Did you say what kind of connectors or cable you are using? If your ends are not premade, they might not be on properly. And i would imagine cheap rg59 cable might hinder performance bad enough to result in what is happening to you.

Macman,

It's a bit of a potpourri. Most of the runs are RG6 with the factory ends on them... but a couple of my test locations have short runs of RG59.

I can get very clear reception of channel 7 analog and a pretty good channel 9 analog so I never considered that my connectors could be an issue.

However, when I get a chance to do the outside-on-the-deck test, it will be with a single piece of R6 from the antenna to the surge protector, and then surge protector to TV (ie, no splitters, joiners, etc).

Thanks for the additional info!

You guys should all get in a van and roam around Canada fixing people's antenna problems. The O-T-A Team!

I picked up Global's digital signal in Steinbach, Manitoba, so OTA DTV is definitely possible!

Thanks to everyone who supplied tips and advice. Here's how I received the signal.

I built a single (not double) Gray Hoverman using 14-gauge wire, stripped, and thumbtacked to a piece of quarter-inch plywood. Not pretty or permanent but, as it turns out, functional.

Initial tests in the basement of our bilevel, and in the garage attic (where my current analog antennas are) were unsuccessful. The garage attic test was with and without an amplifier. All these tests registered 0% signal strength and 0% signal quality.

This evening I ran a length of RG6 out through the dryer vent so I could try the antenna outdoors on the deck. First try with antenna pointing east still had no signal on Channel 40 (the only digital signal available at this time). I turned the antenna to the northwest and BINGO!

I was receiving 60% signal strength and 100% signal quality on an LG TV. Also -- even though it won't matter in a couple of weeks -- the quick and dirty Gray Hoverman was getting better reception on my analog channels than with my current amplified antennas. Gray Hoverman rocks!

At this point, the top of the Gray Hoverman would have been about 12 feet above ground.

In the weeks ahead I will try to run some RG6 up to the house attic since it sits higher than the garage. I'm hoping the gain in altitude from the deck location will make up for the fact that it will be "indoors" in the attic. If it works in the attic, then I don't have to worry about mounting and grounding, etc.

Worst case scenario, I make a nicer looking antenna and mount it on the corner of my deck.

So if you're in Steinbach, you CAN get over the air digital television.

Thanks again for everyone's help. I'm gonna be tied up for a bit, but will post results as soon as I try anything new.

Allan, glad to hear you have a working antenna system! I would be surprised to not get a signal from channel 40 from Steinbach, should be a fairly clear line of sight except for trees and buildings etc.
I've built a few single channel antennas for picking up specific channels on UHF usually from the south. I find these work very well but they are cumbersome for regular channel surfing because they are tuned for that single channel. The GH antenna is a great broadband design with enough gain to replace my yagi antennas... I just have to get around to building one. I might just side-mount one off the top of my tower for the Winnipeg stations and use the Wingard antenna for deep fringe UHF from the south.

By the way are you one of the StormReady participants?

Cheers!
-C.

Cham, I work at the Radio stations in Steinbach... so I'm kind of always storm-ready. Other than that, nope.

Once the digital switch takes place and if I happy with the reception of my usual "farmer vision" channels, I may try and build something to pickup KNRR. They were a nice alternative to have back when they were analog.

Not sure if something in my attic will work for them, but we'll see.

Take care!

Great signals from down south this am. Approx 200mi VHF & getting most of the Grand Forks/Fargo stations.
-C.

Getting a signal strength of 75% from Global Regina (CFRE 11-01) with a home-built bow-tie antenna (for vhf-hi/uhf) tacked onto the outside wall of the house. I'm in Moose Jaw, about 65 km away

edit: checked a few times during the day. signal strength was creeping up gradually (not sure why) and is now at 93%

Nothing from CFRE using an indoor antenna. Northeast part of the city within spitting distance of the station but miles away from the main broadcast tower. Same tower with analog was nearly impossible to get, so I'm not surprised.

Looks like I'll have to go to a yagi on the roof.

and the local stations wonder why most people subscribe to cable or satellite! Same problem in down town Regina. Have an HDTV but can get nothing. When in analog their signal was there but too week to watch.

Be sure to give your nearest major intersection or your neighbourhood name, and also what type of antenna and any other OTA gear you are using.

