Hi guys,

just wanted to ask a question about splitting a signal to feed 2 more TV's.

Currently, I have (2) CM4228's. One towards Buffalo and one for TO., into a combiner and CM Amplifier.

Reception is very good using a Bell 9200 receiver for OTA. Upwards of 20++ stations.

What I would like to do is split the signal for 2 other TV's in my kids rooms without losing signal quality.

Is the best way to put a 3 way splitter after the CM Amplifier??

gbswiercz - Hello again, i was just reading your post again and i just wanted to share my thoughts on what i've got setup and what i've tried, well when i got my second 4221 i thought like you i'd gang them and not have to then turn the rotor at all so i could get all the buffalo's and t.o. but what i found was i lost alot of the weaker channels so i decided to stack'm and see how that worked, in my experience i have noticed no decernable beam width loss, or forward gain in stacking.... what i have noticed with the stack setup is the channles are alot and i mean alot more stable, of my 24/7 channels there's only one that cuts in and out and thats channel 2 Rf 33 NBC from buffalo the others are all very stable. Just to give you an idea of what i'm catching right now with my antenna pointed at buffalo.... 2,4,5,6,7,11,13,15,19,23,25,26,28,31,36,41 these come in all day and theres a few more at night too, so ya other than experiment thats about all i can say, only thing is though you'll probably need some kind of vhf antenna if you want to catch 9.1 ctv toronto or 10.1 ctv2 london, cause the 4221 isn't that good at vhf... anyways nice talking with ya
Brantford Bill
Thanks for the additional comments. I wish i could use a rotor, but can't with my multi TV set up, so I'll have to work with the ganged set-up. I'm going to try my Kitztech KT100VG from my install up north to try at home, as I have yet hooked up my antennas to more than 1 tv. I'll have additional line losses, so this will be a good test. The nower noise of the Kitztech and higher gain may help vs. the AD PA-18. I am undecided on the reflector trim mod, as it is irreversible. OTA Canuck didn't see any loss in forward gain, but his location is quite a bit different than ours. I'll keep at it....

Best Regards.....

@giovanni
yes place a 3 way splitter after the pre amp power source. If you place the the 3 way splitter between the power source and mast portion the DC voltage cannot make it to the mast portion.
You can purchase a 3 way splitter that has DC pass on one port though. If you purchase one of these then you may place the splitter between the mast portion and power supply.

The CM preamp should have enough gain to make up for the new losses introduced with a 3 way splitter.

Burlington Jamie,

You can find the details of the 4221HD hacks here.....

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=104837

panamark....I want to make sure I understand you correctly....

right now, my power supply is located just behind my TV set, not in the attic where my 2 CM4228's are.

If I understand you correctly, you are telling me that it would be best if I split the signal 3 ways between the CM777 Amp and the Bell 9200??


I think I would be better off splitting the siganl in the attic. From what you are saying, I need a 3 way splitter with DC port pass.

correct giovanni,

if you place a 3 way splitter in the attic just after the mast portion of the preamp you will need a 3 way splitter with one port DC PASS. If you go this route then you can run to more runs of coax to other televisions.

Most attics doe not have a 115 volt outlet, thus this scenario would work for you.

Make sure when researching DC PASS splitters that it do NOT pass DC on the other 2 ports.

Good Luck....:p

Finished up tweaking a new install for my parents in Brantford. They live in the Paris Road area near St. Johns college. Put up a DB8 on a 10' mast. It is chimney mounted with total height of aprox 30' from ground level including the mast. Also using a 7777 and a 9521a rotor. Results are pretty good. I will monkey with it some more, but they are getting as much as I expected. I know some have expressed skepticism about the high VHF capabilities of the DB8 but this is the second install I have done with this unit and it continues to perform well. In their location, Channel 10 out of London was a strong lock this morning with absolutely no pixilation or dropout. Cant give any signal levels as it is on a Samsung TV and it doesn't have one ( at least that I can find) in the menu.

2-1, 2-2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17-1, 17-2, 17-3, 19, 23, 25, 26-1, 26-2, 26-3, 26-4, 28, 31, 36, 41, 54-1, 54-2, 54-3, 66 Erie,

Hi, I'm new to this forum and to OTA in general. I have been reading this for couple of days already.

I live in a two storey townhouse, so no roof top antenna for me. With rabbit ears kind of antenna placed close to tv on first floor, I get 5-1, 11-1, 15-1, 19-1, 25-1 and 41-1, but most of those are not reliable.

My goal is to get as many stations as possible from Toronto. 9-1, 41-1, 57-1 and 64-1 in addition to those that I currently get would make me happy. Please let me know what antenna would you guys recommend and of course I understand that all depends on many factors and that I might not get as much as I would like to get.

Below is my TV Fool report
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d60b5a22c883e14

Thanks in advance

Ralf

Cant give any signal levels as it is on a Samsung TV and it doesn't have one ( at least that I can find) in the menu.

