Stampeder:
Thanks very much for the info.

Looking into getting that monster tower.

How good will the stacked 4228's be in pulling in ch 10,13 from Rochester? (WHEC-DT and WHAM-DT post transistion)

I came across Winegard 7698P good for 7 thru 69, but is is not available in Canada as far as I can tell..... Are you familiar with it?

I came across Winegard 7698P good for 7 thru 69, but is is not available in Canada as far as I can tell..... Are you familiar with it?Yes, I recently added that series of antenna to the Antenna Chart after many people down in the States reported great reception. The important thing is that Winegard designed that series only for channels 7-51 so it would make a lousy FM Radio antenna, whereas your Delhi 929 would serve well as both a VHF and FM Radio antenna for years to come if its still in good shape.

Also since the Winegard 7698P is a combo antenna with a corner reflector UHF yagi, it just cannot match the CM4228 or GH antennas for Deepest Fringe gain. Being as far away from Rochester and especially Syracuse, you would want to bring out the Deepest Fringe big guns for those! ;)

Unfortunately regarding VHF-HI channels 10 and 13 I would not rely on the CM4228 or GH over that distance. They just don't have the gain on VHF-HI as your Delhi 929 or dedicated VHF-HI antenna would. I'm positive that 10 and 13 would boom in over your 929.

Do you think he'll be okay even with Rochester dropping the power on the VHF-Hi channels. Channel 10 will be 18.1 kw and Channel 13 will be 10.5 kw.

Is his proximity to the two transmitters TVO 53 and SRC 32 in Read (listed as Belleville in the IC database) going to give him problems?

Channel 10 will be 18.1 kw and Channel 13 will be 10.5 kw.Uh oh... thanks for bringing that up, I hadn't looked them up.

Those low ERP levels could really kill the joy for markfromread in the future!

Too bad for the low ERP's.

I checked the FCC data base. Any reason why these stations are dropping their ERP?:mad:

I got the big monster tower, so I am going to put it up. Need to move my existing tower, so might as well kill two birds with one stone.;) I called a few installers this morning looking for the CM 4228. Of course, no one has any available.

I also found out that my Anteco (Antenna Company) pre-amp is a "home made" device which is prone to degrading over time due to corrosion of the connections (installers opinion)

I will see how the Delhi 929 works with a new low noise figure pre-amp, (CM 7777) and see if I can pull in CH 10 (NBC) and 13 (ABC). I would like to pull in CH10. I can get ABC from Watertown

If the 4228HD does not pass muster, I can look at the Winegard PR-8800 at a later date.

I should look at attenuating the signal from the Read tower too. And from CJOH.

Oh yeah, I forgot about CJOH. Let me know what you use for an attenuator, I might be interested in doing the same for the Kingston stations.

I think they are dropping the ERP as they just want to cover Rochester, they're not worried about us. You might be lucky with the Syracuse NBC station.

I am looking at Tinlee (it was discussed in another thread). I do not have one at the moment, but should get one.

Not being familiar with TV tuners, should I be concerned about overloads even if I am not tuned to the local station? eg. TVO. Or does the tuner reject all signals other than the channel you are viewing?:confused:

I rarely have the antenna pointed directly west, but should take some precautions with my new HDTV.

I get 21 digital channel's with RCA converter, uhf-vhf antenna( 8 of it's element's are laying on the ground) channel 5 & 9 in canada , 1 french, 18 american. What would i get with real antena?

Swampdogger:

You don’t mention what stations you are getting but I am assuming they are from Rochester and Buffalo.

As you said, you have quite a few elements broken off your antenna. I am thinking they are from the VHF section.
You may loose some stations after the analog shutoff in the States scheduled for 17th February. Some of those stations are shifting back down to VHF Hi (channels 7-13) after the transition. For example in Rochester, WHEC 10.1 (NBC) is going back to 10 from 58 and WHAM (13.1) back to 13 from 59. I am not sure if any of the Buffalo stations will be shifting back.

We both might not be able to get WHEC after the transition as they are dropping their power (ERP). You are closer than I am so you might be okay.

Have you checked out TVFOOL.COM? Put in your coordinates and antenna height and the site will give you a listing of channels in your area.
Good luck.

These are the channeel's i get as now. 2-1, 2-2, 4-1,5-1,7-1,7-2,8-1,9-1,10-1,10-2,13-1,13-2,17-1,17-2,17-3,21-1,21-2,21-3,23-1,25-1,31-1,44.

Syracuse HD Changes
WSYT-DT 14 added sub channel 68-2 FOX - SD
WSPX-DT 15 now broadcasting 4 sub channels
56-1 Ion TV
56-2 Qubo (Kids)
56-3 Ion Channel Life
56-4 ?

