The antenna is located in my backyard on top of a fence post which is about 7 feet high. There is couple of medium size trees but not directly in the south side, but further south about 5 km away is a whole bunch of high rise condo buildings around the Square One shopping center. Would the signal from the south be blocked by these high rise?
The cable is about 30 feet from the antenna to my TV and all the connections are well connected.

IF the signals are blocked by the building, would a preamplifier signal solve the problem and which model would you recommend?

During the installation, I drilled a whole on the house's wall to run the cable. Due to a short drill bit and a miscalculation (outside whole and inside whole are not aligned), I had a very tough time to run the cable through. If I can avoid to run another wire through that whole I would.

Any suggestion to get Buffalo signals is very much appreciated.

A chance to watch the French Open final to witness Federer ties Pete Sampras' record of 14 majors is probably out of sight :(

Thanks.

I dont know the topography of your area, but in general, height is important with the S. Buffalo channels, (WGRZ/WIVB/WKBW) and especially with WGRZ

My experience: My antenna is mounted on my roof, at a height above ground of approx 30', and all the Buffalo channels come in reliably in all but the most hot and humid/foggy days. - overall it's rare for me to lose reception.

However, If I move the antenna down the pole just 5 feet, (So height above ground is approx 25') I lose WGRZ completely, and the signal strength, and thus reliability of the other S. Buffalo channels drops considerably.

I'm in Ajax, close to the lake, I would guess ground level at my house is 20 - 25' above lake level.

I have a DB8 antenna, Rotor, and CM7777 Pre-Amp with a 75' RG6 cable run. - before spending money on amplifiers keep in mind that no amount of amplication in the world will get you reception if the signal is not there.

tnt321,

Can you provide us with www.tvfool.com info? It will help us to determine how you should aim your antenna or height requirement.

Thank you for responds so far.

I follow the link to get the location report. But look like the site only deals with US locations, it does not have any Canada province in the State drop box and only zipcode but not Postal code.

Sound like the height of the antenna is a critical factor to get good signal.

From the channels that I get, I receive 23-1 WNLO-23 which is a Buffalo station! and I also get 11-1 CHCH Hamilton. The DTA box also detects 17-1, 17-2 and 17-3 that I believe are PBS from Buffalo, but there is no signal when I turn to these 17-x channel :confused:

Help please!!!

But look like the site only deals with US locations, it does not have any Canada province in the State drop box and only zipcode but not Postal code.

Just put in your address and city (no need to put in the state and zipcode). That works for me.

tnt321, follow the step-by-step instructions in Post #10 of the OTA FAQ to get the most accurate TVFool results. :)

tnt321,

I used Mississauga City Centre's postal code on TVFOOL since it is close to your location. My suggestion is to mount your antenna 30' above ground. Just aim at those buffalo stations first, if you get one of them like 4.1, you will get the rest of the channels like 2.x, 7.x, 17.x, 29.x and 49.x. You may get away with just one 4221 based on your close proximity with CN tower.

I agree with kooguy. Get the antenna up on the roof. If you're a 2 storey, it shouldn't be too difficult to get up 30 ft. Aim your antenna directly down Hwy 10 and you should be aimed at Grand Island with the South Buffalo channels behind. The condo's may be a problem blocking signals. I know in the condos facing the lake, reception is amazing.

The area around 10 and Eglington is actually quite high in terms of topography (10 and Britannia is the highest point in Mississauga) but has a lot of highrises. That may be affecting the OP's signals, especially with the antenna being only 7' above ground.

I agree with the others that you need to get it higher. If you have a 2-storey house and are hesitant to roof mount you could try the attic. It's not ideal but you will have gained height and there is no worries about falling off your roof!

My 4221 is mounted off the chimney of my house and stands about 30' above ground. With the exception of WNGS I get all the Buffalo channels.

Hello All,

After much planning and preparation i am ready to start my antenna install.

I understand what i need to do with the equipment in terms of installation, but have a question about positioning and tuning.

Once the antenna is installed how can i tune it without the special equipment like signal meters?

I figured the best way to tune it for DIY install was the move it around and see where i get the best signal.

My question is which Canadian and US channel do i use to do this. For example, it would be no point trying this tuning method for something like CBC HD as that comes through clear even with my home made wire clothes hanger antenna.

