For you to get Sun this is what I would do is have someone watch the signal on Nbc moving the antenna slightly to the west towards the cn tower as a reference. You should not have to move it more than 1/4" on the pole.

Have Nbc drop down to 8 or 9 with your shorter cable run and then check the signal on Sun. I have found you don't need to have Sun no more than 6-7 bars and you should not encounter any drop outs because of the close distance to the cn tower.


Thanks Yaamon!
chopped the RG6 down to about 35 ~ 40', turned mast slightly west of Buffalo - about 180 deg, getting almost everything greater than 7/10 bars with SUN (66.1) coming in at 6~7/10, but....

NBC (WGRZ 2.1) will be 8 to 10 (especially if I happen to be on the roof...), then start jumping from 0 to 1, then up to 10, back to 0, 10, 0, 10, etc.... will last for several minutes then be fine for several minutes, then starts up again - basically unwatchable.
Generally this station will lock if it hits 5 bars, but the jumping is really annoying. Doesn't seem to be a weather effect, happens every day since I shortened coax, and tweaked aim for SUN TV.
I don't get how it can be a 10, then a 0 a minute later.
I may re-aim for max Buffalo reception since SUN content doesn't really appeal to us too much anyway.... but part of the game is trying to pull in all signals rock-solid, right?.
any comments would be appreciated, thanks,
99gecko

Try and move back towards Nbc and see if that makes a difference dont see why you have erratic signals.

Check your cable connections that the braided wire does not touch the center wire.

Maybe u can shake the wire/connection and have someone check it that connector is bad.

Good luck.

I just got HDTV and want to setup OTA antenna to pickup more HD channels.
Current situation:
Location: Bayview/Maj. Mackenzie
Indoor RCA amplified antena in first floor (where TV is) pick ups 5-1 & 9-1 channels
Same antena in second floor pickups 4 more Toronto HD channels (66-1, some other Toronto, but cannot remember exaclty which ones). But I also got 23-1 and 23-3 that are from Buffalo.

Now I want to get better antenna to get more HD channels from Buffalo. I would be very against putting antena on my roof, but have no problems putting it in attic. My attic is very big, I can easily walk in there.
So question: what antenna would you recommend to put in attic if any and were would I buy it?
I read about CM 4228, would it work in attic? Or it would enough for me to have smaller antenna? Would I need to get also amplifier for CM 4228?

Thanks

Vim,
From richmond hill, you'd need a very good set up to get buffalo channels all the time. Yes, a 4228 will work in an attic, but my guess is you'd get a lot better reception with a roof mount.

I live in Ajax, with my antenna on a 12 foot mast, above the peak of my roof.
I get all toronto and most buffalo stations all the time except for really bad weather. With yesterdays rain storm, i lost WGRZ for a while, and had minor breakups on WUTV for a short time.

To give yourself an idea of what you might get, use a longer cable and put your curent amplified antenna in your attic.

Good Luck!!

Vim, welcome here, and also click on the links in this post to get up to speed on using the OTA Forum to your best advantage. There are lots of great folks here who will lend you a hand but it helps us if you can meet us half way. :) I absolutely agree with the CM4228 on the roof suggestion.

Vim as everyone said a roof mount will give the best reception.

But since your attic is quite large a walk in there is no hard in trying a 4228 there and see your results.

You would needa 10' pole and have a freind hold it pointing towards 170-180' on a compass while you scan the channels.

If your cable run is not longer than 70' you do not need a preamp.

As I understoo, there is a requirement to put antenna on a pole or as you guys call it here mass. Is that right? If so, and if I want to put antenna in my attic, do I have to put in still on a poll just horizontally? Am I making any sense? Sorry, I am really newbie here, I read most FAQ, but still not clear about all this.

Vim, be careful with the planning trying to get a 4228 in the attic. It's a wide antenna and might not fit through your attic access. My 4221 just fit. If I've already pointed you to this, my apologies but I documented my progress here, which details what I did for pole:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=416037&postcount=169

And some pictures of my stacked 4221s are here (not very wide angle unfortunately):
http://www.thenears.com/photos/album/august-2006/

Good luck!

So question: what antenna would you recommend to put in attic if any and were would I buy it?
I read about CM 4228, would it work in attic? Or it would enough for me to have smaller antenna? Would I need to get also amplifier for CM 4228?

Thanks

I'm using the smaller CM4221 in my attic. I'm further north than you, up at Stouffville road. I get all the Buffalo stations all the time....except the low power WNYO-DT, but they'll be switching to their new transmitter in the near future, which I receive no problem.

