so.... this adjustable boom you're talking about... where does one find something like this - and does it attach to the top of an antenna mast
Funny you asked. What do get when have a five guys, foot ball game and new HDTV? My friend called me over for the game, he just purchased a new Pioneer KURO 60" Plasma of course he had no cable or satellite connection. They only wanted watch the game on 2.1 HD NBC to make sure they would miss any of the commercials.

As my friend was in real rush (which don’t recommend) we took off to Matheson purchased two 4221 clones plus tripod short pole and 100ft cable for total $70.00 including tax. Not bad price, I had helped the owner before :D

I ganged two of the antenna together in my friends his kitchen while his wife was watching.:confused: The nice thing about this install, was I had five extra bodies ready to help me, hardest part was climbing up the ladder. I knew he had a flat roof otherwise I wouldn’t install it. Even though it was sunny out burr.... :o I sure felt the cool breeze. The guys had a hole drill out in no time, I mounted the antenna made up a quick 60ft run RG-6 directed towards the US. I was quite surprised that we had no problem receiving 2.1 then again he has clear shot across the lake and has great TV. This was just a temporary installation till things warm up.

Now getting back to your initial question regarding tilt mount, yes indeed I made my own custom mounting using angle iron. But the antennas that I just install yesterday came with manual adjustable boom mount, that simply bolt onto the mask. They are very easy to install and are fully adjustable and are marked off in degrees (looks very professional). When it warms up maybe I’ll replace my old 4221 with one of these booms, looks and works very well. I don’t think I am allowed to post commercial websites, but it’s UHF digital outdoor TV antenna ********technologies.(xxx) Model number ANT-2086. For the price I would even consider purchasing the antenna and just using the adjustable boom. I know that CM and other manufactures make motorized tilters for yagi antennas (ATF-V300 Precision Tilter) {note they are expensive}and there are some satellite tilters which could be adapted to work, but to tell you the truth a manual one should be good enough. I am sure they are more do a web search, if you can’t find anything you may have to just DIY like me.

I have to say one more thing, I thought the game was great, the quality of the picture was outstanding, especially the 3D effects WOW. :cool:

What else can you ask for, lots of chicken wings, beer, wine and good friends.

Heh. I said I was done... I lied

After seeing my tuner dropout yesterday while the neighbours was spot on (my tuner at his place does not give me his signal strength - so my DTB-H260 while good, is definitely NOT as good as his new TV)... I have two choices.

I calculated my cable run at 45 feet. Where I got 25 feet from - I don't know... probably I forgot to add the mast length and a bit. Whatever.

So I have 45 feet of quad shield RG6. One f-joiner (female/female) at the bottom of the mast (sealed with heat shrink and good quality) and one f joiner inside on one of those little wall plate things (the wife made me make it a little prettier).

I don't see any appreciable / visible signal loss with those little f-joiner things.

I did find that if I peaked my antenna more east for NBC (and PBS) i lost city, chch, and global got really bad. If I of course peaked for those lost toronto stations, I lost buffalo completely (too far for the "east" side lobe of the cm4221).

So right now, toronto is in the west lobe of the 4221. And it looks like I am not pointing directly at nbc, maybe somewhere just slightly west of wgrz by a degree or two as to keep toronto in the side lobe. I do notice, it's only a degree or two off to the east to get better reception for nbc... but then I lose toronto/hamilton.

I have those channel master 18" brackets (extended out 6"), and a piece of fence pole up 10 feet (7 feet above the top bracket) with the cm4221 pointed between buffalo and toronto.

In terms of wind loading, and trying to not throw money out the window... Is my best bet two antennas (can the mast hold that much?) it sways a tad in the wind now. Or add a preamp? (like I stated, the 15db radio shack model w/3db noise was enough to pickup NBC where it is now - without it - zilch). The two antennas makes me think the pole might not do so well in the wind... and the preamp is smaller. Hoping the pre would let me aim at buffalo with that extra degree and bring in NBC that much better, and still have the "ooomph" to pickup city on the side lobe - even now that it's a degree off.

Or leave it aimed exactly where it is too and amplify everything a bit to help my tuner pickup those weaker signals.

I've basically got an aiming problem... I can't get around it with the 4221 unless I add another antenna, or add a preamp like the CM7775.

