I wouldn't buy from ebay. Especially a guy named vegas who sells cards. Whats he doing selling anteanna towers?

I know this is getting way off topic, but I thought I would put my two cents in.

I wouldn't buy a tower from the source. First of all, they don't look like they are very strong and probably won’t support a CM4228. Secondly it doesn't seem like the top section has a rotor plate for installing the rotor inside the tower (by far the best way to install a rotor). Thirdly it is almost definitely a bracketed tower, which means you can probably only go a maximum of 20’ above the bracket point. I personally like the looks of the Delhi Towers (http://www.wade-antenna.com/Wade/Delhi_Towers.htm) (especially their DMX line).

For more information check out the OTA Masts, Mounts, Towers, Hardware, Aiming (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=29559) thread.

While those Delhi towers look very nice, I'm sure they're out of my price range.

I noticed about 6 towers on my way to work this morning, so I'll be knocking on a couple of doors this week to see if someone wouldn't mind parting with one.

Anyway, I will update when I get a tower installed.

Hi guys, I'm in the Dufferin and Steeles area, northeast corner and just about 1 km south of the 407.

I hooked up an old bowtie antenna to my Samsung 5265 through the ATSC tuner, and I can pick up CBLT 5-1 and CFTO 9-1 fairly reliably, but thats about it. I'm looking at getting a 4228 chimney install because I think I can get line of sight with the CN tower, but what I'd like as well is the Buffalo stations. However they are directly behind the CN tower so I may or may not be in luck . Anyways, this forum is fantastic, I've been scouring every single post I can find. Thanks to everybody who contributed here.

Hi ler0y, actually you are in a great situation with Buffalo being right behind the CN Tower - there are not too many people who can take advantage of that situation! :)

Once you get a good antenna aimed up there you'll get all the DTV stations from Toronto and Buffalo with no need for a rotor or other aiming tricks. I don't imagine there should be any problem with CN Tower stations causing interference with Buffalo stations at your location but I could be wrong.

I don't imagine there should be any problem with CN Tower stations causing interference with Buffalo stations at your location but I could be wrong.

The only potential problem I can think of is the Toronto stations overpowering the Buffalo stations. He would have to try it and see though.

One question, would a CM4228 provide too much gain for his location?

Well, I think it should be ok because the Buffalo stations are on different frequencies than the Toronto stations, so there shouldn't be interference in that regard. However, if the Buffalo stations are very weak and I may need a preamp to pull them in, the Toronto stations may be too powerful to use with the preamp.

ler0y,
You don't need a 4228 (too close for Toronto).
You need elevation and a 4221. You could add a preamp later (likely attenuated) if needed.
A 4228 with or without amplification could be too much for your tuner to handle.
The DHC'er to ask is Yaamon.

Even if they are on different channels (i.e. no co-channel interference), if they are close you can have adjacent or alternate channel interference. This can sometimes be a problem even if they are 3 or 4 channels apart (but on the same band obviously).

The other problem can be the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) circuit in the tuner may be set based on the strength of the strongest channel, making it more difficult to pull in the weaker channels.

ler0y chimney install is great for elevation. From your location as long as your view is clear a 4221 or 4228 will work fine.

If you cable length is going to be longer than 50' and you think you would are considering a 4221 you might need a preamp.

A 4228 from my experience can easily go 60-65' without a preamp.

Good luck.

See !
I told you Yaamon was the one to ask!

99gecko ;) thnaks, I did a install a over a year ago off New Westminister west of Bathurst and north of Steeles.

Customer view is blocked by condos around Bathurst and Steels maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile away, but with some good fine tuning he was able to receive almost all the stations.

If I remember he does not get Sun. He does have problems with City and now and then a weaker Buffalo station Nbc or Fox might drop now and then.

But considering his view being blocked I was suprised at the results. This was with a 4228 with about 65-70' of cable. Using a 7775 made the reception worse.

With a clear view both antenna should pull in all the stations.

I now understand your problem it is your low elevation and also the direction towards Buffalo it is blocked by trees.


Manolid,
I am a little late to comment on this, but here goes.

I live near Avenue/Wilson so we are very close in location, so your results should be similar to mine. When I lived in a Bungalow in the area, I could easily receive all the Toronto stations except SunTV with a cheap Terk Silver Sensor Clone antenna inside my bulgalow. I would expect you to get similar results with an indoor antenna to be honest.

(1) Did you ever try an indoor antenna with a short cable? I would be interested in how that goes. (CBC blasts into to our area so I swear a hangar would pick that station up.)

At my new home I admittedly have a higher elevation that you do, but I think your setup should be able to get enough signal in. What altitude does Google Earth say you are at your home? Unless you are in a low area, I think 28 feet should be plenty. **** This is assuming you do not have those apartments just south of the 401 on Bathurst blocking your view.

(2) Where are you aiming to? The CN towers? You should actually be aiming quite a bit to the LEFT of where the CN tower is located.

Take a look at:
CN Tower - Buffalo aim (http://stephandcharles.com/flashvids/toronto.jpg)

The short line goes to the CN Tower, the line over lake Ontario is where the bulk of the Buffalo stations are located. I initially was very, very frustrated with my setup as I was told to aim at the CN tower... which was the worst thing possible. Once I rotated way left of the CN tower I was able to get Buffalo no problem. (And you will not lose Toronto stations with your setup...)