To mount mine, I just used a small hook, which I screwed into one of the roof truss beams in the attic. I then hung the antenna off of it, using the centre hole in the top row of the backing mesh. By slightly tightening/loosening the hook, I could change the direction that the antenna faces to tune in my best spot.

I checked in Google Earth, & the elevation at the intersection of Bayview & MM is 750' AMSL, so you should be able to get reliable reception from where you are.

I got my 4221 from Yaamon.

As I understoo, there is a requirement to put antenna on a pole or as you guys call it here mass. Is that right? If so, and if I want to put antenna in my attic, do I have to put in still on a poll just horizontally? Am I making any sense? Sorry, I am really newbie here, I read most FAQ, but still not clear about all this.

I believe your question was whether you can change the orientation of the antenna from vertical to horizontal???
If that was your question, the answer is no. The Cm 4228 and 4221 are meant to be installed with the reflector and the elements in the vertical plane. Please see post #12 and #13, as well as the picture here in stampeders' OTA Knowledge base and FAQs:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41102

For great info on installing antennas see this PDF at CM's site (though I bet it was written before the days of DTV):
http://www.channelmaster.com/pdf/AntInstallGuide.pdf

good luck

Hi, I am new here but I browsed this forum for many hours. I still don't know if I can get OTA. I live at Bathurst & Steeles, about 25 km from CN Tower, at the 8th floor of an apartment building. Unfortunately, I am facing north north west. Right in front of my balcony are two other tall buildings. Would it be possible to get any UHF HD signal reflecting on one of these buildings? Or should I just call Rogers?
I don't have any antennas, even VHF. If you think I have a chance of getting OTA signal, please let me know what antenna should I get. Omnidirectional or unidirectional?
I am posting in the Richmond Hill section because I am way closer to 407 than let's say Eglinton.

Trying to get a signal bounced off another building MIGHT work, on a good day, if you hold your beer can just right. :rolleyes:
Certainly not going to be reliable. I hate to say it, but you're stuck with rogers. www.ihaterogers.ca

RaidOne, before you spend a dime on OTA you should get an antenna pro to do a site survey for you with test gear. Look in the Equipment forum for the Local Installers thread to find someone. I agree with Tom that you are likely going to be using Rogers Cable, but a test would answer your OTA questions and maybe you'll get good reception from bouncing.

i don't get how you can be that close to the CN Tower and not pick up their signals. Buffalo makes sense, but shouldn't the power of the transmitter go right through the walls and into his apartment?

i say this because i'm 65km away (instead of 25) and i can pull in many of the analoge stations from the CN Tower with rabbit ears from pretty much anywhere in my house, even the basement. I thought these signals were made to go though obstacles.

He hasn't tried OTA in his place yet.

Thanks for the quick replies! In the meantime I borrowed a rabbit ears antenna and I tried it. It may have an UHF loop too but I am not 100% sure since the round part is covered in plastic. I could not even get the standard channels clear. I tried it at a neighbour's place, facing south, in my building and some SD channels are pretty good. He does not have an ATSC tuner and I cannot move my TV over there :) I guess I am out of luck with OTA.

RaidOne, don't rely on rabbit ears to estimate your reception. Get a pro to try some proper gear there before you make up your mind.

My update:
Bought antenna from Yaamon, and finished setting it up in the attic.
My results:
I see all HD channels as per list somewere in this forum !!!!!!!!!!! Yayyy.
All Toronto channels have signal strength 89-98%
Buffallo channels most are around 75%, just 4-1 is around 64% and just that one is not very reliable. All other channels look reliable to me after 20min watching :-)

Area: Richmondh Hill, Maj Mackenzie (south) /Bayview (east), 2 storey house.
My setup: Atenna in attic :shingles, playwood, on 10 feet plastic pole. I do not see any obstructions in front of the house, just other houses similar size.
Antenna: CM 4221

Cable: 75 feet, run it inside the house. Running cable was THE hardest part, had to cut through driwall in few places, otherwise cable goes mostly through heating return went.

Thank you everybody very much for help.
While learning about antennas I also fixed cable in one of the rooms. I had amplifier connected just by TV. Moved amplifier to basement where cable is split and picture is much better!

If was very fun to learn this things, and know I'll enjoy results (free HD TV) for years to come.


Thanks again, you all were big help.

Congratulations Vim! Tell your friends and neighbours too! :) Which kind of antenna did you put up?

Congratulations Vim! Tell your friends and neighbours too! :) Which kind of antenna did you put up?

Antenna: Channel Master 4221. Works like a charm :-).
Definatelly, I'll spread the word. This setup beats basic cable easily.