, "aesthetically pleasing" antenna, placed on the balcony? Or would I have to go big and ugly? Just wanted to get some opinions before I spend any time or money on this.

thanks.

Buildings that close will probably cause multipath interference on almost any antenna, but I really think you should borrow one to test or else get a pro in for an evaluation. You might find that since you are 5 floors up they are not totally mangling the signal but that you need one that can really grab the scatter, like a CM4228.

Samsung SIR-T351 and a $10 RCA pair of rabbit ears with a UHF loop sitting on top of the display with the 'ears' down.

All Buffalo networks including FOX, PBS and CBC... most 7-8 bars.

Thanks WZ1.

Hi,

I'm on Lakeshore at Brownsline, south side second floor. East facing window + North/East Balcony. Using the small antenna that comes with the ATI HDTV Wonder card I receive CBC English & French, SUN, City. CTV CBLT shows strong signal but no picture.

I have to stress here that I'm not working at getting more stations with different decoders or other hd/sftware. This is out of the box reception.

Others here seem to have more success using Watch software with various hdware decoder/tuners which IMO is relatively generic.

Peter M.

I'm back with a few more possibly naive questions...

1) If I can pick up a decent analogue signal for CH Hamilton, Fox Buffalo, and most Toronto stations using a cheap antenna on my balcony, does that suggest that I might be able to get decent HDTV OTA reception with a quality antenna like the CM4228? (please see my post #132 above, and stampeder's reply #133)

2) If I were to purchase an antenna like the CM4228, is it possible to make it more neighbour and landlord friendly by putting some sort of fabric slip over it, or would this interfere with reception?

3) How much does it cost to get a pro in for an evaluation? Would it be closer to $20, or $200?

Thanks

1. I think stampeder was suggesting a CM4228 just might be the ticket.

2. Fabric would most likely interfere. "neighbour and landlord friendly" ? You wouldn't need to have the antenna stick out where it would be seen. Close to the edge would work.

3. $20 for an in home consultation? Probably not.

Worth the effort? I think so.

This is what has prevented me from pursuing the idea of mounting an OTA antenna on my two storey house near to the Lake in East Oakville. I have satellite but I'm intrigued by the idea of receiving OTA signals, which are claimed to be better than the compressed satellite signals, but being near to the Lake means I don't have the advantage of elevation. What's the opinion of others that maybe in the same kind of situation ?

jgvp if your view towards the lake is not blocked by a tall building then you should have fine reception of the Buffalo stations.You can test your reception with a indoor uhf loop antenna of the analog stations.

I am in Oakville (Dundas/403 area), in a 2 storey house without any tall buildings around and subscribe to Cogeco's HD channels using their HD-PVR STB (I believe it is the 6208).

The next TV I purchase will likely have an ATSC tuner.

I would imagine the cost to purchase an indoor antenna and perhaps amplifier would be comparable to buying an additional HD STB (without PVR), and an outdoor setup including installation much more. I peg that at about $250 for indoor setup and > $500 for an outdoor setup.

Since I didn't see any results using indoor antennas from anyone else in my geographic area, I'm not sure if it would be worthwhile to use an indoor setup. This is based on my assumptions above on pricing and lack of evidence of other indoor OTA users.

Am I far off-base?

Hi cannon_fodder, I think your cost estimates are off by quite a bit, and I've moved your post here to the Oakville thread from GTA. Please read through this thread to get a sense of what others in Oakville/Brampton/Mississauga have done/are doing, and you'll see what the options are for your area. You'll also be getting some feedback from others too. :)

Am I far off-base?I'm just down the road. I use a $25 Philips indoor amplified antenna available at Wallymart and get all major US networks CTV and CBC with a Samsung STB. Try this first.

Here are some of my choices

CM 4242
CM 3678
CM 3671
CM 3679
CM 3020
CM 4228
WINEGARD PR7052
WINEGARD HD7082
WINEGARD HD8250


CM 4228 one of the best.
PM Yaamon, he will sell you one.

I've already got a CM4228 with a CM7777 pre-amp which I am going to get installed somewhere on my roof. (The Town of Oakville has no specific bylaws regulating aerials.) I am very concerned about both the WAF* (*Wife Acceptance Factor) and how it will look from the street from my upscale neighbourhood.

I am in the Fairway Hills subdivision that is adjacent to the Glen Abbey Golf Course.

If I don't get a rotor, which is my best orientation for my antenna? Due East?? I may place the antenna low on the roofline or on my garage depending on the direction.

http://img451.imageshack.us/img451/3220/hdtvpe0.jpg

I've been thinking about trying to get OTA HDTV but wasn't sure if I'd get good reception, because a large antenna is unfortunately out of the question (for a number of reasons). So, as a little experiment I decided to go to Active Surplus and pick up a Terk HDTVi antenna (for $15). I connected it to an old 13" tv and placed the antenna by the window, facing the lake. It's overcast today, if that makes a difference. Here are the stations I picked up:

ch 5 CBC – snowy
ch9 CTV – decent w/ some ghosting
ch11 CH – clear
ch17 WNED – clear
ch19 TVO – clear
ch23 UPN - clear
ch25 CBC French – significant noise and ghosting
ch26 TCT – clear
ch29 FOX – audio dropouts, scrambly-looking
ch36 CTS – clear
ch41 Global – ghosting
ch47 OMNI?? – noisy w/ poor reception
ch49 WB?? – a bit snowy but not bad
ch52 SUN ?? – very snowy with audio dropouts
ch57 CITY-TV – ghosting
ch69 OMNI - ghosting

This is the reception without making any adjustments to the placement etc. of the antenna. If I can get this kind of analogue reception with a cheap old TV, should I be able to get decent digital reception with a nice ATSC tuner connected to my HDTV?

Thanks in advance. This forum is a great resource for a cash-strapped newbie like me who wants to get into OTA but isn't sure of the best way to do it...

looking at your results, all the Toronto Stations seem promising. i would be surprised if you DIDN'T receive the main Toronto Networks (except CITY) with a good indoor antenna ie the Silver Sensor.

Buffalo might be a different situation. You'll probably get lucky and pull in 1 or 2 Buffalo Stations, but don't expect to get all the big Networks, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and PBS

You'll probably get lucky and pull in 1 or 2 Buffalo Stations, but don't expect to get all the big Networks, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and PBS

I am getting WNED (PBS), UPN, and FOX out of Grand Island, and WB and TCT which broadcast from Buffalo and Jamestown, NY, respectively. No sign of NBC, ABC or CBS though. Basically all the Buffalo UHF stations, none of the VHF.

WB broadcasts at an extremely high power, and thats probably why you get that station as the only from from the South Buffalo area.

on the other hand, you dont get CBC 5 very well, so perhaps your configuration is not setup up right for VHF stations, when normally you would be getting NBC, CBS and ABC, channels 2,4 and 7.

maybe the antenna you have isn't made for low VHF, or its not hooked up to the TV properly to recieve analogue NBC, ABC, CBS. In this case, you easily could pick up the the digital NBC, CBS, and ABC, because they are all UHF

i think you won't have any problem bringing in the grand island channels, FOX, PBS, and UPN (soon to be CW) if the analogus work (they are fairly high powered, especially UPN)