Redzone, you may want to check the long run (50-60ft) of cable..Is it newer RG6 wire with good connectors? If you used left over RG58 or old RG6 cable that was in the house already before you moved, it may not be up to snuff.

I am new and set up my digital antenna a few months ago. I was receiving the majority of stations most receive, but a few days before the official digital conversion date, I started losing Canadian digital channels I had previously received crystal clear

Channels lost:
CHCH 11-1
CTV 9-1
Global ( I think 41-1 )
TVO ( I realize it was analog, but never acquired the new digital signal )
City TV 57-1

I live in Toronto ( Beach ), and have an 8 bay Channel master attached to my chimney ( approximately 35 feet high ). The antenna is suppose to have a 180 degree angle of reception so I just simply aimed it squarely south and was able to pick up all stations off the CN Tower and Buffalo. Now after the conversion, all I get is Buffalo and CBC.

A neighbour said CTV was transmitting from the BMO building, but when I re-aimed my antenna towards the BMO building; I still could not pick up any of the lost channels.

Can someone provide guidence regarding a set up to re-capture the lost Canadian channels, allow me to keep all the Buffalo stations, and maybe even pull in Rochester. I am open to any and all suggestions and appreciate any advice.

You need to do a complete analog and digital re scan to delete the old analog assignments.CFTO,CHCH,TVO,Global, all changed back to their analog frequencies and your TV is looking for the those stations on their transitional frequencies.

A neighbour said CTV was transmitting from the BMO building

Beach, CTV is still on the CN Tower, but it's on VHF. You should be fine with your 4228 though. CITY, Omni1, and Omni2 are on the BMO tower for a little while longer.

Yup, you need a full rescan (that is, you need to blow away the previously scanned channel and start fresh). CBC is the same, it didn't move at the end of August. TVO never had a temporary digital channel BTW, but you still need to scan it in.

i did some rough measuring and its probably closer to 60 ft from the splitter to my tv downstairs. media center on my pc upstairs that's much closer to the antenna (15 ft vs the 60-70ft) picks up all the channels including real 7 while downstairs even 29 isnt coming in strong. this seems to point to a bad wire or i realy need an amp.

both cost money so looks liek im stuck waiting till christmas!

i have a question about which preamp i should try and get. WE can use teh ones sold at save and replay for comparison. with my proximity to the cn tower should i go with a lower gain one like the Winegard HDP-269 or possibly the Channel Master 7778?

any recomendations.

The re-scanned worked; thank you very much for your advice.

I now have all the stations I lost and more. The only station I now want to add is PBS in Rochester; does anyone have a suggestion which antenna to use ( Yagi )?

Presently, I am using a 8 bay bow tie channel master and can pick up all channels in Buffalo and Toronto that I want ( manufacturer claims 180 degree reception ). My antenna is 35 feet high attached to my chimney and facing due south. I am located in Toronto ( Beach )

If I get a high gain antenna, will it cause problems by possibly picking up a station I already receive on the 8 bay. Does anyone have a suggestion which is the best Yagi model to use ( again, I am assuming that's what I need for Rochester ). Some literature I have recently read suggested using an absolute monster antenna ( 7 feet long x 8 feet wide ). Do I really need such a monster ? If I do mount the monster; should it be able to do it all including receiving Rochester stations, thus no need for my present 8 bay and a Yagi ?

I apologize if I am asking questions people have asked before; I have checked everywhere for answers but have been unsuccessful.

WXXI is the easiest and most reliable Rochester station to receive, at least at my location. During the summer it's almost always receivable, well at least 80 percent of the time, but in the winter it's gone. When they were analog on ch-21 i could always get a very snowy picture even in the winter time.

Beach,

I don't think even the Cadillac of antenna setups will get you WXXI (rf16, virtual 21.1) PBS Rochester full-time year-round. There are times during the year that the signal just isn't present, I believe.

I have a large combo yagi antenna with a pre-amp and when Rochester is coming in, I get it. In the summer, Rochester TV is in the air regularly, but by no means all the time. And in the winter, it is basically not there.

If you really want to go for it, consider a pre-amp, rotator, and combo antenna like mine. That will allow you to maximize your potential for reception in every direction.
My combo antenna works great and it is not as large as the one you read about, but it is bigger than an eight-bay UHF antenna. You're nearby me, you could drive by and see my setup or look at the picture in my Digital Home profile. PM me if you want to visit.

If you're an OTA fanatic, like I guess I am, then you will have no regrets switching to a combo yagi with rotator and pre-amp. And you'll have your Rochester PBS (and Erie PA on rf50 virtual 54.1) to enjoy most of the summer.

PBS is my favourite channel, too.

Agreed. People in Buffalo who try to get the station full time have issues when there isn't any tropo, so getting it in the GTA is going to be near impossible.

