Hi malachii,

I suppose that your proposal is possible because one is for VHF while the other is for UHF.

Yup, and you'll need a UVSJ to combine them (not too expensive at all).

FM trap - what is that, and is it part of the pre-amp

Yup, if you open it up, there's a couple of adjustments you can make

I officially give up on OTA.

I finally received a replacement 4221HD for the defective one I bought. This time I know it works properly this time because it was leaps and bounds better than the rabbit ears at my workplace (where I received the package), and I could get ABC and the CW indoors without even trying for an optimal placement.

I can get all the Toronto channels fine, but my house is just located in a giant dead zone for OTA reception for US channels.

I have a long, rectangular roof about 5000 sq ft in area, and I've walked all around my roof pointing my antenna at all directions and I can only receive 3 US channels in the best locations (NBC and the CW) semi reliably. My location is so signal deprived that even though I have a direct line of sight to the CN Tower, I would lose CTV (9.1) if i don't point the antenna somewhat to the CN Tower.

I guess I'll just have to live with the Toronto channels.

You're giving up OTA due to lack of US station reception? There's more to OTA than just US stations, IMO.

What I mean is that I'm gonna stop trying to get better reception anymore and just stick with the 10 channels I get.

I am fairly disappointed that after spending almost $100 and 50 hours of time, I only gain 2 US channels compared to my old indoor antenna due to my dead zone house. Oh well, that's life.

I feel your pain chengbin. I've spent countless hours trying to improve my trouble channels (which only seem to be trouble here - the inlaws with an attic install less than 2 km away are fine, but have their own trouble channels I get fine :o )

I too have accepted my fate rather than spend even more money and time on it. :(

Oh wow, I might just have to fiddle it a bit more.

For some reason my reception is a lot better after I mounted it. I'm just not getting Fox and PBS. Right now my antenna is pointing directly south (due to mounting difficulties), which is about 30 degrees off axis to Buffalo. I'm going to see if I can tilt it a bit to face more to Buffalo.

Never mind, it was tropo that got me the channels. Back to quitting.

P.S., no edit function for our own posts in this forum?

Hello,

I have a MonoPrice OTA Antenna. I am facing north (on the 10th floor) but have a clear view of the CNTOWER. Only about 4K or so away from it.

I get expect top 6 channels or so people seem to get in my direction.

Now CITY has a signal strength of over 70.. but randomly every 40 seconds or so sound quickly goes in and out. This happens even if I drag my antenna out onto the balcony.

Anyone else experiencing this? This is the only channel doing so..

Well I put my MonoPrice Antenna outside on the balcony.. re-scanned and wowzers.. get a bunch of US channels facing north towards the CN tower.

Watching ABC show which is also playing the CITYTV and I am not getting the random audio Cut Outs

Ok, I hope one of the experts can chime in here. I must have a dozen or more posts in this thread about WNYO 49. I always struggle to get this station. When I get it, it's usually just above the lock threshold (about 50%). I might get it a couple of nights a week (say 30%) of the time.

Tonight, it's about 15% higher on my TV's signal monitor. Not sure I've ever seen it that high since the June 2009 US transition. And the weather tonight is awful - I was expecting some of my regulars to be out.

Any idea why this is happening? On Tuesday the weather was bad as well and I received it. Seems counter-intuitive to have a bad-weather-only station. :confused:

As an aside, my in-laws with an attic mounted 4221 about a kilometer away with a nearly identical line to the transmitter get this almost all the time. :o

Well a bad weather station could mean that there is a null that is occurring that normally doesn't occur on a good weather day.

Those of you with problems getting CFTO 9.1 in Toronto on their 4221 might want to try a ClearStream C2.

The C2 is a UHF antenna. The C5 is Antenna Direct's compact VHF antenna.

Well, another update: Added a winegard 1713 to my setup yesterday (pointed at Barrie) and did the third modification to my CM4221HD, which involves trimming the reflectors to 20" to increase beam width.

