The craziness continues......
I have picked up so many new stations in the past two days.
I also picked up a Peoria, Illinois station but I got WEEK-HD 25-1. Another one that I thought was cool was WCWW 25-1 a low powered station from South Bend and 69-1 WMYS.
I was able to watch the football playoff game earlier today on 47-1 a FOX network station from Lansing.

Lots of pictures to upload in the next day or two. I will be nursing my tropo hangover.

I agree, it's a mess, in regards to local reception. I've been hitting locations down near the Hudson Valley, but cannot hold WWNY, one of my better U.S. locals. I've noticed that I'm losing the VHF's, that are usually the stable channels that I receive, in this area. Buffalo has been pounding in here, for two days now, but have noticed a slip in signal strength tonight. Weird is not the word, when you consider that I cannot lock WWNY, but their low powered UHF channel, only 2/3's the way up the tower on 35, comes in. Have not heard from anyone else, here in the east end of Ontario commenting on all of this amazing DX.

@little infinity: You need to be able to rotate to catch channels from all over. Low elevation isn't necessarily an issue for catching tropo--as many others have reported success by the lake (and I would assume most have a similar elevation near the shores of Lake Ontario).

It's about time....lol just now I have finally gotten something on RF 25. It's a super nulled in this direction station from Milwaukee never seen before WCGV-DT My 24-1 (http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=WCGV#station). It now compliments WITI-DT 6-1 CBS I got yesterday on ch 33.

The fog is rolling in here and it looks like the tropo is really calming down now, compared to the last 36 hrs.

EDIT:Okay one more new one. First ever from Chicago too. WTTW-DT 11-1 PBS briefly on RF47 wiping out yesterdays WPBN.

EDIT2: 8pm/dense fog
it's roaring back up again...this time from southern IN. Point your antennas to possibly get Indiana.

all of these decoded here none are new saw them last fall already:
WUSI-DT PBS 16-1 RF19 Olney, IL
WIPB on RF23 Muncie
WTHI-DT RF10 Terre Haute
WCLJ 42-1 TBN, WTTV 4-1 CW Bloomington
+ a nearly full slate from Ft Wayne

Another new one RF25 WRTV-DT 6-1 Indianapolis

It's also calming down, here in the east. The only pull, in the last hour, has been WPTZ RF14 out of Plattsburg, NY. The regular locals are starting to stablize and it may be over for now. What a present for us DX'ers, here in the off season.

There's a map here that estimates the "regular" (winter?) and "warm clear" reception ranges for OTA signals from the Toronto area.

Obviously individual results will vary, but the "warm clear" range is considerably larger.

http://freetoronto.tv/map1.htm

I also remember picking up AM radio signals from far away, in my memory at least they were much stronger in the winter. Like the top 100 songs of the year from WLS Chicago :)

dito here Phil, I have desperately tried for a Wisconson station. Congrats on that tough pick up!
A few Indy stations have visited tonight; also Muchie, Fort Wayne and South Bend. This might as well be a local as the strength's are near 100%
This is just like in November of last year. As of 8PM this is what I hve picked up
6-1 WRTV
16-1 WNDU-HD
21-1 WPTA-HD. 21-2 CW, 21-3 WX
21-1 WSBT-HD
23-1 WNDY
34-1 WNIT-HD
46-1 WHME-DT
49-1 WIPB-DT

I'm picking up this channel clear and I'm under the impresion it's from Michigan but that makes no sense? I'm in Port Perry? Any ideas from anyone? I'd also like to know if there's any others up my way that can comment on what stuff they get out of Buffalo/Grand Island or even Rochester? Let me know. Thanks!

It certainly is in Michigan. Their city of license is Bad Axe, but the transmitter is about 40 miles West of that, just Northeast of Bay City.

The easiest way to look up any U.S. station by call letters is via the FCC database:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html

Many members across Southern Ontario have been reporting very odd (unusually strong) reception of distant stations along with occasional problems on otherwise strong local stations. Veteran DXers and avid hobbyists have been reporting massive tropospheric skip phenomena in Southern Ontario over the past several days. Please see that discussion here:

OTA DXing, Tropo, Odd Reception, Weird Weather Effects (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=26789)

Let's avoid posting in your local reception results threads about such oddities since they are temporary. Feel free to join the discussion in the above thread if you are dealing with such odd Tropo-related reception issues.

cheers :)

I guess this explains why my (normally rock solid) channels have been dropping out the last few days :(

Bagged a few more new ones around 6-7am again today.
pictures in the next week or so from everything new the last couple days.

