I just wanted to let people know my results. I now have channel 17-1 CityTV HD. I am in barrhaven, and I have the CM4221 mounted in my attic. I also took a video of my TV showing what channel reception is like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCD35w_tW0E

4 CBC
4-1 CBC HD English
6 Global
9 SRC (cbc french)
9-1 SRC HD (cbc french)
11 CHCH
13 CTV
14 OMNI2
17-1 CITYHD
18-1 WPBS1
18-2 WPBS2
18-3 WPBS3
20-1 SUNTV
24 TVO
27-1 OMNI1
30 CIVM (Télé-Québec)
32 CITV CITV (Crossroads Television System)
34 TQS
36 CKWS Kingston
40 CHOT
43 A-Channel Ottawa
60 OMNI1
65 CITY TV Toronto
66-1 OMNI2

I also picked up plattsburg NY for a few mins when I was positioning my antenna.

You don't need a 4228 to get the locals -- it has more gain than you need, and has a narrower beamwidth that you want. Any UHF outdooor antenna will do. A 4221 should be fine.

I'd second that about getting the local channels with the 4228, it's overkill. Infact I did a comparison of the 4228 vs the 4221 in my attic and the 4221 picked up more channels.

Success! I bought a CM4221HD and did the hardware hacks including cutting the reflectors down. I now have all the local digital and analog channels. I have it pointed to 126 degrees magnetic (based on eyeballing from the tvfool map).

TVfool (postal code K2J 2S2)
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9fbe5451169ace

If I could now get PBS (18.1) with a second antenna, I would be ecstatic.

Hi OTAFree. Is that list of channels you posted two posts back what you're currently getting with one CM4221HD? You get the PBS channels and city tv hd?

If so, could you tell me what you've got for a setup and exactly which direction you have it pointed.

Oh - nevermind. I got it. Just had to point a bit further south than the Herberts Corners tower.

Success! I bought a CM4221HD and did the hardware hacks including cutting the reflectors down. I now have all the local digital and analog channels. I have it pointed to 126 degrees magnetic (based on eyeballing from the tvfool map).

TVfool (postal code K2J 2S2)
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9fbe5451169ace

If I could now get PBS (18.1) with a second antenna, I would be ecstatic.
Are you getting the same channels as me in Barrhaven? You mentioned not being able to receive 18-1, can you get it now, or do you still need an antenna. Also have you tried using a Cm7777 amplifier? That might just solve the rest of the problems.

Hi - I ended up getting the same list of channels you posted. I have a crappy home depot 10db amplifier in the basement, but I'm going to replace it with a channel master preamp.

Any idea if there are any special Barrhaven by-laws for antennas aside from the City of Ottawa consolidated by-laws? From what I can tell from the documentation I found online, the antenna can be as tall as the property is wide, and must be on the back half of the roof or backyard. Must be set back from the property lines by 1/4 the height of the antenna tower.

I have a 50ft-wide lot, so I assume that my 35ft height is fine.

http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/bylaw/a_z/zoning/parts/pt_05/index_en-01.html

I was wondering the same and asked the city of Ottawa about a week ago. The above Part 5, Section 120 which you quoted applies when you have an antenna tower or a satellite dish to install.

If you have an antenna to install on your roof with no tower involved, then you may add:
Part 2, Section 64 - according to an email I got from a city employee, TV antennas are exempt from a height limitation:
http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/bylaw/a_z/zoning/parts/pt_02/index_en-10.html

Thanks for the confirmation. I only wish I could get teletoon or comedy. I'm going to miss those channels.

Hello everybody, I'm new to the whole OTA experience but am learning a great deal on this forum and after reading the experimental antenna section, am even considering starting to tinker with building some stuff of my own.
Anyway, onto my questions, I am in Kanata north (Shirleys Brook) with a CM4221HD in my attic and about 60 feet of RG6 to my HDTV. I can currently pull in stations from herberts corners or camp fortune, but not both and they all have a slight shadow - here is a link to my tvfool report. I am hoping to eventally get digital and analogue channels.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9fbe1a3c714e66

My problem is that the wife is French so obviously wants the fortune channels while I prefer the HC ones but also CBC for the world cup. A rotor is out of the question as this will be eventually serving a mythtv box and maybe a second TV. I've already invested in the CM antenna and am looking for some expert advice before making any more investment.