I live at Yonge/Finch and have a completely modded CM4221HD pointed at Buffalo, a 1713 pointed at Barrie, and a CS5 pointed at Hamilton in the attic of my 4 storey townhouse. All antennas go to a 7778 preamp (VHF antennas combined first), and then through 50 feet of cable to my television.

Reception as follows as seen by my Toshiba 37HL66:

2-1, 2-2 (Solid, about 85+% signal strength)
3-1 (here today, gone yesterday - WEAK signal being only 40 miles away)
4-1 (Solid, about 80+% signal strength)
5-1 (Solid, ~ 100%)
7-1 (Solid, about 80+% signal strength)
9-1 (Solid, ~ 100%)
11-1 (Solid, about 70+% signal strength - WEAK signal being only 40 miles away)
17-1, 17-2, 17-3 (Solid, about 75+% signal strength)
19-1 (Solid, ~ 100%)
23-1 (Solid, about 85+% signal strength)
25-1 (Solid, ~ 100% signal strength)
29-1, 29-2 (Solid, about 70+% signal strength)
36-1 (Solid, about 65% signal strength)
41-1 (Solid, ~ 100%)
47-1 (Solid, ~ 100%)
49-1, 49-2 (drops out on the odd occasion, usually ~75% strength)
51-1, 51-2, 51-3 (mostly present, but weak ~ 65% strength)
57-1 (Solid, ~ 100%)
66-1 (Solid, ~ 100%)
69-1 (Solid, ~ 100%)

dunno whats going on but ive lost all my us channels today. all show 0% so im guessing the canadian channels might be overloading my tv. even with a 6db atennuator i still get 0 signal. anyone else having issues in the gta today?

Lost most of my Buffalo stations tonight, too. Only have WNLO 23.1 and, surprisingly,a rather shaky WUTV on 29.1 (that's usually my worst US station). I'm not getting too much tropo from the west, either, which can affect my Buffalo channels. Only getting a vague sniff of WQLN Erie - not enough to lock on. I don't usually lose Buffalo unless I have Erie and Cleveland coming in strong. Not sure about it being Canadian channel overload. With the exception of CITS Hamilton, which is coming in at 100%, most of the Canadian channels seem to have a rather weaker signal too. Bit unusual to be getting CITS at 100% when I'm in Toronto, so there may be some mild tropo about. Weird. Hope they're back soon. I'm going to have an extremely ticked off teen if she can't wath AFV on WKBW tomorrow night.

this is day 2 for me without the us channels.

i tried a 6db atenuator as well but no go still no buffalo channels.

anyone else having issues? im not sure how to diagnosis this as the canadians are coming in perfect. my hd4221 is pointed away from the cn tower and at buffalo.

all my connections look good so not sure what is going on!

Normal for me tonight -even have 29.1 WUTV which is usually the weakest of the Buffalo stations I regularly get. I don't have 2.1 WGZR, but that's nothing unusual as I rarely see that one.

Much better than last night, when most of them were gone

Hello all,

I have a CM4221HD on the roof where i live and have the feed split to 2 tv's.

Lately ive been having trouble with the us channels not coming in at the downstairs tv at all but watchable upstairs(Canadian channels are ok at both locations). ive had trouble with 4 and 7 since day one moving into my new house. ive got prob 50-60 ft of cable to tv 2 and only 15ft to the computer upstairs.

my guess is i need a preamplifier. the thing is im 10 km from the cn tower so im afraid of overloading the tuners. currently i point the antenna at buffalo so the cn tower is almost directly off the side of the antenna (im north west of the tower)

Here is my tv fool. Could anyone help me chose a preamp or suggest another solution?

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d60b5d31cc57c44

Hey Redzone, I'm 10km from the tower too. Never had an overload issue with my 7778 pre-amp. 2, 4, and 7 (or should I say 33, 39, and 38 ;) ) are solid for me.