WKEF-DT 22-1 ABC Dayton, OH RF51
WTVQ-DT 36-1 ABC Lexington, KY RF40
WDKY-DT 56-1 FOX Danville, KY RF31
WFWA-DT 39-1 Ft Wayne, IN RF40
WBXX-DT 20-1 CW Crossville, TN (serving Knoxville) RF20
the ones on ch 40 were fighting CBLN London
the one on 51 was fighting CHCH 51 repeater

Others visited again:
WBKI CW Louisville, KY
WDTN Nbc Dayton
WRGT Fox Dayton
WLWT Nbc Cincinnati
WPTO Pbs Oxford/Cincinnati
WBDT CW Springfield, OH
WSTR-DT Mytv Cincinnati
CBLT-DT CBC-HD Toronto

Yup...
Its been good picking up channels in the last day or 2.

Got a Lock on WGGN-DT Cleveland rf 42.
Ch 29 is WTGE PBS Toledo.
Plus i noticed interference on 14 (I guess from 14 Detroit or Buffalo).

Got to Love Single RF scans ;p

About Suntv.
I know that i get overloading issues every 16 channels (40 bleeds into 24/56). Therefore, i was figuring that CHCH overloading into 19. But its more likely that another channel was coming in. WISE 720kW from Grand Rapids

Read ya l8r,
Al.

I wish I had known about the great tropo yesterday when my normal channels were barely coming in..

I only have a Terk indoor antenna here in my apartment, but since the tropo was so strong as to block out my normal channels, it would have been a great chance to experiment and see if I could pick up anything.. with normal tropo I don't have any luck but I've never seen anything quite like that before! Missed out on a great chance!!

alas, the big tropo if 2010 has ended.
Seriously, the family was happy to see it end. My daughter was so ticked last night as we had been watching Nature on 56-1 WTVS-HD Detroit, but I was Dxing every 15 mins or so and watching it on the various, and I stress that PBS seems to be the easiest stations to DX from what I have experience.
I try to involve the family in this endevor but computers, video games and i pods take priority so perhaps when they get older them might get on board.

As I went to bed late last night the Indy tropo was still very hot, and I did a total scan just to see what kind of numbers and stations would come in and an analog station was coming in pretty clear. It was located on channel 33 and was a low budget talk show where the host was taking to callers and a guest came on and read a poem.
there was a call in number (no I did not call "thought crossed the mind") and it had a 313 exchange in it. I would be interested in the origin. If you have any idea could you pass it on.

As Phil eluded to, this morning as I awoke with the antenna still pointed towards Detroit I did a quick check and indeed reception on channel 6-1 from Cincinnati was found.:o

I am currently awaiting for the real thaw so I can make plans for the upgrade (VHF antenna add on to complement the DB8)

Thanks to all whom have posted their results recently as I enjoy reading them.

London, not great for everyday reliable Americian DTV reception, but a Dxer's dream.

Mark

Which direction was your antenna pointed when you saw channel 33?

Hi Mark,

Oddly, WTVS was the stablest of all the local channels here during the last 2 days of co-channel mess. Since you were getting WTVS so well, that ch 33 station was W33BY from Highland Park, MI (Detroit). That explains the 313 area code. Here's more info about it.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W33BY

Sure was surprised when I stumbled upon those KY,TN stations early today, I don't think any from that past few days were record breakers though.

I also read today on another forum that someone from Caledon (near Brampton) got WMBD from Peoria yesterday morning too just like myself and Garth J up in Markham. Crazy for the middle of Jan.

Which direction was your antenna pointed when you saw channel 33?
Detroit @ 250-260 degrees

that ch 33 station was W33BY from Highland Park, MI (Detroit).
indeed I believe from the Wikpedia description it was that station.



The one channel I pulled was from Peoria Illinois was an NBC affiliate 25-1 WEEK-HD.

Low elevation isn't necessarily an issue for catching tropo--as many others have reported success by the lake

I guess that's true. My antenna was affixed towards Batavia all the time. It didn't cause any issues on my locals. Which is a good thing cause it's my Dad watching the TV, and I sure as heck don't want him to wonder why all his channels are being replaced by weird-o American ones :P

Personally though I think elevation still does play somewhat of a role. The effects surely would have been minimized. Kitchener and Markham are on higher ground (the moraine and the enscarpment)

as well as London, Belleville, and Leamington being on wide swaths of open ground...

What types of antennas work best with Tropo?