Menu > Self Diagnosis > Signal Info

Ralf...my suggestion would be ClearStream2 UHF antenna. You probably will not receive any VHF signal with it (CTV Toronto, CHCH), but you never know. I have a CS2 that I use indoors (in a condo, 2nd floor, no balcony) facing out a window to the southwest (my only choice). I receive all UHF Toronto and UHF Buffalo with the exception of ION. (I do have a separate VHF antenna in order to receive CTV Toronto and CHCH). Do your research to determine which antenna will suit your needs. This forum is great for that.

???? The CS 5 is the VHF loop. Don't you mean a CS 2?

Thank you guys for quick reply. I did not even think about getting ClearStream2 antenna. I don't think that CHCH would be a problem for me since I have pretty strong signal here in East Hamilton, but I might be wrong.

May I ask what VHF antenna you use or what would you suggest? I will buy Clear Stream 2 first and see what I get unless somebody will point me in different direction, but it won't hurt to do some research in the mean time.

I'm getting all excited about all this and I'm only in the research stage :)

Ralf...you don't have to spend a lot of money for a VHF antenna. Many people like an indoor Terk brand. You can buy a VHF at The Source, FS, BB and even Walmart and Zellers. I bet you can find a good VHF antenna for under $30.00.

Hi, I'm new to this forum and to OTA in general. I have been reading this for couple of days already.

I live in a two storey townhouse, so no roof top antenna for me. With rabbit ears kind of antenna placed close to tv on first floor, I get 5-1, 11-1, 15-1, 19-1, 25-1 and 41-1, but most of those are not reliable.

My goal is to get as many stations as possible from Toronto. 9-1, 41-1, 57-1 and 64-1 in addition to those that I currently get would make me happy. Please let me know what antenna would you guys recommend and of course I understand that all depends on many factors and that I might not get as much as I would like to get.

Below is my TV Fool report
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d60b5a22c883e14

Thanks in advance

Ralf
Ralf: Your TV-Fool looks very good for TO stations. Were you thinking of going with a set-top antenna or attic instal? For attic instal, I would go with a C5- it would get you CFTO, and with the UHF stations increasing in power soon, you should be able to get those as well with the C5, it has decent UHF gain from the testing I did. For set-top/indoor, Antennas Direct has several that should do the job, but you could always try one from the Source, no hassle return policy.

I appreciate your input, goforit. What is C5? ClearStream 5 antenna?

Yes, the C5 is the Clearstream 5 by Antennas Direct. Click on the Forum sponsor, the see it; or google Antennas Direct and you'll find it listed under VHF. It is listed as a VHF antenna, but as mentioned, it does have some UHF gain.

I had a 4221HD stack, both in the same direction, west end of Mississauga close to the lake. CTV on VHF 9 came in strong at a 45 degree side angle. 4221's had all 3 hacks. No reception of CH on VHF 11 so added ClearStream 5 and removed the lower 4221HD. Both 9 and 11 very strong with this antenna. Did a quick test with the C5 only and was able to receive UHF channels from Toronto. Grand Island and Buffalo showed no signal. Have a Lacrosse in Ft. Erie and it also receives CTV VHF 9 and WBBZ VHF 7 but no CH.

I have never seen WBBZ come in and I understand that it's primarily due to a pitiful signal/transmission height, and my use of a 4228HD to try and catch it. But during great tropo I had hoped it might show up; during scanning the tuner does stop at RF 7, and I think WBBZ is trying to come in. But I think another reason WBBZ is not showing is because other 7s are running interference. Recently, I have been locking in WWNY and WNYF, which are both VHF 7 and come from the Watertown/Syracuse area. I got to change my set-up to something else.

First step: 91XG and YA1713 aimed to BUF; if this gets me all TOs on the side, then life is good. If not, I have to gang another antenna for TO, maybe a C5, but don't know how this would impact the YA1713 though. Maybe I can aim the C5 for CKCO and still get all the TOs and have little impact on the YA1713...

Thank you guys for all the suggestions. This weekend I got ClearStream 2 from Kijiji. Currently it sits on the fance in my backyard, behind the house, and even having house in front of it, I'm happy with the results I'm getting.

I'm getting clear and reliable signal from 5-1, 9-1, 11-1, 15-1, 19-1, 25-1, 36-1 and 41-1. It is already a big improvement even though the antenna placement is far from optimal. I'm cancelling cable this week and as soon as it will be done, I will get in the attic and place antenna there.

Thanks again for all the input I got from this forum. It wouldn't be possible without this great community. I will keep you posted with all the progress I get.

I have disconnected my 4228HD and just have the 4221HD peaked for BUF; all the TOs are coming in on the side. Yeah!! This could not have been done before the digital transition. I will continue to monitor during the non tropo months, but hopefully with the post transition complete (all stations at full power and height) in the next month or so, there won't be a need for two separate antennas' just one for BUF that gets all the TOs on the side...