Hi There,
Looking to set up an OTA antenna and am trying to decide between these two. I live in Woodbridge and will be mounting it on a chimmeny. Any thoughts or experiences with either seeing that they are both similarily priced. Any feedback would greatly be appreciated!

I have an original CM4221, DB2 and a clone 4-bay variant.

I am very impressed wit the quality of the DB2, the fit and finish is top notch, the mount is great. mine was made in Taiwan. I can't say for the engineering of the antenna, but I can see a lot of thoughts were put into the built and the very, very versatile mount.

IMO the DB8 hands down is what I would get. I really like the gain it has for a bow tie type antenna. Have never been happier than when I got it.

I dont recommend either of those Chinese manufactured antennas.

Stampeder's antenna list is now rating the MODIFIED CM4228HD over the DB8..... modified cm4228hd as in removing the manufacturer's blaun/harness and use two 75ohm blauns going into a 2 way splitter used in reverse.

What is your pointing angle between TO and Buffalo? This may lead to db8/4228 vs something else... They should be either very close or near 60 degrees for those antennas. Can someone with a db8 pipe in on the side loab angle please?

Stampeder's antenna list is now rating the MODIFIED CM4228HD over the DB8..... modified cm4228hd as in removing the manufacturer's blaun/harness and use two 75ohm blauns going into a 2 way splitter used in reverse.

indeed, and if you read the research and development forum, someone has tried (successfully) this hack on the DB8 as well

Anyone else having a tough time with 4.1 WIVB (CBS) or 17.X WNED (PBS)? (X =1,2,3)

From what I've read around here, a lot people have difficulty reaching 2.1 NBC, but this one is quite consistent for me, as is 7.1 ABC and 29.1 FOX.

I can understand it being hard to get WNED, since it is not a very high power transmitter, but WIVB is certainly not small (790 kW according to antennamap), and it's pretty much in line with WGRZ 2.1 (for my location at Leslie and Elgin Mills) which I get fine.

Of course, I have an attic install for my 4228HD which certainly doesn't help, but I wonder if there's something peculiar about channel 39?

As a footnote, in my previous posts in this thread I indicated that my wife wasn't allowing me to put the antenna on the roof, and she was adamant about it. Well, I persevered, and I now have a tripod and will be relocating the antenna to the roof, but alas it will not be until next spring. One of the things she used to say was "Well, who cares if we don't get CBS, we can watch the same show on CTV" Well, that may be true for NCIS, but not so for Big Bang Theory. It was on CTV last year, doesn't seem to be this year. Maybe CTV only picks it up once it goes into reruns.

I sure hope there will be an improvement after relocating the antenna outside, otherwise I'll get an earful. Hmmm... I wonder if the powerline near the 407 has something to do with this...

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=100512

Legacy2009, for me 2.1 and 17.x were the ones I had problems with in the attic, but moving outside cleaned them right up. 4.1 was never a problem. Each situation is different, and you might find the moving your antenna 5 feet to the side can put you in a sweet spot (or dead spot). You might want to try moving around a bit in the attic, you might find a better location until the spring. I still find 17.x can be flaky on the occasional day, but usually still watchable.

Did you do the hardware modification on your 4228HD?

Hello All,

I am new to this OTA stuff and I purchased a CM4228HD and I've installed it on the side of my house. I removed a satellite dish and installed the antenna on the j-pipe of the dish and pointing it towards the south. I live near McCowan and Denison in Markham. I am catching most channels between 35-65% signal strength sometimes with pixels but not city tv hd.

I did a lot of reading here but I still have a few unanswered questions:-

1) if i mount the antenna on my roof or chimney will i be able to catch more channels?

2)if i modify the CM4228HD antenna, will i get more stability?

3)should i replace the balun? if so, should i buy one which is recommended or should i make my own(i read the balun sticky and i am very confused as i am not a technical person).