Also look at.
Closer aim view (http://stephandcharles.com/flashvids/toronto2.jpg)

Hopefully your home is somewhere in the zoomed in map area. It should give you a good fix on where to physically aim you antenna. (The line to the right is the one to aim for.) For me, I discovered I just needed to aim over an intersection just south of me to get close to Buffalo. It is really easy to aim to a local landmark to start.

(3) Aim for Fox. To get Buffalo, I just focused on getting just enough signal from FoxTV to get a reliable lock. Do not maximize Fox, just get the signal high enough to get a reliable lock. With that aim, you should pick up the rest of the Buffalo stations just fine.

I know everyone else seems to say you need a tower, but I think you should at least try these things.

I am also a little concerned with your cable connections... a weak link somewhere could destroy your reception for Buffalo stations.

Good luck. Cheers.

Hi all,

I'm a bit confused about all this OTA stuff.

Here is my situation. Warden And Finch facing the East side (yeah.. i know it's crappy). What is the best solution for me to get some OTA?

Thanks

rdtx2005, if you are in a condo and facing east that is not good.

But if you have any other condos close by to your east and north you might be able to get reflected signals. Other than that your chance of any Buffalo recpetion is next to none.

Hopefully you can get 2 or 3 from the Cn tower.

If you are on a high floor facing east you might be able to get Rochester on those dxing days.

Good luck.

Hi There,

I've been reading through the posts and people have a lot of knowledge about the OTA. I'm moving into the beaches area of Toronto (due East of the CN Tower) and am right next to the lake. Any thoughts on what would be a good setup? I have a roof and can mount in any direction necessary. Thanks!

I'll be moving into an almost-new condo August 7th. Today, while the contractor was installing blinds, I paced out the living room, looking for good places to position...

a 50" plasma TV in the near future :p
a CM4224 on a tripod (which is not allowed out on the balcony by condo regulations :( )

From my 6th floor suite, I have a clear view of the CN tower. That's the only real bearing I'm certain of. Steeles Ave runs approximately ENE to WSW, and the condo building doesn't exactly align with Steeles Ave anyways. I can't figure Google Earth's utilities. So my aiming question is in two parts...

Given that I'm near Dufferin+Steeles, where should I aim my "indoor antenna", relative to the CN Tower, to get Buffalo stations broadcasting from Grand Island, NY?
A 6-storey building is going up right next to my condo, to the SSW. I expect to still be able to see the CN Tower and points east. Are any of the Toronto DTV stations' transmitters located west of the CN tower, where they might be blocked by the future building?

I bought my condo for a couple of reasons other than unobstructed view of Buffalo ;) so the deal was going through regardless of (lack of) OTA DTV reception. But it certainly doesn't hurt.

Seal36, from the beaches, you need to point west to cn tower for toronto stations and south to buffalo for the US stations.
A 4228 on a rotor would be best. If you don't want a rotor, (for channel surfing or unattended recording), then you need what i got, 2 antennas combined.

Walter, you need to point due south for buffalo stations, and you'll get toronto anyway because you'll just miss the cn tower.
the 4224 has half the gain of the 4228, so don't expect buffalo during any weather. the 6th floor will help.

Good Luck!

I put a CM4228 in the attic facing kind of towards CN Tower (temporarily it just hangs there on zip ties a foot or so above the blow-in insulation), NO preamp for now (CM7777 is still in the box), VERY long QUAD-SHIELDED cables (30m from antenna, 1x8 powered dist box in the basement, 1-2' to combining diplexer, 25m, separating diplexer, and to 811 Dish receiver with built in ATSC tuner.

With the above setup and I am getting the following channels ALL the time:

05-01, CBLT 80-90%
09-01, CFTO 80-90%
23-01, WNLO 64-68%
25-01, CBLFT 80-90%
29-01, WUTV 60-68%
29-02, WUTV 60-68%
57-01, CITYH 70-80%

The rest (2, 4, 7, 43 and 66) maybe available in the morning and disappear in the evening, for example today at 8:45am I was able to get ALL the channels but 04-01 WIVB.

My next steps and questions:

1. Install a mast/pole in the attic and put CM4228 to it - that will move it up another 4-6 feet. I think it should improve the signal levels a little.

2. Where is the best to have CM4228 facing? The major intersection near me is Dufferin and Autumn Hill.

3. Add CM7777 - how do I make sure I am not over-amplifying the signal?

4. My 811 HD Dish Box is rebooting itself from time to time when it tries to lock the signal but it's too low - is this an issues with those boxes?

Thanks in advance!

fooit, how did you mange to fit the antenna through your trap door. :)

Definately at 30m you have a good 6db of signal loss, this greatly affects the Buffalo reception. I would recommend that you use the preamp and then from there in your basement split the antenna signal as many ways as you need.

You do not need to use a dist amp. The gain the 7777 has is more than enough to feed 8 tv's.

Currently I have my 7775 split to feed 5 atsc tuners and still I can split more without any signal loss.

With the preamp connected try and point the antenna towards 170-160' and see how it affects the Buffalo stations.

I also have a Dish811 but mine does not reboot, byt then again my signal is strong. Maybe with the preamp it will be fine.