Indoor ZSS clone:

Broadway & Renfrew - Getting good signal for CBC & CTV

This is my first post. This is a very helpful forum and a great thread. Thanks to everyone who has posted!!

I am at 44th and Ontario in a single story bungalow.

I am getting...
5-1, 12-1, and 24-1 reliably from the south.
2-1 and 32-1 from the north.

I occassionally pick up 7-1, 13-1, 33-1, 51-1, but could be due to skip. In any event, I don't get them reliably.

I am using the built in ATSC tuner in my Samsung 4061. It only shows bars from 1 to 10, so I will call that 10-100%.

I was initially using one 4228 on a pole attached to my chimney. With the help of 4DTV_HD I decided to give a second 4228 a try. So now I have two 4228s, stacked on a mast attached to my chimney. The second 4228 didn't improve things much at all. I am a little disappointed I can't get 9-1, but at least I get something. I am not sure if it is enough to cancel shaw yet.

I find it strange that I get 5-1 fairly strong at 60-70%, but I don't really get any other Seattle stations reliably. Maybe I'll try the pre-amp. I've come this far so no turning back. Does anyone have any insight as to receiving 5-1, but not much else from Seattle?

Thanks again for all the info.

I can't get 9-1 ... anyone have any insight as to receiving 5-1, but not much else from Seattle.Hi and welcome here! Although most of the SeaTac stations are co-located in the same vicinity, their frequencies and power levels have different impacts on their possible reception in the Lower Mainland.

I can't say that PBS-DT in SeaTac will ever be steady in our area, but some channels like KING-DT and KCPQ-DT seem to carry here better than KOMO-DT, KIRO-DT, or others.

If Greg (4DTV HD) has analyzed your site than you can stick by what he's suggested you'll get.

Living in a basement suite in the Fraserview area. Unforunately, the suite is fairly well buried, but the house faces west on the South slope. Using an cheap set of indoor amplified rabbit ears, I can get the KVOS and the ShopNBC channel really well.

Using the built-in ATSC tuner from a Sharp LC-37D62U. Mounting an outdoor antenna is not an option. Are the chances even remotely good that I might be able to get either CBC-HD or CTV-HD if I pick up a ZSS clone?

I've been determined to get HD OTA so i picked up a Samsung DTB-H260F from the US and have been trying all types of indoor antennas everywhere in my ground floor condo at 12th and Arbutus in Kits.

I finally picked up CBC with 3 bars with an indoor antenna.

I'm using the RCA-CANT585 model powered antenna from Future Shop. It also picks up regular analog tv the best so it's a dual success. :D

hello,

i have a toshiba 26in HF85 hd compatible widescreen tv without an atsc tuner. i don't have cable and all i want is to get a clear cbc signal for hockey. currently i have a crappy radio shack indoor tuner (rabbit ears) and cbc is ok but fuzzy. i would be happy to just get a better antenna and just get a clear non-hd cbc signal but i am also interested in getting ota hd cbc if possible. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,

bruce

Hi Bruce,

For starters, you'll need an ATSC tuner and likely a much better antenna. Check out the links in this post for essential information you'll need, and there are also several Vancouver-area threads to read through for background info.

Looking forward to your questions/results.

are atsc tuner available locally?
do i need an atsc tuner for non hd?
any suggestions on where to go to get a good antenna locally?

thanks for the quick reply stampeder

The answers are yes, no, and yes.

I'm not trying to be smart-alec, I'm pointing you to the Knowledge Base & FAQ so that you can get up to speed on finding those answers here in the OTA Forum. There are threads covering all three questions and sooooo much more. You'll do great! :)

Using a 75-to-300 Ohm converter, 9ft coax, plus a set of Sony rabbit ears from a 15+ year old TV. No problem picking up CBC here in Kerrisdale. Needed to orient the antenna towards Seymour and then hunt down a spot in the room in order to pick up CTV. Don't know how to display signal strength on an XBR4, but CTV seems to be coming through without any audio/video drop outs.

Total cost? $0.

OTA HD is great!

Hi afuiw, $0 is a great price! :D

On your XBR4 change the channel to CTVHD, then select Menu -> Settings -> Channel -> Diagnostics and you should get the signal strength screen.

