My buddy has a place near Crown Point and he was getting good reception with an HD360 prior to the Digital Switchover using the rotation feature to home in when he changed channels. Since the digital switch he added a converter but the converter has to be reset each time the antannae is rotated..... So it's time to get the right antennae for his location. His TV fool link is provided below. Could we get a recommendation on a good antennae solution for his situation please.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d14f33648ccf313

Thanks
Doug

It appears that all the Camp Fortune TV transmitters except for channel 9.1 (which is at the top of the tower) are down from 1 until 5 AM nightly. That's 4.1 6.1 13.1 24.1 30.1 40.1.

It would be nice if the broadcasters had announced this somewhere.
We all know that is too much to ask :)

Landowner, the HD360 I've seen on the web is an omnidirectional RV-type antenna without an integrated rotor, so I can't comment on what your friend has.

I would think that an antenna fixed to optimize the stations from Herberts Corners should pick up most CF stations.

Which channels does your friend want to watch?

Also, most (all?) converters let the user do an "add channels" scan which does not erase the previously scanned-in channels.
Which brand of converter does your friend have?

We all know that is too much to ask :)
My point is that it shouldn't be too much to ask. ;)

My point is that it shouldn't be too much to ask. ;)
I don't disagree with your point at all.

Glad to see that CTV is having problems. Yesterday after my post of success, 13.1 was breaking up like mad on both TVs despite both showing signal strength of 55 - 75%. We finally decided it was broadcasting a weak signal. Then at 11 p.m. Mountain PBS was breaking up (and hasn't returned yet) but CTV was simply gone. All other CF channels were there.

Makes figuring out if one's system is optimized rather difficult!

If a pre-amp will return Mountain PBS, then I will get one. I didn't realize PBS now broadcasts European 24h news channels but I'm used to those (and prefer them to both the US all-news stations so am thrilled at being able to get them at home.

Jack's Girl, because you are splitting the signal at least once, a preamp will improve things. A low noise figure preamp will work best, between 0.4 and 3dB maximum noise figure. You will have lots of options in this range. The excellent Channel Master 7777 and 7778 are popular in Ottawa because of the included FM trap and the single/dual input option.

Jack's Girl, in order to give you a better estimate as to whether you can get WNPI reliably with a preamp, you should post your tvfool report for others to comment on. Have a look at the link above called "All members must read this thread" for details on how to make it then post it here.

I hacked a rabbit-ears antenna and have been able to improve my Global (channel 6) reception from 28% signal strength (with no picture) to 55-86% signal strength.

Because it's not specific to Kanata, I posted the full story in the "Antenna Research & Development - DIY Antennas for VHF-LO" thread:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=1320254#post1320254

When I get the whole antenna setup onto my roof, I'm sure the reception will improve (and we'll see how the rabbit-ears hold up to the weather).

One question related to that is... is anyone in South Kanata getting Global (channel 6) with just a CM-4228HD on their roof?

Sun News over the air in Ottawa is gone for good. They want to become a subscription channel only. Here are more details in this thread http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=143024

Thanks for the tip Flavoie!

Definitely no big loss losing SUN News...

Would the pre-amp you suggest be something like a CM7778 or CM7777?
Regards
Doug

Here's one for the record. Hopefully somebody will find it useful.

I mounted a Winegard SS-2000 (from Saveandreplay) onto my old satellite rig at the base of the roof here in east central Ottawa.

TVfool looks like this

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d14f38bd53375ab

And my reception is fine for the 13 digital channels one would expect to get.

6
9
13
17
20
22
24
25
27
30
40
42
43

Thanks to others that have contributed to these forums. I made my choice based on the antenna chart and don't regret it.

I had some time this morning so I tried to play around with some rabbit ears to try and get the elusive channel 6.

Success! Well, sort of. My LG tv scanned in channel 6 for the first time today. I'm using an old set of rabbit ears (which appear to be about 2 inches too short based on the measurements provided in the forums) for channel 6 mounted outside a ground floor window.

The TV reports signal strength between 35-40% but quality is at best 20% which means it's barely watchable. This makes me very happy as now I might invest in a VHF-lo antenna.

Edit: I forgot to mention that this is with a crappy -3.5dB connector inline as the rabbit ears had a female connector.

Also, my TV fool (for roof):
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9e7413999bd2cc

LOL, so you're much farther than I (nearly double the distance) yet you get it with rabbit ears and I can't get it with a 302 on the roof! This depresses me ...

Although that doesn't mean you'll get it. I get 75% strength yet only 10% quality for some reason.

Global is better tonight, still unwatchable but stronger!

Out here in Renfrew, there isn't a lot I can pick up with my little rabbit-ears setup in a second floor bedroom, but I'm getting more than TVFool tells me I can:

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d14f357ca9fc004

I'm currently receiving CBOT (25) at 77%, TVO (24) at 69%, and CIVO (30) at 72%. Some evenings I have picked up CHOT on 40, as well. I used to get CBOFT on 22, but that's been gone for a few weeks.

I have looked around for coverage maps for the stations out of Ottawa, but can't seem to find them, except for CBOT, and I was wondering how powerful the Global digital transmission is; can I hope to pick it up here?

