Before I jump into OTA, I'd like to get as much assurance as possible. I know my wife wouldn't appreciate it if we were "severely" limited in channels. My TVFool report is here (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d618a109ac335fd) - is this similar to what you found for your location? Did you get the preamp installed yet - and any difference if yes?

Installed my CM4221HD antenna on the roof this past weekend. I used a 21" J-mast and about 50ft. of RG6 coax running down to my Sharp 46" LC46D64U with no pre-amp and i was just impressed!

2.1 80%
2.2 80%
4.1 84%
5.1 85%
7.1 80%
7.2 80%
7.3 80%
9.1 84%
17.1 76%
17.2 76%
17.3 76%
18.1 80%
23.1 80%
23.5 80%
29.1 84%
29.2 84%
43.1 74%
43.2 74%
43.3 74%
49.1 75%
49.2 75%
57.1 84%
64.1 84%
65.2 80%
66.3 74%

If it helps, my elevation is at 254M according to Google Earth.

I will be installing a CM4228HD in Newmarket this weekend with a 6' pole on the roof, likely with a CM7777 pre-amp. Will let you guys know how this install goes and how good of a reception i will get. The house is elevated, but its surrounded by tall trees so i have my fingers crossed.

I'd make sure you can return the product should you not have any luck with reception.

gin

DB2 sold! Now to try to get my hands on a CM4221HD

Hello

I am a newbie here and have been reading the posts for a while. I just bought Phillips MANT 510 indoor antenna and get the following channels

5 (ok)
5.1 (excellent)
9
9.1 (excellent)
19 (ok)
25 and 25.1 (excellent)
44.1 (Omni 1 excellent)
57 (not so good but watchable)
69 (not so good but watchable)
I also get global (forgot the number).

So, I get 4 sometimes 5 HD channels and around 9 to 10 non HD channels with this antenna.

I know getting an outdoor antenna like CM4221 will be the best but I am not too sure if I want to mount anything outside. So, my question is

Will buying CM4220 (2 bay antenna) and putting it indoor will help get better channels and reception than phillips 510?

I made the coat hanger antenna at home but do not get any HD channels :-(..not a single..i dont know what I did wrong..

Please suggest
Thank you
busybe

Hi busybe, are you stuck having to use an indoor antenna? People in Markham get excellent results with a CM4221HD mounted outside.

A 2-bay bowtie antenna like a CM-4220 or DB-2 will more than likely be better than that antenna you bought if your home does not have other reception issues. Are you in a house, an apartment, ground floor, high up, etc. etc.?

Thanks for the quick answer Stampeder. I live in a semidetached where garage is separate and is at the back side of the house. I thought to put the antenna on top of the garage but it is only 1 storey.. I am not too handy with mounting etc and i may have to use an extensively long cable wire to draw back to TV. My house faces West/East. I am still debating whether to buy outdoor or indoor antenna..

Hi busybe
I live in a two story house at Hwy 48 and Bullock area. I have a chimney mounted cm4221 fed into a cm7778 preamp. I get all Toronto and Buffalo stations reliably except for E channel and NBC. NBC comes in about 25% of the time but not so you would ever want to depend on it. E channel comes in slightly more often but I don't watch a lot on it so I don't really care. If you read the reception threads NBC seems to be a problem for a lot of people in the GTA. Hope this gives you an idea of what you could expect with a cm4221 outside.

busybe, i had the same dilemma on whether i should get an indoor or outdoor antenna. I was initially set on getting a Winegard S2000 indoor/outdoor unit, but glad i went straight with a CM4221HD unit mounted on the roof.

I live in a semi-detached also where my garage is separated in the rear. It definitely wouldn't be high enough to mount on the garage roof. I even considered mounting it on the side of the house, but after numerous testing/scanning/positioning, i was grabbing everything w/ higher gain throughout the UHF band on the rooftop. Plus, since my rooftop is very high it looks more discreet as opposed to the side of the house.

Its a no brainer, rooftop FTW and go with a CM4221HD. Just do it right the first time and don't look back. ;)

I made the coat hanger antenna at home but do not get any HD channels :-(..not a single..i dont know what I did wrong..

busybe,
Try posting some pics of your coat hanger antenna in the Antenna Research & Development (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=186) sub-forum. The senior members that hang-out there are experts and will definitely be able to help you with that.

I am very close to Bman72, likely less than 1/2 km away, and get reasonable reception with an outdoor 4221, though I have plans to add a pre-amp when I get some spare time, if that helps.

