jfmcaninch, ok, so the cable length from antenna to tv is quite far then i take
it ? i would think a preamp would still be a better / proper solution. I've tried
a distribution amp (15 db) after the preamp and it does nothing for me,
station signal strength wise, as i expected. i'm just running 2 TVs at the
moment so i took out the distribution amp. Anyway, great yours is working
better

Last evening i lost the major US stations (2, 4, 7, 29) from the crappy
weather, they turned up again somewhere around 11 - 11:30pm. After
Aug.31 i may experiment with stacking antennas :P

I have a 50' cable length running to the grounding block and a 10' cable from the grounding block to my splitter then the longest run in my house is a 25' foot run to my TV.

I didn't loose any stations last night, but I did gain 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 7.1 and WNLO later at night around 23:00 EST. My attena is pointed roughly 130 degrees (aligns with CN Tower).

I am not opposed to adding a preamp, but will see how this setup works and wait for CITY and Global to add more power to their transmitters.

Pre-amps are ideal for long cable runs. But, if the distribution amp works well I'd stick with it.

I'm using a DB 8, a UHF antenna, but it receives analogue CBLT, CFTO and CHCH fine, so can i assume i will receive CFTO-DT when it goes back to 9?

That's a safe assumption.
But of course, no guarantees until we actually see how their power allotment translates to real life.

The existing analogs are much higher powered than the digital. In UHF this is fine, but VHF is proving to be iffy for some stations in the US.

Fingers crossed is the best you can do for now :p

arrow201, see the antenna hack in Post #1673 (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1261457&postcount=1673) for how to increase the VHF-HI capability of a DB-8. You should be able to do a temporary hack for testing to see if the results are worthwhile before committing a permanent hack to it.

If you guys recall, I had good results, (19) channels with two ganged noname 4-bays, indoors at about 15ft. This weekend i finally got an antenna up on the roof at roughly 30 ft pointed at Buffalo.

This is the setup in this order:
CM4221 HD, plastic removed, phaselines flipped, balun removed, 300 Ohm shielded twinlead into the 300 Ohm input on a cheap Philips preamp $20 at Princess Auto). Preamp 3 ft below antenna on mast. 60 ft of RG 6 into a groundblock, then a surgestopper, then another 20 ft into the power injector for the preamp, then a 3 ft RG6 into Centronics Tuner.

Here are the results thios morning, light drizzle, grey skies, slightly humid, cool maybe 17C. Results are listed as virtual channel, Signal quality (1-100), signal strength (1-100)

2.1,2,3 -100 -46
4.1 -100 -52
5.1 -100 -56
7.1 -100 -55
9.1 -100 -50
11.1 -100 -58
17.1,2,3 -100 -58
23.1 -100 -59
25.1 -100 -48
26.1,2,3 -100 -34
29.1,2 -100 -58
36.1 -100 -47
41.1 -ranging from 0 to 30 -46 Not watchable
44.1 100 -51
49.1,2 -100 -53
51.1,2,3 -100 -48
57.1 -62 -52 almost stable
64.1 -100 -55
66.1 -100 -47

Not too shabby! :)

Location: Downtown Mississauga, just by Square One
Facing the South East, with a huge building blocking my line of sight to the CN Tower
Antenna: RCA ANT1500 (got it for $20)

HD Channel lineup that I get (without any disturbance):

2-1/2/3
4-1
5-1
7-1
9-1
11-1
17-1/2/3
23-1
25-1
26-1/2/3
29-1/2
41-1
44-1
49-1/2
64-1
66-1

The below channels are what I get sometimes, with a bit of adjustment, but then I lose some other channels:
15-1 (very occasionally)
36-1 (very occasionally)
51-1/2/3
57-1

I am trying to think of a reflector, but then I am getting weird results, so didn't bother much. I didn't bother tuning the analog channels, as I get a lot of disturbance and ghosting.

(Brampton - Bovaird / 410 area)

Thanks Stampeder for the db8 VHF hack, i'll look into that if i run into problems
when CTV switches to the VHF band

So far, my attic install of a DB8 and CM7777 has been very good (post #1667)
My project for the long weekend was to try stacking 2 DB8s for more gain. Well, like
Stampeder mentioned, it seems very hard to get this to work. i believe i followed all
the proper rules:
- both identical antennas (DB8s), vertically aligned
- coax length identical from both antennas to reverse splitter (CM3212)
- fed the combined output from the reverse spiltter into the CM7777

The best i could get was the same signal strength as with just 1 antenna. i tried moving one antenna
vertically up and down, but the best reception was if all whiskers for both antennas
were the same space apart. i found this result odd (max strength same as
with just 1 antenna), but i guess this is from being in the attic.

