Hello Everyone, got the idea of dropping cable and going the antenna route. Did the research on the internet thing. I just wanted to say this forum is amazing. I went the CM4228HD and roof mount route attached to my Sharp HD TV...Wow. I am new to this forum thing, but what a plethora of knowledge. During the next while i will probably need to fine tune the set up but as a newbie this forum was excellent...Thank you all participants and moderators. If i can be of any help to the discussion just ask.

Glad to be of help, Fifth Man - the generosity and friendliness of members here in the OTA Forum is terrific and nice to find on the web these days.

When you get up and running be sure to post your results here and your location.

cheers :)

To all those interested in what kind of reception you will get in the Langstaff and Weston Road area of Woodbridge using a CM4228HD mounted on the roof of a 2 story home with a direct view of the CN Tower, and a direct connection to an HDTV:

2.1,2,3 WGRZ-NBC channel 33
4.1 WIVB-CBS channel 39
5.1 CBLT-CBC channel 20
7.1 WKBW-ABC channel 38
9.1 CFTO channel 40
11.1 CHCH channel 18
17.1,2,3 WNED-PBS channel 43
23.1 WNLO channel 32
25.1 CBLFT channel 24
29.1,2 WUTV-Fox channel 14
36.1 CITS channel 35
41.1 CIII-Global channel 65
44.1 CJMT-OMNI 2 channel 44
49.1,2 WYNO channel 49
57.1 CITY channel 53
64.1 CFMT-OMNI 1 channel 64
66.1 CKXT-Sun TV channel 66

With regards to channel strength 49.1,2 is the weakest and either pixelates or does not come in at times and CBC, CITY, Sun, OMNI, Global, CFTO are crystal clear. Hope this helps anyone wanting to go the OTA route in Woodbridge.

Glad to see another member near my area. :)

Fifth Man, how strong are your signals for WGRZ and WKBW? I'm closer to Hwy 7 & Pinevalley and find that these two channels will only come in during certain times such as when the weather is very clear. WNYO is a little better but pixelates for me just like you. Are you using a preamp at all?

Lobo

Hi Lobo, after a week of getting used to OTA channels WGRZ and WKBW are viewable, though at times I get complete drop out or pixelating on WGRZ. As for WNYO its hit and miss… so far I would rate it as uncomfortable viewing or no viewing.

Not using a preamplifier, though I am considering either a distribution amp or a pre amp (still doing research-considering). For now I am trying to detox from Rogers :eek:… true 1080i is very pacifying and a good distraction not to mention no more monthly bills

This is my first posting on this forum, read everything I could,,, amazing content.

I live in Aurora Ontario andTV Fool shows a bit scary reception for the Buffalo channels but I really want to get rid of my Rogers cable bill.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dc2016907f2496e

I'm thinking of purchasing a CM4228HD 8 bay antenna and a 5 foot tripod to mount on the roof and a 7777 pre-amp (based on feedback on this forum, it seems like the best setup for a deep fringer like myself.) I don't want to make the investment if it won't enable reception of the US stations.

Anyone with advice who either lives or has installed in my area? Also, can't find an installer as everyone is off for the winter.

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks.

I'm thinking of purchasing a CM4228HD 8 bay antenna and a 5 foot tripod to mount on the roof and a 7777 pre-amp (based on feedback on this forum, it seems like the best setup for a deep fringer like myself.) I don't want to make the investment if it won't enable reception of the US stations.
Short of actually buying and setting up the gear on your roof, you can try a few things...

If you get up on your roof, can you see the CN Tower (with a pair of binoculars is OK)? If yes, that's a very good sign for Toronto and Buffalo reception.
Do you know the elevation ASL (Above Sea Level) at your place? A land survey or GPS might get the numbers for you. Oak Ridges is approximately 325 m ASL, so you'd need to be able to see over it. If you're far enough away, you might benefit from some over-the-horizon bending. A topo map of Aurora+vicinity is available at the following ridiculously long URL http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/topo/map?layers=north_arrow%20other_features%20million_grid%20t50 k_grid%20grid_50k_3%20roads%20hydrography%20boundary%20built up%20vegetation%20populated_places%20railway%20power_network %20manmade_features%20designated_areas%20water_features%20wa ter_saturated_soils%20relief%20contours%20toponymy%20contour %20nodata_ntdb_50k&scale=40000.000000&mapxy=1261010.727705327%20-407077.7367488079&map_layer[northarrow]_class[0]_style[0]=ANGLE%2013.990406911978042&mapsize=1150%201350
Note that north-south is NOT straight up and down. See the North Arrow at the upper left of the map for true north.
Quick-n-dirty... a long co-ax cable, an indoor antenna, and 2 people, one of whom climbs up on the roof with the antenna hooked up to the co-ax, which is hooked up to the TV. Points the antenna SSE, and the other person runs a channel scan on the TV set. See what you can get.