Given most of you guys have been doing this far longer than I... cm7775 preamp (and pull out the 15db radio shack one), or another antenna - keeping in mind the wind load of the mast which is my biggest concern?

Thanks!

mkmorris you could think about a small UHF Yagi for the Toronto stations in order to lower the wind load. They are very light and can be aimed like a shotgun at the CN Tower. Most antenna dealers have one or two in stock. The only problem is that they might not pick up CHCH-DT from that angle because they tend to be very directional. A 4-bay bowtie would get you CHCH-DT I'm pretty sure.

stampeder:

yeah, I get chch in the west lobe of a 4221 (that's a 4 bay no?)... I am just not sure if the fence pole will hold it ;) they are a couple of lbs each - so I am sure if I point another 4221 at the cn tower I should be able to cover the cn tower and hamilton no problem on the long lobe.

If I draw a line on google maps... I can draw a straight line from my house, westwards towards the cn tower and pretty much directly at hamilton within a few degrees.

It's the wind load I'm concerned about. Do you have a recommendation on a Yagi. I found some DIY yagi antennas... not sure if that's a good idea or not though.

I think tonight, to see if it works any better, I will pickup and try a cm7775 preamp to replace my noisy indoor ratshack one. Hopefully with the 1db lower noise figure, mounting it at the antenna, and the 11 extra db of gain (which I probably won't need and have to attenuate a few db anyhow) I will be able to pull them in better, leaving the antenna in it's compromise position.

If that doesn't work, I'll get another 4221 and figure out a way to increase the stability of the mast. Anything like that will have to wait for summer though.

Check out Post #3 in the OTA FAQ to see the difference in the UHF antenna types:

Ok, here is the final (I swear this time) iteration to my setup:

(went to Sal's in Scarberia... Mike thought this amp would be better than the 7775 as it is 4-5db less gain and a very similar noise figure - it's also a couple bucks less too hehe)

-Took out the Radio Shack 15db Dist. Amp
-Put in a Channel Master Spartan 3 (0064 DBS) preamp. Set to filter out all FM using the built in trap.
-Preamp is connected by 3 feet of RG6, from the CM4221 balun to another 75/300 balun into the 300 ohm input of the 0064.
-I know there's a way to do this without using two baluns back to back by connecting 300 ohm twin-lead directly to the 4221... but for now, this is going to have to suffice.

So, with that preamp in, in comparison to before/after signals (with the radio shack amp that was required for wgrz 2-1) I am waaaay up. Signal on all channels is rock solid no spits or stutters and it's working amazing compared to before I put this in.

Some other poster in an earlier post said this was the setup to use for scarborough, and he was right. The spartan3 amp works very well.

(oh yeah, and when I took my 5th gen tuner over to the neighbours house - 2 bars less than his 6th gen chip tv)

Things to do for the summer: Use a piece of twin lead to go from the cm4221 leads right down into the spartan3 instead of two baluns back to back.

I am trying to decide witch antenna would be best for me, I live in whitby Roseland and lakeridge. From the list of channels it looks like UHF is really the only thing I need (am I wrong?) I will also be getting a preamp.

Basicly just looking to find out what antenna people think is best.


Thanks

Hi,

My wife has vitoed the roof or wall mount, so I am going ATTIC. I would like to go for a 4228hd. My attic hatch is 33inches on the diagonal. Will this antenna fit? I see from the specs that it's 33 inches tall and 41 inches wide. I just measured the hight of the attic and it looks like I would have to take the lip that holds the insulation out. Does this Antenna come appart at all? even if just to kinda fold it to get it up there?

I might have to Vito her vito.

thank you for any help.


Looks like the old 4228 was somwhat easy to take apart, anyone have the 4228HD? is it doable?

I whent to the Manufactuers website, and found these instalation instuctions.

Easy installation - Unfold, mount, and connect

I think the key here is unfold :)

Hi rlegault,
On the channelmaster website there is a pretty good pic. It looks like it could come apart by drilling out the rivets and putting it back together with bolts & nuts. From the pic, i don't see the unfold part.
http://www.channelmasterintl.com/terr/EXTREMEtenna.html
If you're on high ground, attic install might work ok, but usually height is the best solution. Tripod on the peak of your roof will be best. For now, all stations are UHF, but CFTO will be going back to ch.9. The 4228HD should be good for that.