I think WXXI is more reliable on the north shore of Lake Ontario than it is in Buffalo

I would say that goes for any Rochester Station, unless you include ION, which is in Batavia.

Have had a YAGI in the Beach for 5 years now and (with a pre-amp) get Buffalo PBS (17.1-17.3) pretty consistently. It's more directional, so you need to "tune" the direction to point correctly and get max signal, but I get all the Toronto channels fine at 90 degrees to where it's pointed.

Hi
a more major intersection would be Bathurst and Dupont but Christie is the closest.

Here is my TVFool report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d60b561fbc94ee3

My Location:
I have Tall 2 story house (2 story plus an attic) and will mount an antenna on the side of my peaked roof easy access from the flat root, and there will be some trees/branches likely in the way (~5 feet above ground)
in the attic is not really an option for us given that wiring would be a real pain), so it needs to be outside.

My Set-up:
Currently, I have one TV (samsung HDTV) on the main floor of the house and plan to get a TIVO premiere for dvr/receiving the signal. I have 2 coax cables running up to a bell dish right now and hope to just re-use those. Plus there is a cable running to our Tennants apartment as well so they can use it too.
So for a dual tuner box does that mean i have to run 2 cables into it like i do now with the bell box? and can can it be split up by the attena to accomodate the line going to the tennants place.

Which Antenna?

now with all the reading I still have no clue what sort of antenna to get. I have read the chart and really dont understand which one might be best for me.
I am urban so at first look the Winegard 7878HD looks like the best but it does not do well on the Fringe/Deep fringe My question about this is does this mean my chance of betting buffalo or further signals would be harder?

so then I wonder if the CM4221HD would be better overall but in the chart it says (modified) and no idea what that means

Next question is should I use more than one antenna and if so how do you couple them together?

I guess we take it step by step right. get one antenna and see how it goes, then if need be get an AMP and or another antenna?


Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Hi everyone :)

I'm new to this OTA lark, so need some advice on a new antenna.
I'm in a cityplace building (25 capreol) facing north on a low floor (3rd).
From my balcony, I have a LOS to the CN tower. Dead center, I have the tracks in front of me and beyond that pretty much low rises. Towards the NE, there is a cluster of high rises along Front St.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d60b5464296ebf2

I bought the Terk HDTVa from TSCC and I can get all the Toronto stations without much bother (cbc,omni 1&2, ctv, city tv, sun tv, global, tvo).
If I take the terk outdoors, I can get 36.1 aiming approx. NW from my location but that's it.
Not a sign of other Hamilton channels or Buffalo stations.

I'm thinking of getting a smaller outdoor antenna and using it indoors. Would I have any luck pulling anything from Buffalo in my current location. I've been looking at the 4221, and the clearstreams c2 and c4. I'm not sure which of these would be the best for my situation.

The C2 looks great and not so aesthetically unappealing to have indoors. I've been reading up about multipath interference and how the C2 is no good in that case. I'm not even sure if my location suffers from this.

Also, would I lose the ability to tune into VHF channels with these antennas?

I'd appreciate any advise on this matter.

Cheers :cool:

Question for you guys in Toronto...

Is anyone with a 4228HD able to pick up CHCH? I know it is primarily a UHF antenna, but does advertise that it has VHF HI capabilities?

Anyone? Furthermore, I'm sure its a long-shot but what about WBBZ? Anyone able to get that with a 4228HD?

Thanks,

It wont work for those stations, at least in Toronto. You need a good Hi VHF antenna.

Question for you guys in Toronto...

Is anyone with a 4228HD able to pick up CHCH? I know it is primarily a UHF antenna, but does advertise that it has VHF HI capabilities?

Anyone? Furthermore, I'm sure its a long-shot but what about WBBZ? Anyone able to get that with a 4228HD?

Thanks,
Jakeman3, I have a DB-8 which I think is a bit worse at VHF than a 4228HD and I barely get CHCH in Etobicoke. You might get CHCH with a 4228HD in the west part of Toronto but as you move east it gets tougher and tougher. You need really good VHF gear to get WBBZ anywhere in the 416 (see DHCer HWP's posts of this topic).

I'm in Stouffville and I receive CHCH at full bars using an outdoor Yagi. Their signal goes a lot farther than you think.

Is anyone with a 4228HD able to pick up CHCH? I know it is primarily a UHF antenna, but does advertise that it has VHF HI capabilities?

Anyone? Furthermore, I'm sure its a long-shot but what about WBBZ? Anyone able to get that with a 4228HD?


Hey Jakeman,
I'm at Jane/Sheppard with an old classic 4228, and I am picking up both CTV on RF9 and CHCH on RF11 with it, no problems. I'm pointed at Buffalo, so I must be receiving CHCH off a side-lobe on the antenna.
The only time I get WBBZ is during Tropo events, but I think that's due to distance/signal strength more than the antenna being a poor performer on RF7.