Is there any one channel (Canadian or US) that i can get the best possible signal strength and know that the other channels will be ok?

Or am i just not understanding the theory correctly!

Planned install:

1 x CM4221HD, pointing just right of the CN Tower

Thanks,

Mike

Hi Mike and welcome here - my suggestion is to make a list of your "essential" desired channels from Buffalo and then test-aim your antenna on the weakest of those. From Brampton that would likely be NBC or FOX. You can get the exact direction to those using the steps in Post #10 of the OTA FAQ if you haven't done that already.

Your HDTV hopefully has a signal meter in it, so with one person up on the roof with a cell phone and another down in front of the HDTV with the home phone you should be able to set it right. :)

Thank you folks for your advices.

I enter my postal code for http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/ and it says that NBC is weak signal range.

And the TVFool report for my location (with the anttena 7ft above ground) is WGRZ-DT NBC (2.1) NM=-11.1 2Edge 82.4 miles away 138 degree, and its color code is grey.

The grey code, according to the TVFool report "These channels are very weak and will most likely require extreme measures to try and pick them up"
The report also indicates that "amps and pre-amps will actually cause you to lower your Noise Margin"

Does it mean that with my existing setup (anttena 7ft above ground) I will not likely to get NBC from my location even buying additional devices? :(

Thanks

Hi TnT321,

Try playing with the TVfools and place a height of 30 and see what will happend to NBC.

As far as I know and from the post here height of the Antenna plays a major role in reception. The higher the antenna, the better chances to recieve signals from far away transmitters.

I do believe there are something written on the OTA FAQ & Knowledge Base (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41102). about the height of antenna installation

Does it mean that with my existing setup (anttena 7ft above ground) I will not likely to get NBC from my location even buying additional devices? :(

ThanksMore than likely you won't be able to get WGRZ reliably being only 7 feet above ground. You really need more height on your antenna. The physical channel that WGRZ-DT broadcasts on is in the UHF range which is (more or less) "line of sight".

All else being equal your antenna will be able to "see" the WGRZ signal a lot better on your roof than sitting atop of a fence post.

If you're aimed at Buffalo to maximize signals, 66-1 Sun and 41-1 Global will be your weakest signals. OMNI1 64-1 is a higher powered signal as is everything else. If you rotate towards Hamilton, you should get 11-1 CH and 36-1 CTS. If you point more towards Toronto CN tower Global and Sun should come in. When everything goes digital 2011 these channels will be much easier to receive. Maybe with a preamp you could get everything.

Thanks RustyHD. So an amp'd splitter wont help improve signals right? I have to go to a pre-amp? (Ie a lot more expensive).
Not sure I want to play $99 for 2 channels.
Good to know that things will get better in 2011. I'll wait :)

An amped splitter MAY help actually. I recently added a Channel Master 3414 +8dB Distribution Amp (4-way - so it is a splitter as well) and noticed a marked improvement in signal levels, stability and a reduction in afternoon loss of channels during the turnover period on the lake.

I got it from the sponsor Save and Replay for about 50 bucks and it saved me a trip up the ladder.

I pre-amp will likely solve your issue as suggested here, but a good distro amp can also have positive results.

Long coax cable from the antenna or more than one splitter?
Also, I can see a signal for MYTV 49.1 & 49.2 but no picture.
I also have an amp. (5db) on the line If I shorten the length of coax to the TV will this help me get MYTV?

I get everything else.

Thanks to any one who can help answer this question.

bladeduguay, welcome here - if your long coax lead is in excellent condition and is RG-6 you will have about 6dB loss over 100', so try to measure it out and arrive at the figure for your situation. Always cut your coax down to size with a couple of feet of extra length on each line in case you need to redo the ends in the future or have outdoor drip loops in the line(s).

Each split will have about 3dB loss, but also cause undesirable reflections in the line that are usually not noticeable on a system until lots of splits and long leads are added. That's when it gets messy.

How many TVs/dedicated coax lines are you driving?

I'll let people from your area comment on the best strategy for 49.1 in your location.

I just have the one TV.

The COAX is old, it's from a Look TV setup, from a previous home owner.
The line does take the longest route to it's final destination.

I can actually feed it in the opposite direction and cut the length in half.

Also eliminating all the splitters and just have it feed into the amp. straight to the TV.

If I do this should I get more and stronger signals?