Pulling 39 channels ota in oshawa. Global has the worst signal here.

Pulling 39 channels ota in oshawa. Global has the worst signal here.

How many are digital/HD, and how many or analog?

drgronk, if you're up by DC/UOIT you're doing fine. I'm like 1km from the lake in whitby, and I rarely get mytv, and I too have ~20 digital channels. UOIT is about 10km straight line from me i'd say (its like ~14 to drive to school), so you shouldn't have that big a difference in reception.
Ours is a 4228 and split, no preamp.
Yours is homemade and in an attic w/ preamp, so you're getting excellent results. (The differences kinda cancel out, in a way.)
Global is extra strong for me - perhaps its just a quirk with the homemade design not receiving 65 just right?
My only thought would be to nudge it ever-so-slightly towards the west
(I find that fox is best received with a slight angle to the west, not just due south - I didn't use a compass however, I am basing this one the road/houses lining up to it :p)
Toronto is roughly SSW.

I live in Whitby in the Taunton & Brock area. Can anyone tell me what HD channels I can expect to receive here with the right antenna?

Also, is there any point to having a VHF antenna, correct me if I am wrong, but aren't all the HD channels in the area available on UHF?

CBC is on channel 5 by antenna, can't live without Hockey Night in Canada, can I get this on UHF?

Hi sbrick,
I'm in Ajax and get all the available stations from toronto, buffalo and hamiltom.
You should be able to get all of them in North Whitby, IF you're on high ground and have your antenna high enough. Above the roof and tree line, with no tall building directly in front. I had to combine 2 antennas because of the angle between Toronto and buffalo. The other solution is a rotor. Then you'd get all the rochester stations as well. Mostly, rochester is a repeat of buffalo stations.

good luck!

To answer your second question CBC HD is on UHF 20.
(You do not need a VHF antenna currently.)
After 2011, I don't think its finalized as to what channel they will use.

Hi,

I have a home built db-8 that I use in a front bedroom window looking SW and I can get al available GTA stations as well as all Buffalo stations.

On a good weather day, if I point more east I can get all available Rochester stations and occasionally NBC from Syracuse, NY.

I am going to be moving it to the attic for a more permanent solution. Hopefully that won't screw things up too much.

I am having a problem receiving global,I get everything else I'm suppose to according to results in this forum.I had global a couple of weeks ago then lost it.

tried tweaking antenna no luck.Using built in astc tuner in my jvc.Antenna strenght around 80 for city,ctv,chch etc. Any suggestions ? Located south whitby/oshawa border on a hill clear view of south.

I'm new to all of this and I have read through some of the knowledge base and result posts from my area (Ajax, Ontario) on this forum. I would really appreciate it if I could get a few tips on where I should begin.

Just a few days ago my uncle, who is no expert either set up his (no-name brand) $50 antenna over to my place and we tried it on the deck, which gave me about 6 channels on my ATI 650 TV card at 100% strength for all:

CBC
CFTO
CW
PBS HD
PBS SD
PBS Th

I am planning on putting an antenna up in the attic as my dad is unwilling to go up the roof for safety reasons and I am physically disabled so I have no say in this matter since I can't do it myself. I'm also considering putting the antenna up on a pole from the deck.

Any feedback and or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

DearRicky, download the Antenna Chart that is found in the Knowledge Base & FAQ to see the recommended antennas.

Would I need amplifiers for the attic and if so, any recommendations?

Pole from the deck would probably give best results, depending on how high, and what is around your home.
However, Attic is probably most feasible (you'd need a lot of support for a tall pole). Unfortunately you lose a bit of signal (not too much, mind you) by having it there. Depending on where you are in Ajax, you might be fine without an amp - if its to just one TV. If you're splitting it, you will probably need a preamp.
This also depends on the performance of the no-name antenna.
I would suggest mounting in the attic, and measuring signal. If its sub-par, you can add a preamp just below it in the line - or even just a "regular" signal amp - though preamp is the best choice.
We have 4228 (outside wall - mostly clear line over neighbour's roof to lake) + 28dB (I think.. forget the exact number) "regular" amp + split to two 50' lengths of cable. A preamp would have probably suited us more, but I already had the amp, so I put it to good use.
Without the split all channels are perfect. With it, signal can be iffy at times. I'm not even sure that the amp does anything, TBH.