Curious if anyone has taken 2 DB8s and modified them to make a "DB16" ? ...build
the DB8s minus the horizontal balun strips. Add (solder ?) wire to connect the vertical
whisker path to both DB8s with equal spacing. Put a horizontal balun strip between
the 2 DB8s (on the added whisker path) ...anyway, you get what i mean, wonder how well
that would work :)

You might not notice a big improvement in signal strength, but you might find your signals are more stable, i.e., during bad atmospheric conditions (e.g., dense fog), signals usually decrease leading to lost signals - but the stack should help in combating bad conditions, at least that is what I found with my stack. Many have said that stacks decrease beam width, but I have found an increase in beam width - no need for a rotor...

Curious if anyone has taken 2 DB8s and modified them to make a "DB16"Over the years experimenters have constructed 16-bay and 32-bay bowtie reflectors as well as analyzed and computer modeled them quite extensively. They don't offer a payoff worth the complexity, cost, or trouble. Stacking and ganging are well understood and predictable so those are what we do if needed.

As I've said before, stacking antennas in an attic is a lot of work for nothing. ;) Ganging in an attic can work.

Thank you goforit and stampeder for your comments. Getting hot up there in the attic
now so, i'll probably wait until after Aug.31 :)

Thanks ! :)

hi...i'm new to this OTA stuff and i would like to set a decent antenna up. i live in brampton in the 10 and bovaird area. i was considering between a cm4228hd or a db8 or a cm4221hd. i would mount it on the chimney and have a run of 50'.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d57476e6413d979

can some one recommend an antenna, and da converter please, do i need an amp? there are so many options i'm not sure what to get.

Right then...

I put up a DB4 on a bit of a mast (about 5') just attached to the j-pole that my Bell dish is currently attached to and I get these channels...

using 8dB electroline power inserter/splitter - old rogers splitter that came
with the house attached at the antenna (adds 8dB per output)

//Digital\\
2.1 WGRZ (nbc buffalo)
2.2 NBC Universal Sports
2.3 WGRZ RT (retro)
4.1 WIVB HD (cbs buffalo)
5.1 CBLT HD (cbc toronto)
7.1 WKBW HD (abc buffalo)
9.1 CFTO HD (ctv toronto)
11.1 CHCH HD (chch hamilton)
23.1 WNLO HD (cw buffalo)
25.1 CBFLT HD (cbc french)
29.1 WUTV HD (fox buffalo)
29.1 TCN (country music video)
36.1 CTS HD (religous stuff)
41.1 CIII HD (global toronto)
44.1 OMNI 2 (omni 2 toronto)
49.1 WNYO HD (mytv buffalo)
49.2 COOL TV (music videos? Prince - Purple Rain :|)
57.1 CITY HD (city TV toronto)
64.1 OMNI 1 (omni 1 toronto)
66.1 CKXT HD (sun tv toronto)

One crazy thing that I can't for the life of me figure out is, why can't I get PBS out of buffalo? It should be there at 17.1 .2 and .3 but there's just nothing!? I can't manually input the channel. I've scanned many times in a whole bunch of antenna directions and heights and I can just not get the channel. I get channels that TVFool says I probably would have a hard time getting. I get the channels that are essentially from the same broadcast location. What the EFF?!

Any insight? The TV is an older model Viewsonic n3752w with an internal ATSC tuner. I'm thinking its the tuner but I don't have any other tuners to work with right now and Saveandreplay's return policy is only on defective products.

The super helpful lady at Save and Replay was awesome but has the same info as I do and can't figure it out. I thought maybe one of the vets here has seen something like this before...

Cheers!

rhyinem, try again a bit later. My reliable Buffalo channels are much weaker than usual today I bet due to the weather.

Very odd. Coming in strong here with my 4221HD... Usually the most reliable one. I can get 17 regardless of which direction I point the antenna.

iammiguel, i live not far from you (Bovaird & 410). Since you mounting it outside, if it
was me, i'd start with a DB8 antenna without a preamp. Aim it south-east to start and tweak.
If you get channel 26(religious), i would give up this channel and point it a little more east
in favour of other channels. If the signals are a bit on the weak side, then you might want to
get a channel master CM7778 or CM7777 preamp. If you go to SaveAndReplay with your figures,
they can recommend the right amp for you, if needed.

rhyinem, considering your proximity from me, i'm also surprised you're not receiving 17.
Like toolmanstew said, it's a very reliable station, and for me as well. What are the
strengths of your other stations ? How good is you LOS ? Maybe a good preamp like
a CM7778 or CM7777 ?

@toolman that's pretty much my experience with WNED as well; anywhere I lived it was the best channel.

I'm unfortunately unable to check the actual strengths... ghetto tv :|

I have a strong feeling that WGRZ is the weakest as it only comes in when pointing it specifically. If I can get all 3 of those channels, WNED should be easy.

Adding a preamp I don't think would help. I think the signal is there and good and strong but my TV is not having it.

My line of sight is actually pretty good. I'm on a hill and have a clean line of sight to the SE.

I need to get a alternate tuner I think. I'll need to find somewhere with a good return policy I think.

Maybe your tuner is having problems with adjacent channel 44 causing problems for 43 WNED but also possible your getting reflected signals for WNED and your tuner cant deal with it.Newer tuners deal with multiple signals better.Try a different tuner or move the antenna.