A 4 bay is good, but not great. I'm not able to get all channels depending on weather from Buff/Tor/Ham. NBC is a problem, CTS as well. The rest are ok
Fox comes in fine for me, 5/6, but 49 is 2-3/6. gofotit, maybe try an 8 bay or amplifiy your 4 bay for Buf.
Stamp, if he means Tor stations only, then yes, a 4 bay would do it. Ham & Buf, not 100%

i have channel master4228 in my balcony i am in scarborough on the 4th floor of the building. i bought the CM couple weeks ago and just to try it out i have just tied it up(did not want to spent too much time in the snow/cold) and run a cable(rg-6) to my room where i have my sony bravia 52.

i get following channels

2.1 nbc
2.2 wthr
4.1 cbs
5.1 cbc
7.1 abc
7.2 rtn
9.1 ctv
23.1 cw
25.1 sc
41.1 global
44.1 omni2
64.1 omni1
66.1 sun tv

57.1 CITY TV does scan but i do not get the picture, if i leave it on that channel for few seconds than i do sometimes get a picture for few seconds and it drops again.
also i do not get FOX , PBS, OR MYTV

my question is if i put a amplifier would it solve the ctv prob and which amp should i go out and buy?
Also Is there anthing can do to get fox which I was getting before and have lost it?

thanks fo the reply.

An amp may help, but I suspect it's an aiming problem - PBS has always been strong for me regardless of position of my antenna (i've tried a few positions gaining one channel and losing another)
MyTV is pretty tricky in the winter.. I honestly don't bother :p
As for city, a slight adjustment in position would probably help you out.
That, or a tuner error.
I find switching from certain channels to certain other channels results in a failed lock with my one pc tuner (no idea why). Going up up/down one channel and back fixes the problem.

the problem with city tv is that, at times i do get a signal(with picture freeze once in a while) other times it jus says no signal. what about fox do you get that?

I get fox as well, with like perfect signal (to be expected though, my 4228 is pointed right at fox, getting Toronto to the side and the other buffalo stations mostly in the primary reception area (along with fox)

Your location may not be able to reliably get both Buffalo and Toronto without moving the antenna (i.e. rotor, etc)
I believe most people in Scarborough and in towards downtown use 4221's for the wide reception angle

Hi all,
I am at Kennedy/Lawrence and today I noticed that some American channels (NBC, ABC, MyTV) were freezing for about 10 secs. Also, some canadian channels like CFTO, SUN TV.

I have been using an indoor antenna for about 2 months now and all was good. I have the indoor Silver sensor with amp as my cabling is over 50 ft.
Initially, I thought the antenna was bad but I tried another antenna samsung axession (amp as well) and it was the same.

Is anyone else having the same issues? Could it be a winter thing?

EDIT: Ok I tried after 10 PM and looks like the signal is now stable. Tried this morning and looks ok as well. I am assuming something in the air wasnt right.

Hi all,

I am just looking to get into OTA for the first time and may be asking some questions on this forum.. hopefully the community is willing to help.. but as I have already done a lot of reading you all seem very helpful.

I've done a search and have seen a considerable amount of information on CM4228 vs CM4228HD and most notably found out that the HD version is inferior to the original.

Would you recommend that if I cannot find the CM4228 (original) to go with the Winegard PR-8800 instead of the HD version of CM??? (This being based on the Antenna Chart v5.0)

Thx for your help!

It's entirely up to you. I'm not familar with the winegard, but you won't notice too huge a difference between the old and HD versions of the 4228. (Yes, there are differences, but it is still a great antenna)

kchandler:

I am in same location and am considering the cm 4221, (wider scope) should help catch Buffalo and the CN tower (I hope). I am dropping by Sals TV on Kingston rd (just in Scarb) to take a look at what he has in the way of antenna's this weekend.

That's actually a good point. Since you're at whites/hwy-2, you're like 10 mins from Sal's, I'd drop by and have a chat with him. He'd probably be able to answer any questions you have.