I don't have a Sony XBR4 but I'm assuming yours has the same or similar menu as my Sony SXRD so there might be some differences. If its not the same you can look up your TV on this site to get the right method.

I haven't posted here for a while, everything was pretty much status quo but now I've moved about 2.5km west, near 57th and Elliott. At my old place I could get CBC, weak signal but pretty much all the time. I also had pretty good success with the sea-tac signals, abc, cbs, nbc, and fox quite well, PBS sometimes and of course KVOS. One hight I was picking up 21 signals!

The new place seems to be a bit of a tradeoff. Same setup (samsung 260, cm4228 and radio shack preamp). I now get CBC and KVOS at 100%, ctv at 60-70% but very spotty reception for the sea-tac stations. Maybe I can get my antenna up higher, not sure what will help. Oh well, it's hockey season and CBC is beautiful!

Hi all,

I picked up a Samsung DTB-H260F from JR.com (ok price and fast shipping) and hooked it up to my 37" toshiba hdtv (720p, no built in atsc tuner) and cheap rabbit ears with small fixed uhf loop. I'm getting a consistent 50-60% signal on CBC. No video/audio problems once I found a sweet spot for the antenna. HD hockey games here I come! Barely registering CTV though. I'm planning on trying a Silver Sensor as soon as I can find one (posted in ZSS forum). My antenna is currently indoors, ground floor, and several walls away from a clear line at Seymour. I'm sure that I could get an unobstructed view from the roof. But, there's no easy way to run the cable. I'll let you know how the new antenna goes. :)

Obiwan

I've tried this clearance antenna from Radio Shack (oops, sorry The Source): 125km VHF range, 90km UHF, 90km FM. Ideal for city and suburb use. Has 178cm (70") boom and 22 elements.

The analog channels are pretty good, and on digital I get 12.1 and 24.1 just fine, but I can't get 2.1 or 8.1

Does anyone have any idea why - I've tried on the rooftop where I can just see Seymour peaking overtop of the roofs in the way, but on the TV signal meter the signal just keeps fluctuating between 49 and 0 and no picture (except once I did get 2.1 for just a couple of seconds, but that was with the antenna sitting in a bedroom on the top floor where you can't actually see Seymour - the houses are in the way).

Could the type of antenna matter - everything I read says people are having luck with just rabbit ears, and an antenna is an antenna, but from tvfool.com it says that I should be having a much stronger signal from 2.1 than 12.1 which comes in no problem.

Could it be that terrain from the house to Seymour is too close to flat, and I'm getting too much multipath? and would the CM4228 help this over the type of antenna I am trying?

Just a quick update. I got a used indoor Phillips Silver Sensor Clone HDTV1 antenna. Before:cheap rabbit ears with small fixed uhf loop. I'm getting a consistent 50-60% signal on CBC. No video/audio problems once I found a sweet spot for the antenna. HD hockey games here I come! Barely registering CTV though.Now getting 100% cbc and 50-60% CTV. Both look great with no signal drops.

DVS, it sounds like the antenna you are using is probably a VHF antenna. For the most part those large boom antennas are VHF. It also corresponds to your results because most analog channels are VHF while most digital channels currently are UHF.

It's definitely UHF as well, both in the sales description, and because I can get 12.1 (UHF 35) and 24.1 (UHF 19) no problem.

I have to believe it is some sort of reflection/refraction problem as the peak of Seymour is just visible, and there are lots of roofs and trees that go higher than the peak as far as line of sight goes.

an antenna is an antenna:eek: Nope!

DVS, read through the Knowledge Base & FAQ, which has illustrations to compare your antenna with, and then let us know if you see one similar to yours:

It's similar to the Combo VHF/FM/UHF in the OTA Forum Knowledge Base & FAQ, but missing the 2 small diagonal arms that shoot off above and below the main boom.

The large elements at the back aren't straight, they are in a "V".

It's "The Source" part 1508228.

That'd be this one, which should be just fine for your needs:

http://www.thesourcecc.com/images/Online/15/1508228l.jpg

The DHC thread about The Source's antennas is here: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41074

In this photo the direction towards Mt. Seymour would be to the upper right. Since you're getting the Bellingham stations and not the Mt. Seymour ones is it possible that you may be pointing your antenna backwards?