This may be a stupid question, but if you're going to go through the trouble of setting up a roof-mounted UHF antenna, why would you stick the rabbit ears in the attic and not on the roof mast with the other?

Also, just a quick note that I got an answer from Antennas Direct's support that the ClearStream5 would have sufficient reception on channel 6 to get Global, provided multi-path isn't an issue.

Size, and a corollary of Size is how nice it looks which is correlated with the Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF).

Personnally, I had permission to put ONE uhf antenna (4228hd) on the roof and when I found that antenna wasn't good enough for VHF Lo (ch 6), I found the loophole of adding a VHF antenna in the attic...

did you ask what gain the CS5 has in the VHF Lo range ?

Where to buy an antenna locally ?
check this thread
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=23984
and search for "Ottawa" in it. There's only a handful of stores carrying OTA in Ottawa. One of them is in the west end and has things in stock.

Regarding signal issues during hockey, it might not be a local phenomenon. I was watching hockey here in Calgary the other day and noticed the signal freezing/dropping out. If it's not happening with other programs, I would guess it's a network issue and not our problem to fix! :)

thanks guys...

There is wife factor for sure.... thanks for the tips...

I might just go with 7777 and if I decide to go with local only channels I might just build my own 4-bay or 8-bay antenna out of coat hangers I bet it would beat my 4221 knock-over... I have all the parts to build it.

Paul let me know if you would be interested in ordering togheter (via Odensburgh), we could split fuel / post office costs... Please pm if interested. I might still opt to pick up 7777 off fleabay...

BTW... are there any rumors of new HD stations in Ottawa coming before September? I hope they will start test some of them way before Septemeber .... ;)

I don't think anything's going to come up until late August. most stations will flash cut. I am trying to get TFO to ask TVO to carry them as a subchannel in Ottawa, which i'll post my status under this thread:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=105528

downbeat: thanks for that! I was beginning to think I was going crazy, especially since it doesn't seem to happen during any other programs.

Hey Guys,

I got my CM7777 yesterday. Very happy because of the possible Canada Post strike. The preamp seems to be very sturdy and good quality (has some weight too). I haven't test it yet...

So Now the plan is to readjust the 4221 knock-off with a short cable and using my portable 7" dvd player's input and Hisense HD atsc tuner to tune the antenna by pointing at HC and use backing to catch CF channels. Once I get 4221 setup, I'll put everything together with CM7777 in the mix.

I have a couple of questions...

1) should I disable FM trap (enabled by default) and if not used disable mixing UHF/VHF signals? or does it really matter?

2) can you use regular rabbit ears for VHF or should I built something (that is easy)... What is the best/easiest VHF DIY antenna? To catch upcoming global channel...

3) I'm planning to build SH-289 (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1149158&postcount=289) and install it in the attic over garage, I want to see if it will be better than 4221. Are there any other easy UHF antenna to build for the attic to get local channels with CM7777?

4) I have about 100ft of #8 Aluminum round ground wire (it is soft). Would it work to build SH-289 or should look for something else?

Thanks so much for all your help ;)

1) should I disable FM trap (enabled by default) and if not used disable mixing UHF/VHF signals? or does it really matter?

No, keep the default, FM trap enabled. FM traps have proven to be very useful in Ottawa in front of various preamps. The cm7777's included FM trap is a key feature in Ottawa.

2) can you use regular rabbit ears for VHF or should I built something (that is easy)... What is the best/easiest VHF DIY antenna? To catch upcoming global channel...
3) I'm planning to build SH-289 and install it in the attic over garage, I want to see if it will be better than 4221. Are there any other easy UHF antenna to build for the attic to get local channels with CM7777?
4) I have about 100ft of #8 Aluminum round ground wire (it is soft). Would it work to build SH-289 or should look for something else?

rabbit ears are a VHF antenna...
You can look into the SBGH & DBGH & other variants in the antenna R&D forums. They are likely the highest gain antennas you can build. But i'm no DIY expert so check the antenna R&D sub-forum for all related antenna building questions...
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=186

thanks Flavoie... the only problem is to find time to play around in the attic... With 2 little boys and weather nice (so far) this weekend I don't think I'll have any time to play with it... LOL :-)

Hi all!

I'm back!

I installed a CM4228 on my roof Friday night, initial channel scan revealed 21 channels. :D

After cabling everything up with a grounding block and splitter I seemed to have lost on of the channels OMNI2 HD I think that is 66-1 from TV fool it looks like it is the weakest of the channels. I am also able to pick up global on channel 2 and 6, which 2 being much clearer than 6.

First try on the roof I had everything, I tried repositioning the antenna to get better reception with no luck, my first location was actually the best I ended up putting it back. I am pointing roughly at Manotic.

I'm a little confused why 66.1 would be so weak according to TV Fool 17.1 (city) would be actually weaker but it's fine.

Do you think a CM7777 would help pick up the last few channels? I'm thinking I'll wait for all the digital channels now. No point in fighting trying to get fuzzy analog channels for 2 months!

I'm happy with my setup and now am looking to get a tuner card and build my own PVR just waiting for Aug/Sept for more channels!

hi wing, the reason you're getting City on 17 better is the 4228hd has better gain on channel 17 than on channel 66. In 2 months CJMT on channel 66 is moving to channel 20 so you should expect better reception in September.

That being said, as soon as you're going to split the signal to multiple devices, I believe a low noise preamp is a no brainer to get a reliable setup. It will help improve your signal margin for days when the weather is not ideal, for example.
It should help with channel 66 in the short term as well.

Awesome, thanks for the reply.

So I guess I save my pennies for a CM7777 or similar? I'll probably be splitting 3 ways so probably worth it.

I always recommend the cm7777 in Ottawa, because of its included FM trap, low noise figure and apparently good reliability.

Well this is a new one. Was watching the game tonight when both CBC and SRC went dark about 10 minutes ago. Both my TVs still show between 70% and 80% signal strength for either channel, with 100% signal quality, and yet "no signal".

Somebody must have sat on something.

EDIT: and they're back, about 15 minutes later

EDIT2: I called a friend in my neighborhood and the exact same thing happened to him, so something definitely happened at CF and/or CBC

Yup everything went black. EyeTV reported "loss of signal"

analog 4 worked. Then I noticed analog 4 go all wonky, cut in and out really quickly 2 times, switched back and digital was back. So perhaps someone tripped on a cable. :P

Same here, lost the game for a bit and decided to go to bed. Good to hear a few others had the same issue I guess.

Just happened again, for a few seconds.

There's something screwy going on with the CBC feed during NHL games.