I tried to get all channels from 1 antenna and tried just about everything. I gave up and combined 2 antennas, but still lost buffalo channels intermitently. Mostly they'd drop out in the evening, during prime time on my favorite shows. The lake does strange things to RF.
I wanted more solid reception, so eventually I went with 3 antennas. Its pretty solid now :)

Hi there folks. Just wanted to let you know how I made out with my setup.

I'm at Altona and Hwy 2, and have a 4221 wall-mounted 6 feet above the eaves, with a 7775 pre-amp. I'm aiming slightly south-east, at what I imagine is directly towards WGRZ's transmitter. Here's what I'm getting:

2.1/2.2 WGRZ NBC 71
4.1 WIVB CBS 100
5.1 CBLT CBC 73
7.1/7.2 WKBW/WNGS ABC 100
9.1 CFTO CTV 71
17.1/17.2/17.3 WNED PBS 100
23.1 WNLO CW 100
25.1 CBLFT SRC 52
29.1/29.2 WUTV FOX 92
41.1 CIII Global 73
44.1 CJMT OMNI 2 71
49.1/49.2 WNYO MyTV 83
57.1 CITY Citytv 69
64.1 CFMT OMNI 1 83
66.1 CKXT SUN TV 79

As you can see, I don't get 11.1 (CHCH, E!) or 36.1 (CITS, CTS), and the French CBC is low, but seems to come in okay. Tried using the 4228 both with and without the 7775, but found it much too directional and finicky.

I may end up re-aiming a touch more west to get the CN Tower a little more solidly, as I saw Citytv artifacting a touch the other day, but for the most part, things shouldn't be changing much from the above.

I've got about 70' of quad RG6 running from the 7775 on the mast to the basement, where the signal is then split, with one run heading about 30' and the other running about 50'.

Mike at Sal's was a big help. He had everything I needed, and was great at troubleshooting issues along the way during the multi-day installation and fine-tuning process.

Consider me another quite satisfied OTAer :)

dfletcher,

Let me know what you find out. It would be very helpful. It seems as though Bombero has good results with the 4221 and now I'm second guessing myself with getting a 4228.


recneps77, I've visited him but I only inquired about the 4228. He didn't really communicate what results I could expect from it, however. Maybe I need to pay him another visit and ask some more questions.

First off, Happy New Year everyone...

I've been using the rotor to pin point to the best of my ability the right location and best signal of ION 51 in Buffalo. I can get the analoge in cyrstal clear but have yet to see any digital signal. According to the FCC posting, the digital coverage will be bigger, not to mention they will be broadcasting with more power than WKBW. Here's hoping they have multiple feeds. It also appears that WNGS has been working on getting better programming the last couple of day...instead of the B&W chewed up films with out of sync soundtracks they were showing a week or so ago...

I'm still also waiting to see if Rochester comes in any clearer once the changeover happens. This being my first winter, I'm still surprised to get all the channels (Rochester ones come in and drop out). I may take Tom's lead and get another one or two and join them together this summer depending on the results of the changeover. If we end up getting more channels from the south...i will be looking at Tower.

Funny how the wife was completely against an antenna until I put on CSi,24 and Supernatural...hahahaha

Cheers, Richard.

You know, I picked up an RCA ANT510 from TSCC and it is actually pretty good.
With it I receive:
5.1 CBLT CBC 73
9.1 CFTO CTV 71
17.1/17.2/17.3 WNED PBS 100
23.1 WNLO CW 100
25.1 CBLFT SRC 52
29.1/29.2 WUTV FOX 92
41.1 CIII Global 73
44.1 CJMT OMNI 2 71
57.1 CITY Citytv 69
64.1 CFMT OMNI 1 83
66.1 CKXT SUN TV 79

Now if only I can get 2.1, 4.1, and 7.1

Using a Eaglestar Pro (CM4221HD Knockoff) I get:

2.1/2.2 WGRZ NBC - 1 / 2 BARS (BAD RECEPTION)
4.1 WIVB CBS - 4 BARS
5.1 CBLT CBC - 10 BARS
7.1/7.2 WKBW/WNGS ABC - 4 BARS
9.1 CFTO CTV - 8 BARS
17.1/17.2/17.3 WNED PBS - 5 BARS
23.1 WNLO CW - 5 BARS
25.1 CBLFT SRC - 7 BARS
29.1/29.2 WUTV FOX - 5 BARS
41.1 CIII Global - 6 BARS
44.1 CJMT OMNI 2 - 6 BARS
49.1/49.2 WNYO MyTV - 1 / 2 BARS (BAD RECEPTION)
57.1 CITY Citytv - 6 BARS
64.1 CFMT OMNI 1 - 6 BARS
66.1 CKXT SUN TV - 6 BARS

Does anyone think a 7775 Preamp would help me pull in those flaky stations - last night holding the antenna at the same height on the other side of the house, I could get 2.1/2.2 (WGRZ) with 4 bars but then CityTV got lost completely - maybe it was a better night for hard to get stations (I understand 2.1/2.2 and 49.1 are hard to catch). Those channels come in, but they are very choppy. The antenna is outside, on the wall, facing due south towards Buffalo and picking up the Toronto stations on the side lobe. I must be picking up 49.1 on the other side lobe.

I can't raise the antenna any higher (or chimney mount it), it's about 25 feet off the ground, clear of the eaves, and about a foot out from the house on the south east corner with no obstructions.

How would one say, increase the strength of those low channels without overloading CBC (which is full strength)?

I am pretty cure a CM7775 is far too much gain. Possibly a Winegard 19db gain unit - or is that still too much?

I've got a Samsung DTB-260F.

Thanks!
Mike

Foondar: That's probably the best you'll get with an indoor - quite good results, though.
7 & 4 are borderline stations for me with an outdoor antenna, and rarely locked when I was using a PHDTV3 (silver sensor)

mkmorris: two things you could do:
1) Try and find a variable gain preamp (sorry, I'm not much help on that one :p)
2) Try turning away from Toronto a bit more - your T.O stations should decrease in strength, and possibly help on your Buffalo reception. Amplifying might then help with reception of both Toronto and Buffalo.
But in all honesty, MyTV is near impossible for most people[this time of year], and many have trouble with NBC (I do not.. it may be the extra "distance" rating of the 4228 over 4221 models)

Thanks recneps. What gets me is my neighbour with a brand new Samsung TV (similar tuner in it compared to my stb) brings in 2-1 and 2-2 with a silver sensor I gave him. He gets way less channels, but does get WGRZ

Argh.

And his is mint too.

He gets 2-1/2-2, 4-1, 5-1, 7-1,7-2, 23-1, 44-1. With an indoor silver sensor, in his basement window!

I've ordered a couple of 18" Channel Master Brackets and I am going to slaughter the two sets to make one 26" pair (to get around my eaves and eaves troughs). I've got the pole, there's enough wire there (even when on a real mast it will only be 25feet of rg6)... I'll see what happens if I can get it another 10 feet higher. It should clear my roof, and I won't have to worry about a tripod roof mount or chimney mount.

I'll let you all know what I get after getting it another 10 feet high. Brackets are supposed to arrive today, or latest Monday. So I'll chop them up when they arrive and put it up that night.

Stay tuned...

M

Hi All
First post to here, so I hope I write this correctly.
Im in a Bungalow rental, in Scarborough, there is a huge mast in the back garden which I only recently hooked up in to and was amazed without any tweaking I was able to receive pretty much everything apart from PBS and W.
But the one thing I was surprised about was its pointing East west not north south as 90% of the other antennas around in the area are.

This morning as per usual I switch on 57.1 CITYTV HD and it was black! nothing, nada, zip, so i tried OMNI2 HD, nothing, flicked through all the other HD channels and nothing! All the normal SD versions were there - terrible I might add, but no HD.

From what I can work out, and by the direction the antenna is pointing at, its getting the signal from Oshawa? East West??? Should I try and repoint it North South? The mast is easily 30ft in the air on its own structure, im not good with heights!

Or was there a black out this morning with the HD signal?

I'm at work now so cant check anything immediately but would really appreciate any help.
Thanks
Stoo

Hi Stoo, always check the various Station Status threads in this forum to see if they're having problems at their end. I haven't read anything about CITY blacking out so the problem is at your end.