Like clockwork, I've never seen this NOT happen. Again, minutes after 1AM.
24.1 TVO drops, tv says signal is 0.
13.1, 0 signal

Yes this is annoying. I PVR the Colbert Report and it is cutting off right in the middle of the interview at the end of the show.

I sent email to CTVottwa (general contact from their web page).

I will report what they say if anything.

Sugarpopspete,

Your reception is limited by your small antenna.

According to your TV Fool report, you can probably pick-up:

CBC
CTV
TVO

CHOT
TVA
Tele-Quebec
V

Global probably wouldn't work no matter how hard you try. But if you wanted to try it you'd need a big antenna at roof height.

For the above other seven channels a Channel Master 4228hd on your roof or second floor wall might work. You might need a Channel Master 7778 or 7777 pre-amp but you could try first without.

You can probably get a very clear analog global on channel 2 of you open up your rabbit ears to the max, horizontally pointed at Bancroft.

You can see my reception report in the Aylmer Gatineau thread for my cottage in Kazabazua which is not that far from you as the crow flies. We have similar-looking TVFool reports. If anything yours is better than mine.

MaxPower, interesting antenna. That it's in your attic means it won't have to handle outdoor weather conditions. Is it supposed to be a UHF/VHF combo antenna or specifically just a VHF antenna? Where did you find the specs, or can you post them somewhere so that we can try to duplicate it if we're interested?

I've hacked my own antenna to receive channel 6 (Global) which I'll post soon.

I'm pretty sure I got the plans from this site, I believe it was called a centipede antenna.

What I'd really like to do is make a couple more antennas and combine them. But based on what I have been reading that can be tricky to achieve.

There are a few channels in the UHF band I would expect to receive reliably that I rarely receive. For example, TVO is fairly reliable but I almost never get CBC. If I were to swing the uhf antenna around I would get it no problem but I enjoy the PBS stations from south colton.

That said, hockey season is fast approaching...

MaxPower, there is thread for combining antennas. Mainly they would usually suggest to use the same identical antennas, keep them apart at a minimum distance, and use the same coax length between each of them and the splitter. Check details here.
http://digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=1320862

For local stations, I need a solution that combines both sites, and both UHF/VHF, into a single downfeed, so I can have a single pool of 2 or 3 tuners for MythTV. My current plan is to use an AntennasDirect CS2 (70 deg beamwidth) combined with the 5Y6S and CM7777. The CS2 arrives tomorrow, so I will post a follow-up with my results.
OK, my AntennasDirect ClearStream2 arrived Tuesday, and due to incoming weather(!), I decided to take a shortcut and mount it below the HD8800 and 5Y6S on my antenna testbed (result: it's at about 4' above ground on the pole, and 5' below the centre of the HD8800).

I took some signal measurements from the HD8800, then connected the CS2 into the CM7777 UHF input in its place, and repeated the signal measurements. The HD8800 was aimed roughly at Herberts Corners; the CS2 roughly inbetween HC and Camp Fortune. (There is a 61 degree angle between the two from my location, which is the problem I'm trying to address with the wider beamwidth, though lower gain, CS2.)

Some of the measurements surprised me, but most were consistent with expectations based upon published graphs.

Biggest surprise: I had hardly ever detected 40.1 with the HD8800 (remember, aimed at HC...), but with the CS2 it came in with a weak signal (with break-ups) on both my Aquos and HVR950Q. Ch 30.1 had been occasionally received on the HD8800, but came in with a weak but pretty stable signal on the CS2.

In general, the CF station signals improved, while the HC signals dropped slightly -- as expected, since the directional HD8800 was aimed to favour HC.

Overall, the CS2 does a good job of receiving both sites, as I had hoped. In fact (excluding the troublesome 40.1), the Aquos reports signal levels of 65 to 85 on all UHF channels, and the HVR950Q reports $f0 to $fa (its maximum).

For the last year I've been focused primarily on the high-gain antennas (CM3671, CM4228HD, HD8800, AD DB-8 -- as well as the various xBGH, etc...), but they all are quite directional. I really don't need their maximum gain for the local channels; I need an antenna that has a wide beamwidth to handle sites 61 degrees apart. It was only recently that I ran across the CS2. (Yes, I now see it is on the OTA Forum Antenna chart...)

I think I've finally found a configuration that will work for me for the local stations, so I'm planning to move it to a more permanent location: CS2 (UHF) + 5Y6S (VHF) + CM7777. (Note: still looking at improving that VHF configuration :).)

Based upon what I've seen I'd suggest that any folks trying to deal with transmitter sites spread up to 70 or 80 degrees apart, and up to, say, 30 miles away, should consider the AntennasDirect ClearStream2 as an option for UHF (possibly combined with an appropriate pre-amp) rather than limiting their options to the higher gain, more directional alternatives.

A couple of references:
hdtvprimer: updated info on CM4228HD and other OTA models (http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/TemporaryPage.html
digitalhome.ca Decision Chart for OTA Antennas v8.2 http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=840&d=1312822805

I still plan to use that high-gain, very directional HD8800 for the South Colton stations that I originally ordered it for...;)