Thanks for the advice,

From the topomap it looks like I'm at about 260m above sea level. I'm on October lane backing onto the power lines... looks like if I point an antenna approximately in the direction of the lines (where they cross Bayview), I should be in the right direction. I'll try looking for the CN Tower and let you know.

thanks,
Steve

From the topomap it looks like I'm at about 260m above sea level. I'm on October lane backing onto the power lines... looks like if I point an antenna approximately in the direction of the lines (where they cross Bayview), I should be in the right direction. I'll try looking for the CN Tower and let you know.

Looking at your tvfool results I wouldn't count on getting any Buffalo stations without the assistance of good tropo during the summer. You may be able to get CW year round, but that's probably going to be it for the Buffalo stations during the winter. If you go with the 4228HD, read this link (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=103749) for the hardware hack.

As for the 7777 pre-amp, there is also the Kitztech amp that has a very low noise and is reasonably priced. There have been a few discussions about it in the pre-amp thread (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=42426), just search for Kitztech.

From the topomap it looks like I'm at about 260m above sea level.
I hate to rain on your parade, but that doesn't look good. You might get the stronger locals (CBC / CTV / TVO-analog), but CITY and SUN will be difficult, let alone Buffalo.

Hi Steve, I've done a couple installations in Oak Ridges, both with good results. You're a little farther north, and must be over the ridge from looking at your tvfool report.
If you're still interested after all the negative advice, I'd recommend the DB-8 rather than the 4228hd, with the 7777 and as high as possible. For extreme measures, you could double up the DB-8 if needed.

Thanks all for helping me adjust my expectations...

I'm still going to go for it but I think I'll just try for the CN Tower with the DB-8. I have an old satellite dish installed that I don't use any more that isn't on the roof but is high up at the side of the house. I'm thinking I'll just take that down, mount the antenna there and use the existing cabling and give it a go. That way, I'm not investing in the Tri-pod etc and I can probably do the install myself (I'm not going on the roof in January :D) Is there any issue with using the cabling from an older satellite dish? I looked on the cable and there is no writing on it so I'm not sure if its a RG-6 or not...

thanks all,

If it is an old C-Band dish, then it isn't really cable that you can use because it would have volate for moving the dish. Probably best you just run a fresh install of RG6 or better

Hello,

I have an antenna setup on my roof and the cable runs down the side of the house into my basement. I would like to split the signal and feed it to the two HDTV's in my house.

It works great when connecting the antenna directly to my first tv and using the little plug in amp at the wall outlet near the tv. But if you try to pickup any HD stations without the little amp (i only have one of them) and/or you split the antenna signal to go to both TV's......you get no HD stations at all!

So I was thinking of maybe getting an amplifier to place right where the cable enters and basement, before the splitter and also getting another one like I already have that attaches near the TV at the outlet for the second TV.


Would this work? If so, what kind of amps do you recommend? The one I have that goes near the TV came with the antenna.


Thank you,
Joey

You are probably far enough away from downtown Toronto (~45k) that you could use a preamplifier at your antenna. This should give you enough signal to supply two sets easily.

I would certainly browse posts from others in your area to see what works for them.

Joey,
You`re lossing your signal through the splitter. If your happy with the signal strength coming into 1 tv , a " Distribution Amp " will solve your problem for 2 or more tv`s. It`s a powered splitter so to speak. I too lost needed signal when putting in a splitter for the second tv . I already have a good preamp but i`m after deepfringe. I put in a CM4312 distro amp ($40) feeding both tv`s and have no loss of original signal. Actually it improved 1.5%.

Thank you!

Which preamp would you recommend? Hopefully it's something that's not too expensive and that I can pick it up at Canadian Tire or something?

A good preamp would be about $100 . Not a Canadian Tire special . ChannelMaster 3412 would work for you for $40 at a OTA store .

I'm still going to go for it but I think I'll just try for the CN Tower with the DB-8. I have an old satellite dish installed that I don't use any more that isn't on the roof but is high up at the side of the house. I'm thinking I'll just take that down, mount the antenna there and use the existing cabling and give it a go. That way, I'm not investing in the Tri-pod etc and I can probably do the install myself (I'm not going on the roof in January :D)

If you really want to minimize your investment, you can go with a CM4221HD on your old dish bracket, forget about the 7777 for now and use the existing cable. It will give you a taste of OTA so you can see the picture quality and decide if you want to continue investing to pick up more channels.

An XG91 may also be a good antenna choice for your location. You should search the thread to see if anyone around you is using it.

Umm, according to the Channel Master site, what you recommended is a distribution amplifier, and not a pre-amp.

So is that correct? Would you still recommend the CM-3412, or something else?


Thanks again.