The attic install is for convenience (the antenna actually points out of the side of the house - not through the shingles) but a roof mount *may* also be an option if absolutely necessary.

Here are my questions.

There is around 100 degrees between the two transmitters, is it possible to use my existing antenna to receive signals well from both. If not, then how would I go about adding a second or would an antenna such as a CM3000A be any use to me?

If I was to add a second antenna, what would the recommendations be, I'd like to try my hand at making a gray-hoverman - can anybody suggest any particular design that would be best and what other hardware would be required, combiners etc. perhaps?

Finally, there is an experimental transmitter that I can actually see from my house, what is that thing broadcasting???


I'm looking forward any help and to spending more time here in future.



Burgershot

Hi Burgershot, and welcome to the forum.

I live close to you in Morgan's Grant, and I'm having good success with separate antennas and tuner cards for Camp Fortune and Herbert's Corners.

I've got a CM 4221HD (from Save and Replay) and an Antennacraft Y5-7-13 (from The Source) pointing toward Herbert's Corners, joined together with a UHF/VHF joiner. Adding in the Antennacraft brought channel 11 from barely watchable to perfect.

For Camp Fortune, I'm using a second CM4221HD and a Winegard 6000FM (both from Save and Replay), again joined with a UVSJ. Before my tuner card, I inserted an FM trap (from Tin Lee Electronics) to help with reception of channel 6.

All the antennas are installed in my attic, with two coax cables running through a conduit to the basement where my MythTV backend is. I'm using two HVR-1600 tuner cards, each of which has a two-way splitter installed just before it so I can tune both analog and digital stations. It's nice to be able to record up to four programs at once!

I'm fortunate to have line of sight to both Camp Fortune and Herbert's Corners (I can see both transmitters when looking out the window) so I get very good reception of all stations.

For my MythTV frontend I'm using an Acer Aspire Revo 3610 (from Canada Computers) and a Mediagate GPIR01BK Remote (from PC Cyber) attached to a 42" LG LCD television.

I'm very happy with this setup!

Hi Argilo.

Thats a nice setup, I had a mythtv back/frontend hooked up to my expressvu and when I dropped Bell I changed it to xbmc. OTA is now getting me back into live TV. I already have a pvr150 card but that would need upgrading.
Unfortunately the investment I'd have to make to justify a second frontend for the other TV as well as a second set of antennas and the two tuners would never get approval from the better half, she'll just ask why we dont go back to Bell.

Is there a way to combine the antennas to get a 100 degree beam and the signal to a single tuner?

Is there a way to combine the antennas to get a 100 degree beam and the signal to a single tuner?

I tried using a single antenna, but no matter where I put it I would always have ghosting on some of the analog channels. For digital I could easily get by with just one antenna. Once all the stations go digital next August I may go back to a single antenna so that any tuner can record any channel.

Thanks for the info. Ill probably keep it aimed at camp fortune until the world cup ends, after that Ill play some more. For some reason CBC on 4.1 drops out constantly when I aim for HC.
One last thing, should the CM4221 be aimed slightly upwards?, also does it matter if it is slightly rotated, I may need to adjust the mount.
The problem right now is that its about 60c in my attic so spending time up there is hot work.

burgershot, I was just looking at the ClearStream2 (http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/ClearStream2.html). It has much wider 3dB beamwidth (at 72º) than the CM4221 (55º). At 100º, I would guess the signal would only drop by about 5dB so it would be an excellent choice for a single antenna solution. Like the CM4221, it is UHF only so you will likely want a separate antenna for VHF if not now, after the analog shutdown.