Looks like it was good tropo this night. I got ION for the first time, 51.1 through 51.4. They are in SD, and although I only had digital SD cable before, it didn't take long to get used to seeing most channels in HD! Still it was neat to see 4 extra channels for a while. My cable subscription ran out at the end of June so I'm now strictly OTA.

My setup is still a 4228HD in my attic, unamplified, and (now that I've finally measured my leftover cable) about 70' of RG6 coax. I should mention that I've done the 4228HD hardware modification (replace phasing harness with 2 baluns and splitter), though I didn't see any difference after I had done it.

ION is not really from tropo. Try aiming your antenna in their direction and use a pre-amp. I'm just slightly East of you and ION is a permanent member of my channel lineup.

Hi all,

I've read through this thread, and found that peeps are getting vastly different reception from somewhat the same setups. So, I'll add this to the mix if someone out there is trying to decide to come over to OTA.

I live probably in what is the highest area of Aurora, half way between Yonge and Bathurst north of Orchard Heights. I only recently ventured into the world of OTA because of being ticked off with Rogers and their crew of imbeciles.

I have a CM4228HD mounted above roof line (on the chimney) feeding a non ATSC tv with a Centronics Digital ATSC HD/SD TV Tuner, approximately 50 foot run of RG6 and NO preamp.

With my first scan I received,

Buffalo WGRZ 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3
Buffalo WIVB 4.1
Toronto CBLT 5.1
Buffalo WKBW 7.1
Toronto CFTO 9.1
Buffalo WNED 17.1, 17.2 and 17.3
Buffalo CW23 23.1
Toronto CBLTF 25.1
Buffalo WUTV 29.1 and 29.2
Toronto Global 41.1
Toronto Omni 1 44.1
Buffalo WNYO 49.1 and 49.2
Toronto CITY 57.1
Toronto OMNI2 64.1
Toronto SUNTV 66.1

Total of 21 OTA channels, 15 in glorious HD and all WITHOUT a preamp.

It proves that if you have the elevation, then you don't need anything more, even as far north as Aurora. My suggestion to anyone in this area would be to install your equipment without a preamp. It's alot easier to add the preamp later rather than have to return it.

gin

Believe me gin, moving my antenna to the roof is something I want to do. My wife on the other hand, is dead set against it. She keeps saying "birds and wind will affect it", to which I say, "and I suppose the roof, shingles and hundreds of roofing nails don't?" Not to mention that since the antenna is currently in the attic, it's not just my roof that the waves have to pass through - they also have to pass through my neighbours' roof as well.

She seems open to a pre-amp, but I would rather move it outside first. Depending on which pre-amp, it's probably cheaper to put the antenna on the roof rather than getting a pre-amp (especially if one is talking about the Research Communications pre-amp). My fear, and I believe it's been mentioned in a thread somewhere on DHC, is that even with a pre-amp, with the antenna in the attic the signal may still not be good enough to be watchable, in which case moving to the roof will still be required, and at that point the pre-amp might not be required.

Hmm... checking over my TV Fool from May this year, you're right ION is 2Edge, not tropo, but I think that in my situation, good tropo helps :D

I finally moved my 4221 out of my attic, and on to my roof. I mounted it on a rotor with a 7777 pre-amp. With my stationary attic install, I previously had solid reception of all TOR/BUF channels, with intermittent reception of ION, and occasional reception of WXXI-DT Rochester.

Since completing the install Saturday evening, ION has become a permanent addition to my channel list, even with the antenna facing the original direction it was in the attic (South). All Rochester UHF digitals were also coming in uninterrupted from install completion, until tonight. On Monday evening it rained, which caused the Rochester channels to drop, but a turn of the rotor more east brought them right back in again. The Rochester VHF digitals have even come in intermittently, despite me only having a 4221 UHF antenna.

I'm close to the Pickering border, so being this far east I'm hoping the Rochester stations will continue to make a regular appearance during the summer months.

X4mer, are you able to get any consistency from WNYB. Its the only signal from south of the border I have issues with?

I use a CM4221HD that works very well for all UHF digital stations, but doesn't have the oomph for VHF DTV. I had to connect an old homemade set of rabbit ears to my CM7777 preamp, and only then was I able to snag the VHF digital stations like 12 WICU, and Rochester's 10 & 13. Tricky, but it is possible, and if I can do it with pre-amped rabbit ears, I'm sure you should be able to do it! (Especially in Hamilton where Erie comes in more easily!)

Legacy2009,

If you are doing not bad with your antenna in attic, just think how much better it will be once it is on the roof. It will save you money on pre-amp...However it is nice to have one if you need to connect the coax to a few TVs in the house.