Here is a helpful set of steps to take when posting in the OTA Forum so that we can understand and/or assist better:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=125161

cheers

For the two in Regina that can't get Global HD, what kind of tv do you have? Do you have it set right? I remember when Global went HD here in Saskatoon that I couldn't pick it up on one of my tv's, but when I went into the tv setup options I found that the over the air signal was set to cable, not antenna. As soon as I switched that to antenna Global came in like nothing. Much like Regina, the analog station I get is unwatchable. It is there but hard to see, but Global HD I get at 98%, so you should see it. Check the settings.

Sometimes under the tv setup menu the option you would be looking for is called antenna, but most tv's come with it defaulted at cable and you need to switch it to air to get the HD ove the air signal in.

Let us know if that works.

Yes my HDTV is set to "antenna". It is a Samsung 32" LCD flat panel. Could always get a week analog signal from Global Regina but now not even a hint of digital. There tower is located about 40 to 50 miles outside the city. Perhaps that may have something to do with it.

CFRE stayed on channel 11. It wouldn't matter if your TV was set to "Antenna or CATV" because that only alters the frequencies for channels 14+.
Looks to me as if they're utilizing the old transmit antenna and it probably is horizontally polarized.
I'd start with laying your rabbit ears flat and extended. If that doesn't do the trick, add an RF amplifier with rabbit ears flat.
dogger, follow stampeder's link, we can further help you especially if you follow step 7.

Could always get a week analog signal from Global Regina but now not even a hint of digital. There tower is located about 40 to 50 miles outside the city. Perhaps that may have something to do with it.
If all you got was a "weak analog signal", then you may not get channel 11 digital without a better antenna and/or preamp.

The settings are fine. It's an antenna issue for me. My TV's are both ATSC compatible. I was pretty sure that it would be the case long before the switch. No big deal, really.

Like some others here, I'm trying to get CFRE Global Regina in glorious HD, nothing so far. :confused:

Location: Centennial St., south-east Regina, university area-ish.

Here's my TV Fool report (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d3e475a60dce4dd).

Using this Terk antenna (http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=Indoor+Antennas&product=1505315), into my Elgato Hybrid USB tuner (http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/EyeTV-Hybrid-10/product1.en.html), Mac OS 10.7. Used this setup all last year for Hockey Night in Canada, thanks to advice on this forum. :)

I rarely got analog CFRE before the switch, so I'm not too surprised either.

More antenna details: I've got the two dipoles horizontal, extended 22 inches each (can't extend fully, it hits the wall, unless I move the antenna across the room or something). Will play around with it some more this weekend. Thanks!

I've got the two dipoles horizontal, extended 22 inches each (can't extend fully, it hits the wall, unless I move the antenna across the room or something)Yep, that's the problem in a nutshell! You'll want to look up channel 11 in the charts in Post #19 of the OTA FAQ to find the ideal 1/2 wave for it, and then set your antenna's VHF rabbit ears to that width from tip-to-tip and start testing: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=837957&postcount=19

It might even be possible to get it with 1/4 wave width, so maybe try that first. ;) Also keep in mind that with the rabbit ears extended horizontally you can use the UHF "arrow" portion of that antenna to aim it directly at CFRE so that the rabbit ears are perpendicular to the broadcast antenna.

I find that elgato hybrids are particulalry noisy on VHF stationa, so I'm not surprised you're having trouble. I doubt rabbit ears will be good enough.
Some other things to try:
- moving the stick away from the computer. At least use the supplied USB short extension cord.
- move the antenna outside if you can, even if you're still near the ground. VHF stations need a large aperture (an RF technical term for the area around the antenna that needs to be free of obstructions), and residential windows may not be large enough.

Thanks again for the input folks! I think I'm just too far to pull in Global (38km from their tower). Tried a few different things this weekend, but it's just snow. Also tried hooking up to my roommate's TV (built-in ATSC tuner...thus bypassing my Mac's USB tuner), nothing.

I guess I'll wait until Sept 1st to see how the other channels come in after the switch. If I get nothing from them as well, then I'll need another solution!

I tried again this weekend with a signal amplifier and even moved the rabbit ears outside. Again no signal. On Sunday there was a tropospheric scatter storm as I was able to pick up fm radio from Williston ND in the car. Did not transfer through though to any tv channels. Thought this would at least give me a chance to see cfre in hd but no luck. I am thinking the only way I am ever going to see it is to put an antenna on the roof. This is not an option for alot of people so global really should get their act together and do something about it.