I was playing around with re-pointing my antenna this evening. If I point pretty well directly at the CN Tower I can now get

CBC
CBC-FR
CFTP
OMNI-2
NBC
NBC-W+
CW
ABC

Not terrible results. What is funny is that a guy I used to work with had told me about a neighbour that pointed at his house and got the best reception, even though it pointed totally away from the CN Tower. I figured I'd play around and see what I could get. Well I starting going north from the CN Tower and started losing my Toronto stations. What was weird was that I started picking up all of the Buffalo stations again. I'm now pointing North-West, kind of toward Newmarket. I've totally lost all of my stations from Toronto except CBC, but I've gotten all of my Buffalo stations back. Pointing in this direction I'm getting

NBC
CBS
ABC
FOX
CW
PBS
CBC
THIS

and any associated substations with the above list. I'm hoping that I can find a sweet spot where I can get both at the same time. My antenna right now is about the same hight as my second story bedroom window. Maybe once I get it to the roof I'll find that sweet spot. Any ideas anyone?

Antenna reception patterns are in lobes, meaning that if you were looking down on the antenna from directly above and could see the best and worst areas of reception, you'd see one huge lobe aimed from the "front" of the antenna and a bunch of smaller lobes spiking outwards from a few other directions. The lobes are sometimes called "peaks" and in between those peaks are the dead areas, called "nulls".

If you turn an antenna you are playing around with what comes in through the main lobe but also through any side and back lobes. Its interesting to experiment, but its usually a waste of time so the best thing to do is try to find that sweet spot, as you say, and lock your antenna there.

Please read the OTA FAQ to understand this topic better. :)

I understand the concept of the lobes, in fact I have a map of the transmitters in the area taped to my monitor and a printout of the lobes for the CM4228 scaled as close as I figure is accurate to the map. That way if I place it over my home town I can get an idea of what I should pick up by pointing where. What I guess I find funny is that I can pick up the Buffalo stations on these side lobes without issue even though they are further away, but I do not seem to be able to pick up the Toronto stations on these side lobes. I guess it is just simply because of the lower ERP and the hight of my antenna (for now). I was hoping that with the height of the CN Tower it would make up for some of this and I'd be able to pick up something other than CBC on the side lobes. I'm surprised that I can pick up the Buffalo stations on the back lobes of my antenna (I have the CM4228HD) including WKBW which is close to 90 miles away from me even though these lobes are so much smaller (although signal strengh is much weaker this way as I would expect).

It could have something to do with the land mass topography too. There might be signal attenuating features in between you and Toronto.

Hmm, between me and the CN Tower is almost all Lake Ontario (although I do have to aim just past a nuclear plant, don't know if EMF from the plant could do it). I'm aiming about 5 miles across land toward the lake from here, and about 6 or 7 miles across land across downtown T.O. Other than that everything is across the lake. I'm not even aiming across any of the major buildings downtown. 40 miles total from here to the CN Tower. I guess it just comes down to power. I don't know if CBLT is still broadcasting around 38kW or if they've up'ed to 99. I think CFTO and OMNI2 are the closest in power which are both around 15kW. I didn't figure that 15 or 20kW would be that big of a difference, but I guess at such low powers it is. I have to be pointed right at the CN Tower to get anything other than CBLT. If I deviate very much I quickly lose the signals.

JC Newfie

I dont think the Darlington plant would effect you (based on this line of sight from the centre of Bowmanville to the CN Tower.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a321/wee-haggis/Clipboard01-21.jpg

I'm closer to the lake (Waverly and Baseline, just right of the W in the Waverly in the pic you attached). It puts me a lot closer to Darlington, but not going right over it. I do not know how much, if any effect the plant would have, but I know with CAT5 cabling and wireless large power sources can affect your data transmission signals. Not totally sure how that compares to OTA, if at all. I just ran the hand along the line of sight in my GE though and my house is at 270 feet and the 401 just north of the plant (right on the LOS line) is 410. This is likely a big cause of the issue. I never realized it was that big of a difference along there.

hi all,

I have been reading this forum for a while and are getting ready to enter the world of OTA. I am located in Kingston Ontario, on the east end (north of the CFB). Can someone please tell me what DTV can I expect to receive, for Kingston/Ottawa/Watertown/Syracuse stations?

currently I'm using an indoor antenna that looks like a bow and arrow and am only getting 3-4 analog channels. I am not get any digital channel at all. These analog channels are also very snowy. The only good channel I get is the French CBC.

What I suspect is that my elevation is low. I'm north of CFB, and that means there is a hill (Fort Henry) on my south. Will this block any channels from Watertown/Syracuse? I don't think there is any DTV/Kingston channels, but will I be able to get Ottawa channels?

I'm also wondering if I should spend some time making a home-brew bow-tie antenna.

any help is very much appreciated,

chene from were I think you are the only thing Fort Henry hill should block is rochester. The hill would be south west Watertown is south east and Syracuse is mostly south. Are you on the Fort Henry side of the river or Kingston side?
your elevation is great if your on the Fort Henry side and ok on the Kingston side. I'm in Kingston West I can't get Ottawa. but you might! :p