Although I am in the east end of Toronto and I should have no problem getting all the stations from Buffalo, I never could get CBS in and NBC was problematic. I have a huge tree in my neighbors backyard that I am sure is my main issue, but the tree isn't going anywhere.

I have had a CM 4221 for about 8 months now and when a friend told me he would no longer need his CM 4221, I did some quick research on this forum and it looked like I would be able to considerably increase the gain of my setup.

It has been a great success. I am now getting NBC and CBS (as well as every other station) in very strongly. I suspect I no longer need the pre-amp I purchased this summer.:)

Here are a couple pics (you can see how close the tree is):

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3215/2970497300_c5ce3f0830_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/2970497064_7aeb0c90f7_b.jpg

fta.bluenoser, when the leaves come down you'll have even better signal too!

Just one tip I would give to folks reading this is that in this case the aim of the antennas is so close to the same that they compliment eachother, but even a few degrees further off and you'd likely start to encounter oddities that could be problematic, with the problems getting worse as the azimuths differ.

fta.bluenoser

Given that your location description is "east end of toronto", I doubt that both of these of antenna are aimed directly at Buffalo towers and the CN Tower.
From what I can tell in the pics the bottom antenna is aimed slightly more towards Buffalo and the top one to CN tower? If the antennas are actually aimed at the respective towers, with that amount of separation, I suspect you would actually be in north Toronto. Therefore can I assume that your aiming was a compromise to get the best of both cities? Good idea.

Also I notice that you have the antenna mast on the front side of the reflector screen for the bottom antenna. Was this because of the rotor? Do you still need to use the rotor, or do you consider this a stationary set-up?

cheers.

fta.bluenoser - from one (former) bluenoser to another, nice set-up!
One question - what is the black thing below the rotator?

Yeah once the leaves fall I will really be in good shape for TV this winter. I just finished setting up my HTPC, using beyond TV, so I am pretty excited about recording all that HDTV.

99Gecko - The antennas are probably off by a couple degrees, but are actually almost at a 90 degrees angle from the CN tower. I took another picture from the side where you can actually see the CN tower in the background. I'm really close to Danforth and Pape, maybe 7KMs away from the tower.

As for the antenna mast, I initially thought I would be able to put the tapered end of the mast into the top of the bottom antenna, but there is a piece of metal at the top of the antenna (inside the pole) that makes it impossible. So I figured why not try clamping it to the side and see if it works. I bought the rotor as sometimes cityTV would get choppy if the weather was bad so I would aim if slightly toward the tower, But it seems to be quite strong, now so I suspect I will be using it less.

Whidby - The black thing is actually the splitter I used to connect the rg6 cable runs (exactly the same length) from the two antennas. I didn't want it just hanging there, so I taped it to the mast.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/2976162159_c0849622e2.jpg

Bad news. It was inevitable that when Channel Master changed their antenna designs when they stopped making antennas in the USA and moved manufacturing duties to China that the originals would start to disappear.

There are reports coming in that various stores in Canada have run out of stock of the original-style Channel Master 4221s and 4228s or are running out of stock quickly.

Im all sold out of the old style antenna's.

Have 3x 4228 in stock but they are all sold and being picked up next week that was the last original design.

I will order a few of the new antenna and hopfully weather is good so I can try at my office.

I just did a quick check of major U.S. distributors like Crutchfield, SummitSource, Solid Signal, Fry's, etc. and it looks like they are all out of CM4228 stock too. Amazon says they have some used ones.

check ebay: there's a guy in missauga selling them.
A lot more $$$ than US vendors but the UPS problem makes them competive :(

the ad says there's 25 left....
(I brought one last week to gang with my original one)

Another member found a stash of CM4221s in Brooklyn, NY:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=51078

I just found a slightly used 4228 for $60, so Im gonna go for it. :D

The 4221 isn't as popular so there should be some around.

I had to go down 3 or 4 pages (30 hits per page) to find a 4228 and that was his last one.

BTW, he clued me in on spmething. Since the box is oversized by ONE INCH, if they cut one end of the box ahd fold it over, shortening the width, it will qualify for the standard, non-oversized rate. At least for UPS in the US.

The width of the box is slightly larger than it could be. Thid DOESN'T damage the reflectors (if it is done right).

BTW, he clued me in on spmething. Since the box is oversized by ONE INCH, if they cut one end of the box ahd fold it over, shortening the width, it will qualify for the standard, non-oversized rate. At least for UPS in the US.

The width of the box is slightly larger than it could be. Thid DOESN'T damage the reflectors (if it is done right).

Just a word of warning, boxes are made larger so that there is some crush room in case the box is dropped during shipping. By removing this crush room, you will increase the chance of the contents getting damaged during shipping. If you are willing to take that risk to save on shipping, that is your choice.

The front and back surfaces of the antenna are in direct contact with the box. It's only the edges of the reflector that weren't.
I see no problem doing this. If it is going to get damaged, it will if the box is shortened or not.

FWIW, my 1st 4228 was shipped as-is. The edges of the reflector were bent slightly. This one had NO damage. ;)

How OTA Antennas offered on DGWT site, compare to corresponding Channel Master Antennas? I understand, there are some copyright concerns, but it has nothing to do with antenna specs, may be a lot with competition. And its not illegal to ask for comparizon of OTA Antennas. Can somebody comment on measured antenna specs for each type of those offered on that site? They show pretty good reception in their store, and are a lot cheaper. Why in particular each Channel Master model (currently made in China) seems to be better than their corresponding model? Is there any published measurement data on this apart from general "bad staff" talk?

arnyc, there is a huge amount of test and real world experience to prove that the original Channel Master 4221 and 4228 are superior to their competitors. We've been discussing that for years here.

Why in particular each Channel Master model (currently made in China) seems to be better than their corresponding model?

Channel Master has only just recently moved manufacturing to China. We don't have any experience with the new designs that are made in China as they are not available yet, only the old designs that are made in the USA.

With some detective work I've found a very interesting point of comparison between Channel Master's antenna line and that of Digitek's.

First see my findings here: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=95467

Just clarifying that Digitek is not the same company as the Canadian supplier recently placed in DigitalHome's doghouse. The antennas themselves are different too.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=95059

I had the misfortune of purchasing the "unmentionable" antenna and after looking through previous threads (correct me if I'm wrong), the new (made in China) CM-4221HD came AFTER the "unmentionable".
So, I'm a bit confused. Who cloned who ?

What's with this "unmentioned" antenna? What's the secret?No secret,just the fact that whenever the Digi Wave product is mentioned in other threads its xxxxx'd out (proper grammar should have been "unmentionable"):).
As per http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=95059