For channel-6, an FM interference trap seems to be the ticket. Yup, There appears to be three things that I need on the short term. One is a FM Trap. I am hoping that I could get something that will kill the whole 88 to 108MHz band. The second thing is a few high quality baluns. I am currently using a couple that I bought from The Source and if they are the same as the ones from Radio Shack then I am loosing about 5dB (from the Balun discussion) The third is a diplexer to combine the super paper clip with a Gray Hoverman. Hopefully a bag full of goodies will help to keep the shipping cost down per item. This brings up the question. Is there any .com supplier for this kind of stuff out there that does does not consider Ottawa,Canada as international as Gabarone, Botswana. Till today I cannot understand how a US supplier in New York will be willing to throw something in the mail to Alaska but unwilling to do the same thing if the address on the package happens to be Ottawa, Canada

mlord, the FM trap that you have, is that a selectable one or a wideband? The reason why I am asking is the answer to the question if the concern is the whole FM band or just the 88MHz section immediately adjacent to Channel 6? Some of the wideband filters that I have seen "leaks" into channel 6 band which I dont think is a good idea if you are having difficulty getting channel 6.

Hi all:

We are rural near Kemptville Ontario, we lost our U.S. stations last month two from watertown and one from Mountain lake. So I thought it's about time to buy a digital converter box. I have a 30 foot tower with an aluminum antenna pointing north/ south to pick Ottawa and Watertown stations. This has always worked well as we had between 14-18 stations.

I set up the converter box and searched. To my dismay I pick up between 1 and 3 stations, cbc french cbc and sometimes the Sun network, however none of the U.S. stations the had changed to digital (the whole reason I bought the box)

Is there something I need to do or do these digital stations not make it as far as the anolog did?

any help would be great!!

Thanks

There's a ton of explanation/information about this in this site's O.T.A. (Over The Air) FAQ. Have a look.

Short version for your case is: 1. your antenna may no longer be for the correct band (UHF or VHF), and 2. your convertor box probably doesn't have the necessary "analog passthrough" feature.

-ml

The trap I'm using (Radio Shack brand) is non-adjustable. It just gets inserted inline, and works. No fuss, and a lot of luck. :)

The trap in jocoman's Spartan pre-amp *is* adjustable, but we didn't touch the adjustment on it.

Cheers

RamKat: I picked up some extra UVSJ (UHF/VHF Splitter/Joiner) devices from Toronto last weekend. If you want one, give me a holler and it's yours (at cost) . Pick up in Bells Corners.

If you're really nice, you can also borrow the FM trap to see if this particular unit would work in your situation, before trying to find one of your own.

Speaking of which, Reset Electronics in town here *might* have something similar.

I've also got a small bag full of baluns from abroad, which seem to work well enough here.

Cheers

mlord, does your source in Toronto have any HLSJs? Although the specs don't say so, apparently the VHF-HI side is actually a high pass filter so it also passes UHF, which would make it very useful.

Thanks for the offer mlord. I will take a rain cheque on that one. The FM trap that you have sounds like one that covers the whole 88 to 108 band.

As far as the diplexer I am looking for. I want to use the VHF-LO from the single folded dipole for the CF towers channel 4 and 6. For the VHF-HI and UHF I want to build a couple of reflector NAROD SBGHs to each cover CF and HC. However, I would like to keep the dipole in my back pocket for HC's Channel 11 since it was working well in VHF-HI and as it is currently providing an almost digital like quality picture on Channel 13 from CF. The only problem with adding a second dipole is that I am running out of antenna seperation space in the the small attic where I have relative easy access to.

I also have the same general question as roger1818 about the HLSJ performance in the UHF band - since if it also passes the UHF band with relative low losses, it will be the ideal way to combine the dipole with the NAROD SBGHs. I am 80% sure it should be okay so I am going to order one to check it out.

I also have the same general question as roger1818 about the HLSJ performance in the UHF band - since if it also passes the UHF band with relative low losses, it will be the ideal way to combine the dipole with the NAROD SBGHs. I am 80% sure it should be okay so I am going to order one to check it out.

I am not sure how well the HLSJ performs in the UHF band as I don't have any first hand experience with it. There is also a chance that it will also act as an FM trap.

If you do decide to order one, maybe you could make it 2 and we can split the shipping costs. PM me and we can work out the details.

The FM trap that you have sounds like one that covers the whole 88 to 108 band.
I dunno, but it works quite well for improving reception of channel-6 here.

mlord, does your source in Toronto have any HLSJs?
None so far.

