I've done some reading on the topic and think the cm4221 might be the right choice for me but would like some advice here before I buy anything.

I live on the 23rd floor of a highrise on sherbourne street south of bloor but a new condo just went up down/accross the street directly between me, and downtown. It completely obstructs my view of the CN Tower and BMO and because its so close to me, I'm a little worried about what sort of reception I might get.

I've added a picture I have as they started construction. I marked out the area it obstructs in black (hopefully thats of some use if nothing else to show what a nice view I had before the monstrosity went up :mad: )

thanks for any advice.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/4814/hpim0210q.jpg

My guess is that your proximity to the TV broadcast towers will make up for any signal shadowing caused by the new building, UofT23.

I think reception will be straightforward for you, but there is always the possibility that you might end up with some very counter-intuitive aiming points as signals bounce from nearby structures to your antenna.

Thanks for the quick response...thats good to know. I was really worried I'd get nothing. You think the cm4221 is my best choice then?

For just the Toronto UHF stations you'd be fine with an Antennas Direct DB-2 or a Channel Master 4220. For Buffalo you'd be better off with a CM4221HD.

I'd love to pull in some US networks if possible so 4221 it is. Thanks so much for the help. I'll be sure to post back with my results after I get it all up and running....have to work on an HTPC too :)

i have a channel master 4221 on a 10' pole from my bungalow roof peak, located near Eglinton& Kipling. One Radioshack preamp, 25' from the antenna, then 25' into the TV through one joiner.

I am getting most channels i should be getting, but TVO is still analog, and i have ghosting, basically not sure how to address this.

I also get ION TV in buffalo; sometimes; what is odd, is that it is either solid without failure in some conditions, or it is not there at all. I can't yet tie it to weather or time of day patterns.
On the weekend I used a compass to try to aim it better, swung around 10degrees more east from what I had, no improvement in ION - wasn't there, and I lost CHCH 11.1.
I would not be too concerned about ion, other than due to the fact that - when its good, it is good!, and it is 3 sub channels as well. So I figure maybe with some refinement I should be able to make it reliable?
Pete

Analog is all you'll get from TVO, as it's the only Toronto station that doesn't broadcast in digital. Ghosts are caused by reflections. Depending on your location, you may be stuck with them.

Ghosting is due to multipath interference. That means a given tv signal is arriving at your antenna at different times due to it being reflected off buildings in your area. One way to overcome it is to get a highly directional antenna which will reject signals that aren't within its narrow beamwidth. The downside, of course, is you'll lose those stations that are not within the beamwidth of the antenna.

I use a 4221 about 30' off the ground in suburban Mississauga and get ghosting on TVO all the time, even when I point the antenna at the transmitter. Until they go digital (most likely not until 2011) we'll have to put up with it.

Do we need line of site to the CN-tower?

At that location, you won't need much of an antenna to get the signals from the CN Tower. In fact, you might even experience interference from it, when receiving more distant channels.

i have a channel master 4221 on a 10' pole from my bungalow roof peak, located near Eglinton& Kipling. One Radioshack preamp, 25' from the antenna, then 25' into the TV through one joiner.

I am getting most channels i should be getting, but TVO is still analog, and i have ghosting, basically not sure how to address this.

I also get ION TV in buffalo; sometimes; what is odd, is that it is either solid without failure in some conditions, or it is not there at all. I can't yet tie it to weather or time of day patterns.
On the weekend I used a compass to try to aim it better, swung around 10degrees more east from what I had, no improvement in ION - wasn't there, and I lost CHCH 11.1.
I would not be too concerned about ion, other than due to the fact that - when its good, it is good!, and it is 3 sub channels as well. So I figure maybe with some refinement I should be able to make it reliable?
Pete
One method to try and stop the ghosting:

Try a UVSJ splitter and use the UHF port only. Cost's about a buck from Safari Electronics- downtown TO.

I've used this device and TVO comes in much better.

Well, I received my Kitztech amp today. I plugged it in and there is absolutely no change :(

I was really hoping it would bump up my weak CTV 9.1 and NBC 2.1 channels.

I recorded all of signal meter reading for all channels and there is exactly zero changes on all of the weaker stations.

This is the coax-powered version, and it's currently installed at the back of my TV after ~50ft of fresh RG6. I've got a hacked CM4221HD ~30ft up. The TV is a Samsung PN42B450 plasma.

Any ideas where I'm going wrong? I checked the gain control and it's at the max (right most).

How's your TV Fool report look? What is your nearest intersection? Any obstructions for your antenna?