Thanks so much for the information, it is really helpful and it makes me feel better putting it up in the attic. I'm going to purchase a 4228 as well and found a dealership in North York called XTEK.

And how many channels do you receive? I hope to receive more than the 15 that is seemingly average for attic set-ups...

As you can tell....I'm new here. Read thru' most of the posts in this tread but still have a few questions before I head out to get my equipments:

I'm thinking of using CM4228 without rotator, can I receive both Toronto (like Sun, City-TV, CBC, OMNI and so on)and US channels? I'm planning to put the antenna next to my un-used chimney and is about 25 feet above ground.

How to Ground this antenna since it's going to attach to the chimney/house? ie. when lightning strike, won't the energy transfer to the house and the ground too?

Thanks to helping me!!

Cheers,
Katak

Katak, welcome here and you can find a ton of information on grounding your antenna in this thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=62265

To answer your first question - Yes, you can receive both Toronto and Buffalo stations without a rotor, IF you're in the right position - getting closer to scarborough and downtown, its harder to get an angle. Out in Whitby, like me, Toronto is positioned perfectly in the "side lobe" of the 4228 so that I receive it when pointed for "full strength" @ buffalo.

I'm in Scar. and my angles are 228 for the CN and 168 and 172 for Buff. I will be going with an 8 bay, but do you think a rotator is needed? By the sounds of it, yes, but I'm just double checking.
Thanks

Hello,

Since I've spent so much time reading here over the last couple weeks and have jumped into this OTA stuff because I wanted to get an HD TV, without paying the huge fee's for HD programming. Well now I've got the programming, next is the tv! (hopefully by boxing day). Anyways I thought I should post my results.

I have a SS clone, the Philips PHDTV3 from dell's website (which I found out about on this site) which is sitting in an unused bedroom on the second floor, aiming out the window towards buffalo/toronto. The cable then goes through the house, into the basement, (where all the cables in the house meet) then back up to the living room on the main floor. My receiver is a SAMSUNG DTB-H260F (from ebay for $90, however doesn't work that well with an old SD TV, the guides and menus only work when connected with the component or HDMI cables, NOT with the S-video or composite cables, which is all my TVs have. At least one of the component RCAs will give you a black and white version when plugged into a composite video cable, so you can use the guide and scan for channels while in black and white, then change it back once its set up)

I'm on the north corner of taunton & anderson in Whitby

2-1
2-2
4-1
5-1
7-1
7-2
7-3
9-1 CFTO - sometimes... doesn't come in well
17-1
17-2
17-3
18-1
23-1
25-1
29-1
29-2
36-1
44-1
57-1

I think this is pretty good with only an SS clone, but I'm confused as to why I can get OMNI 2 great, but nothing for OMNI 1. Also CFTO on analog is really clear, its the strongest anlong channel I have! but the digital channel is really weak. Same for Global, which is pretty good on analog, but nothing on Digital.

J

iw84no1 i am also at those angles, my solution was 2 x 4228 - 1 at cn tower 228 and 1 at 170 degrees. love the resaults. btw location bottom of kennedy rd scarborough

2.1
2.2
4.1
5.1
7.1
7.2
7.3
9.1
11.1
17.1
17.2
17.3
23.1
25.1
29.1
29.2
44.1
57.1
64.1
65.1
66.1

49.1 is flaky so i dont bother with it

good luck

some of the toronto stations are "sketchy" at times - for example I can get CTV at literally 100% one day, and another day it may stutter or not be high signal.
This is just a quirk in reception, moving the antenna a bit (like literally a cm) might make this problem disappear completely. I noticed this most often with my SS clone (from dell as well) but its vanished with my 4228 (still happens occasionally, but VERY rare).
Once you have the antenna aimed perfectly, you're golden.
The other day I adjusted the antenna by about 1cm (rotation, so like.. 1-2 degrees) and I lost all buffalo channels and CTV started stuttering. Moved it back and everything was perfect again.