I do see an FM splitter/combiner: Winegard CA8800. Mmm.. kinda like an FM trap, except it splits off the FM (only) on one output, and puts UHF/VHF on the other output.

That could be quite useful to me here. If anyone is ordering from a place that has those, let me know if I can piggyback one onto your order.

EDIT: Oh, wait.. they're somewhat expensive, so never mind.

Cheers

Winegard CA8800. Mmm.. kinda like an FM trap, except it splits off the FM (only) on one output, and puts UHF/VHF on the other output.Nice find mlord. The big question is what does it do to channel 6? In order to pass the entire FM band, channel 6 might be attenuated.

After reviewing recent post to this thread with Admin I've deleted some posts in this thread about shipping issues as off topic since they are not directly about reception in the geographic area covered by this thread.

Regarding devices needed for properly getting Channel 6, that is an excellent topic for this thread but please remember that posts for discussing the availability of retail stuff on the web aren't on topic so should go in threads that already exist.

Nice find mlord. The big question is what does it do to channel 6? In order to pass the entire FM band, channel 6 might be attenuated.

That might not be such a big deal within Ottawa -- I suspect the problem with ch 6 reception is desensitization by all the energy in the FM band, plus intermod distortion from all those signals. Attenuating the FM may do more good than attenuating channel 6 does harm, if it takes things out of the non-linear zone for amplifiers involved.

With my crappy ass setup (see pics in gallery). I get

WWNY-DT (CBS)
WNPI (NBC) @ around 50 - 60% depending on which way the wind is blowing my mast around. I get Ottawa (not T.O as I thought - my bad) @ 80 - 90%, SUN TV HD & SD @ 75 - 80%
ABC is spotty and usually comes in at around 40 - 50%
PBS is also spotty @ around 30 - 45%.

I'm currently working on 3 antenna's. A SBGH10 facing Kingston, and DBGH10 (if that makes any sense) facing Watertown (I-81S). My local is HWY 43 & Rosedale Road very close to the big cellphone antenna off of Rosedale.

Is their a ball's chance in hell that I might be able to DX the NBC repeater outside Watertown ? TVFool.com says its 110 miles south of my local.

I sometimes catch Plattsburg PBS if the stars are aligned in the right places

:D

whoops, I meant WNPI FOX TV in SD not NBC

Okay, I'm keeping this low key.

This Saturday, 9-5, a few of us are getting together in Bells Corners to build some GH8 antennas. Very high quality versions (we hope!). :)

There's room for one more person. If you want to build a really good OTA antenna in Ottawa, here's your chance. The cost of materials should be in the $30 range, give or take a few loonies.

PM me.

Cheers!

That's a terrific gesture, mlord, and hopefully we can see some photos/videos of the work in progress and the finished antennas too!

Your offer interests me mlord but I figure there's no way to get any US stations without an antenna tower and that's not in the cards right now. I'm down (east) Richmond Rd from Bells Corners and at a lower elevation than you. Right now I have a Silver Sensor below ground level(!) and it gets the DTV signals from Ryan Tower perfectly. Getting any more I figure would be a huge jump in gear.

Like stampeder said, take lots of pictures.

hopefully we can see some photos/videos of the work in progress and the finished antennas too!
Definitely! I was feeling a bit put out with the recent photo contest, as it found me without any GH antennas on hand to photograph properly! (thus the submission of photos from last year).

It appears there will be four of us building, and four or five others dropping in and out through the day. My camera gear is all back from Toronto now, so we'll get a group (antenna) shot if nothing else. :)

Cheers

Is their a ball's chance in hell that I might be able to DX the NBC repeater outside Watertown ?

What NBC repeater in Watertown? There is none.

Watertown has three digital stations:
WWNY 7.1/7.2 CBS HD/Fox SD
WPBS 16.1/16.2/16.3 PBS SD/SD/HD
WWTI 50.1/50.2 ABC HD/CW SD

Sometime (soon, perhaps?) WNYF-CD will broadcast Fox in HD on channel 35 with 15 kW from the WWNY tower. If you can get WWTI reliably, which is only using 25 kW, you may have a chance at WNYF. (Unfortunately, WNYF is directional away from you, and you have the local CKWS on 36 in Franktown that may cause you some problems on 35.)

WNPI is the same as WPBS, but from South Colton which is closer to you than Watertown.

The nearest NBCes are in Syracuse, Utica, and Mount Mansfield.