I called Duham Radio and had him do a visual on the box for me, and it looks like it's fully assembled, unlike the DB8 (the box is half the size) but no VHF :(

The "Easy installation - Unfold, mount, and connect" is on the top left under features and benefits.

So I think the 4228HD with a preamp in the attic is the way I am going to go. I will try without a preamp first to see what kind of signal I get. (I beleive that's the right way to do it, so I can figure out how much power I need for my preamp. Right?)

I also plan on using a Diplexer...I will post my Diplexer question int the Diplexer section.

Yes, definitely see what you get without an amp, and then you can add later if you need it.
Depending on how many times you split it or length of runs, you probably won't need one.

Hey recneps77,

Hey, I see you're in Whitby also. What kind of setup do you have? how is your reception?

I think DB8 in my attic is the way I am going to go. Diplexed with my Sat, from basement to TV and maybe split OTA at a later date to make a PVR with my PC.

So my cable with probably be about 50' to 60' with a break in it for the grounding block and then the two diplexers, and like I said at a later date probably a spliter on the OTA. Anyone seeing any signaling issues there? Other the maybe the attic thing?

I've got a 4228 (original) -> 25ft RG6 -> ~30dB dist amp ->split to two 25ft runs (or was it 50? don't remember now, hah)

Aimed at Fox, I get Toronto to the side decently.
No reception on hamilton stations (E! and CTS) - not really missing them ;)
The only buffalo stations that are problems for me are MyTV and TBN.
Finally, ABC/This are borderline for me, but rarely drop out with my new tuner.
Other than that, reception is great all across.
Since you're at rossland/lakeridge, you should be slightly elevated over the lake, giving good reception from attic, as long as you don't have big trees or other houses blocking you.

RLegault, I'm just going to throw in here that I am south of you on Victoria and have a clear shot at the lake. I have a Wingard ss-2000 mounted in my attic that's pretty solid. Lose NBC like anyone else but all the other channels are reliable. It's rather expensive though and I wouldn't even bother trying the un-amplified version. I bought mine at Able TV in Whitby.

great skip tonite due to the weather.did a scan at 10am and got 8 channels,by 4 this afternoon,15,even picked up all 4 PBS stations from Rochester.all this done by a Philips MANT510.cant wait for the better weather.im located in an apt facing north in south Oshawa.

recneps77 and vmpv,

Thank you for the info. Makes me want to do this even more.

I used to receive very stable and strong signal for Fox (29-1). Since its switch-over on Feb. 17, its signal has been poor. Does anyone have any idea what might be the cause?

One weird thing is that I can only receive either CTV (9-1) or CityTV (57-1) but never both in a channel scan although both has strong signal. seems these two are in a kind of conflict. Any thoughts?

i am located at Scarborough and havePanasonic Viera. thanks

There has been some discussion on Fox in the 2009/2011 shutdown thread - you might want to have a look there too.
But basically, Fox has been changed to a southern directional transmitter, when it used to be higher-power, omnidirectional before, so that's the reason for the change in strength.
However, depending on your antenna/amplification you might be okay by adding a preamp or such (I don't know your set up based on that post :p)
I personally have a 4228 pointed at fox (just happens to be how it goes if I want Toronto to come in nicely from the side)
As I'm pointed right at fox, I get a nice, strong signal - no different than what I got before the shutdown.

I used to receive very stable and strong signal for Fox (29-1). Since its switch-over on Feb. 17, its signal has been poor. Does anyone have any idea what might be the cause?

One weird thing is that I can only receive either CTV (9-1) or CityTV (57-1) but never both in a channel scan although both has strong signal. seems these two are in a kind of conflict. Any thoughts?

i am located at Scarborough and havePanasonic Viera. thanks
Fox didn't shut down. The analog channel is playing the 'How to go DTV" video, over, and over, and over. So nothing changed feb 17.
My fox signal is fine in Ajax. So are all the other channels.

Hi,

I've got a new 4228 point between buffalo and toronto. It's stationary on the roof. The channel that is most unreliable is CityTV 57.1. Is this unusual? Will a preamp help me? If so, what type do you recommend for HD channels?

Thanks,
Scott