TVFool: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dbc270a8635fd13

The closest intersection would be Woodbine & Gerrard St E.

There are trees south of me (one quite close), but west towards the CN tower is fairly clear.

My antenna is mounted on the side of my house, but clears my roof by about 10 feet. It points directly towards Buffalo.

Signal strengths with or without the amp (as reported by my TV):

Channel Signal (out of 10)
2.1 3 - 4
4.1 10
5.1 9 - 10
7.1 10
9.1 5
11.1 9
17.1 10
19 clear, but soft, mild ghosting
23.1 9 - 10
25.1 4
29.1 8
41.1 10
49.1 9
51.1 0
57.1 5
64.1 8
66.1 8

Looks like your are getting a pretty good pull with or without the Kitztech pre-amp- you're getting all the standard TO/BUF stations. It's hard to believe that signal strength did not change on any channel when you added the pre-amp. Pre-amp was placed right below the antenna and power injector is inside the house, correct? Are you using a rotor? Something else I thought of, maybe the combo of the strong CBC signal (5.0 analog) and the pre-amp is causing overload which is cancelling any improvement in signal...? You could try a UVSJ splitter to attentuate the VHF signals and then try the pre-amp again.

Thanks goforit, I forgot to mention that I was using a UVSJ (Tru-spec from Active Surplus). The amp is currently behind my TV. I'm hoping to bring it closer to the antenna (within 10 feet) in a couple of weeks if the weather holds up.

I noticed that even with the UVSJ, I could still see channel 5 (CBC analog) somewhat, so I installed another UVSJ inline and now it SEEMS like NBC and CTV are more stable... a lot less 4bars-or-nothing fluctuation (hopefully it's not some late-night tropo :p).

I have a feeling I'm dealing with some overload, but I'm not sure what I need to do. Are there better VHF filters out there? I also have some 3db and 6db attenuators coming by mail-order soon, so I'll try those to reduce the overall amp gain.

Many thanks!

NBC is problematic for most of us here in Canada around this year. It should improve come springtime.

As for CTV, perhaps Global analog on RF41 might be causing some interference for your digital CTV on RF40. Same with the low signal on CBLFT RF24, probably being interfered by it's analog signal on RF25.

I'm also in the Woodbine & Gerrard area, I have two Yagis in the attic and 2.1 is tough to get but the locals are easy as pie.

I aligned the pair (one almost due south for the US feed and the other almost due west for the CN tower). The CN tower yagi also picks up 11 in Hamilton. The Buffalo facing Yagi can get all but 2.1 (the HVR1600 may be to blame but who knows, the HVR2250 seems a little more sensitive but it's on the CN Tower)

I also have a second quad bow tie facing SW for the bedroom TV and the reception of 2.1 comes in fine on a clear day (the TV tuner seems to be better than the HVR1600).

Since most Canadian stations rebroadcast the US feeds I just DVR it and watch it whenever we want.

Thanks for the info guys! Great to hear what other people in the neighbourhood are doing!

I was really hoping the Kitztech would magically solve everything :p Should I still keep it? I'd like try mounting it closer to the antenna (again) with UVSJ but with some attenuators after the amp.

I'm going to try making a coax stub filter for CIII-TV 41 (~635 MHz) and see if that helps CFTO-DT a bit. Even last night I get a chunk of fluctuation in the signal strength. Is that usually a sign of adjacent channel interference?

Put up my newly built DBGH antenna this past Saturday.

Works pretty good :)

Let see if my memory still work ;)

The channel I had issues with was CBS 4.1 from Buffalo the signal strength bar on the TV was always 2 or 3 now it's closer to 5-6 now and less drop out and pixelation when it rains.

Fox 29-1 CW23-1 are close to 7-8 bar always strong signal.
PBS 17-1 is around 4-5 bar picture always good not much change.
NBC 2-1 at 5 bar doesn't really matter not watching to many shows.
ABC 7-1 at 5-6 bar not much change signal pretty good.
MyTV 49-1 around 2-4 never been strong even with the CM4221

I don't watch too many Canadian network I watch only the real thing ;)

For the Canadian network:
CBC french/english signal strong not much change
CTV, Global signal stable too
City-Tv a little more stable

I don't watch too many Canadian network I watch only the real thing ;)On my setup I only get CBC from Toronto and I have never bothered with this because there isn't much of value on channels like CTV and Global that I don't get from "the real thing" (as you say). That will change somewhat with the Olympics because it will be worth trying to get CTV if you care about watching the Olympics because this is one of the few areas where Canadian TV does a better job.