TVfool report for bridlewood

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9fbe58e6c96ac7

I was thinking of setting up mediaportal with 2 dedicated tuners. Combing channels and setting up guide with recording and timeshift.

1.US stations antenna has not been decided yet...
2.For locals i have made a stealthhawk hoping it will cover most of them... not tested yet.

I am prepared to install on the roof.

Argilo,

I am in Barrhaven. I have all the analog and digital channels from both towers plus PBS with one CM4221HD mounted on my roof (tripod and 10ft mast). Installing the tripod took me about 2 hours since I went in the attic and installed extra 2x4 lumber supports between the rafters. The lousy tripod feet didn't match up with the rafters. I also bought a crappy 10db amp from Home Depot since I'm splitting the signal 3 ways.

Our tvfool results are somewhat similar.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9fbe5451169ace

I ended up pointing the antenna just south of the Herbert's Corners tower. Basically right at channel 23 on that radar graph thing. The frontside of the antenna picks up all Herberts Corners channels plus the three PBS channels (18.1, 18.2, 18.3) in South Colton, NY. The backside of the antenna picks up all the Camp Fortune channels. I really think there is merit to spending a bit of time putting up a roof mount.

I'll mention that I also did the three hardware hacks on the CM4221. I'm not sure if this helped or hindered, but everything is great.

;1117758']For locals i have made a stealthhawk hoping it will cover most of them... not tested yet.I tried a hastily-built stealthhawk in old Barrhaven and got all the locals albeit with fuzzy analog.

Hi everyone! I've been pouring over the wealth of information trying to figure out what kind of setup I should be looking for, but since my knowledge on these things is pretty limited, I figured I should ask for advice.

First, my TV Fool report:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9fbe3149d864a3

What I would like is basically all the digital OTA local English channels. Analog I'd consider gravy but I'm not going to work to get them since they'll be disappearing in 13 months. I'm in the process of moving from near Tunny's Pasture from a 10th floor apartment building where I didn't even need to try to get all the local OTA channels to a row house where I assume that I'll actually need some thought and effort to get decent results. The only other limitation is the WAF. She has said that she wants something that 'even she can use' meaning she just wants to turn on the TV and have it working without thinking about the antenna.

So, all that to say, from what it sounds that since I'm almost perfectly 180 degrees between CF and HC that a CM4221HD with the reflector removed might do the trick? I'd appreciate any advice before I start shelling out coin for anything. Thanks!

If you only need local stations, a reflector-less 4221HD should be fine. It may even be fine to use it with a reflector, but pointed at Herberts Corners, and you'd get enough signal off the backside for the digital stations from Camp Fortune (except perhaps for SunTV, but it's likely to disappear before too long, anyway)

Your TVFool report shows you to marginal for WNPI, but you may have half a chance with it (at least some of the time) if you move up to a Winegard PR-8800 (and a low-noise preamp, depending on your cable length and how good your own TV's tuner is). Other than SunTV, there is enough gain off the back side (even with the reflector on), to get all the Camp Fortune digital channels. It's worth a try NOT to take the reflector off, as then you would at least get a chance at 23 and 28 once in a while. You'd probably never get 18 from South Colton, though, as pointing directly at Herberts Corners, you'd probably get killed with spillover from CITY on 17.
Running with the reflector on will make the analog reception for the next year a bit iffy, but you say you can live with that.

jakethesnakes, I agree with tvlurker's comments. The only other thing you might want to consder is VHF-HI. CJOH have applied to continue using 13 (and CBOFT will likely use 9 though you say you are only interested in English broadcasts). Although CJOH should be very strong, the 4221HD and PR-8800 are not known for great VHF reception, especially on their back side. You could wait and see how it does and consider buying a VHF-HI antenna only if needed, or just buy it right away (it will only cost about $40) to ensure good reception and save having to install it later.

VHF-LO is another consideration as Global was alocated channel 6 post transition; however, judging by their applications in other regions, it is exreemly likely they will apply for a UHF channel, if they transition in Ottawa at all (even that isn't certain at this point).