Thanks

DdDave,

I did do the hardware mod to my 4228HD, not long after I got, and I didn't really see any difference, I used a Nexxtech splitter from the Source.

Moving the antenna around in the attic... well I could try, but I think my wife would kill me, well not quite, but would certainly be peeved. Every time I need to go into the attic, it means emptying out our closet so we don't get cellulose insulation all over the clothing. I guess I should have experimented more when I first put it in.

I got a Kitz Tech preamp earlier in the summer. I had it at the TV end at first (until I could go into the attic again), but recently I moved it to the attic (had to put a receptacle for power), but I didn't see any real difference neither in signal quality nor strength. There WAS a difference between no pre-amp and with pre-amp, but not between pre-amp at TV end and pre-amp at antenna end.

Well, the downside is I will have to put up with more 'No signal' for a while, but on the upside, I am finishing my basement over the winter (I'll consider myself lucky if it's done by next spring), so I'll have fewer distractions taking me away from the renovation work.

I live in Maple On, just north/west of Toronto and pull in all the local stations plus Hamilton (west) and some of the Buffalo stations (south). I intermittantly get Buffalo 29 and the new ION station 50 on a good day. I'm currenlty using a 4221 and have tried a pre-amp to help pull in the US stations but lost the local stations by over driving them. I was thinking of upgrading to a 4228HD or the new DB8 to see if that would help. I may then turn the 4221 towards Barrie (north) and join the two antennas together. Which antenna would you recommend the 4228hd or the DB8? From the roof of my home I can clearly see the CN tower with no obstructions.
Any help would be greatly appriciated.
Thanks.

the modified cm4228hd is said to outperform the db8... and thus is now the recommended antenna

the db8 will outperform an original cm4228hd (ie the 4228hd not modified in any way)

I have the db8 and may try to make 2 coax baluns and remove the manufactured balun and harness... read the thread on hack 4228hd and baluns

Maple is mostly a "new" area-which means you're not likely able to legally erect a tower. That's unfortunate, as my advice would be to install a tower.

It's worth noting that we all have issues with FOX 29 and ION channels...these two transmitters don't have a broadcast contour that favours southern Ontario.

I would recommend an XG-91. It's highly directional, and may assist you in pulling in these stations....

Please post a link to you tvfool results so we can look at it.

I'm guessing that Buffalo is directly behind the CN tower from where you are. That's going to cause all kinds of issues when using a pre amp, and it will only get worse after the Canadian switch to DTV and all the CN tower stations boost their output. If you are lucky and the Buffalo stations are not directly behind the tower then I agree with Jase88 that a highly directional antenna may allow you to boost the Buffalo stations and avoid some of the toronto signal.

Here's my TV fool report.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3db671cdcb9fe3cc

You can see all the southern stations are in a tight grouping. I'm trying to pull in the distant US stations like 29 and 51 (Ion). Will a yagi be best or would you recommend the DB8 or 4228hd?

Thanks

enoman, that sure is a tight grouping! Check through all the posts in this thread about Maple and Vaughan to see which one people have had the most success with.

enoman, originally you were deciding between the DB8 and the 4228HD, so I would pick the 4228HD with the hardware hack (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=103749&page=9). You will need this hack to gain about 3dB at real ch23 (virtual 51). If you don't want to do the hack, then you should consider Jase88's XG91 suggestion.

Hoping someone can help me out.

I just set up a CM 4228 (new version) with a CM 7777 Pre-amp. The antenna is chimney mounted on a 2 story. No obstructions to mention.

I aimed the antenna directly at Buffalo thinking Toronto should be strong enough to catch on the periphery.

I get a 55% signal for Toronto stations and about 47% for Buffalo.

My signal quality will intermittently drop for both Toronto and Buffalo.
It is frequent enough to make it unwatchable.

I'm currently testing the system out with a 50' cable connecting directly to the pre amp on the mast and the other end into the pre amp power supply then 3' cable to tv to reduce connections.

Any ideas for better sustainable quality?