I bought a 4BT-1483 Monday from Raybel. The box is labeled Gemini but there's a sticker somewhere saying it's a Wade Antenna. Price was $63,50.

I live near highway 25 and Sherbrooke St (east end of Montreal). From my balcony, which is about 30' from the ground, I get great reception from WCAX (90 +). I haven't tested anything else yet, I had to take it down fast...

The guy at Raybel told me that they have a lot of customers call about the new digital signals in Vermont. They are also selling a lot of ATSC tuners. They had a TV with an ATSC tuner tuned to WETK in the store and he was showing me the available channels.

For local stations located in the opposite direction I do not know what to get. I know this 4BT will reject them since it has a reflector.A reflector doesn't shut down rearward reception, it just focuses the antenna forward. You can still get some signal through the "back door" and sides with a bowtie reflector, so it is worth testing.Is it reasonnable to go with a quad array of the 4BT pointing 3 SSE towards Mt. mansfield and one pointing towards downtown Montreal/Mt. Royal?Combining antennas is not easy, and even just two can be a real hassle to aim properly because their reception patterns affect eachother and can make the array almost impossible to aim properly without a computer model. If you look through some of the reception threads from the Toronto and Oakville areas you'll see that it is not simple.Otherwise the SL-4BT could be a possibility. It it a 4BT-1483 withour a reflector so it has a figure eight pattern.Yes, we've had satisfied users of the SL-4BT who needed the figure eight pattern, but in your case I think you should concentrate on putting up a preamped 4BT-1483 aimed at the Vermont stations and see if the back and side lobes will pick up the locals.

Thanks for your advice! Which pre-amp do you recommend I use?

As I understand it, one of the Vermont stations has elected to stay on VHF after the digital cutover, so for the future I would recommend a VHF/UHF preamp. The CM7777 is terrific, if you can get one in Montreal, or the Winegard AP line of preamps is great also. Read through the thread in the Equipment forum about preamps and you'll get the info you need to make a good purchase.

Anyone looked at this site:http://sensuz.com/

They actually offer the 4228 and 4221, and they're in Canada.

Hi! Only possible problem is that there's only one shipping method (Fedex I believe) and it costs (EDIT: for a CM4228):Shipping to Quebec, Canada $64.99CNDHave a nice day!

Nick

I just bought a 4221 from them, received it yesterday. I'm a satisfied customer.
Products. Here is the detail of my purchase.

1 x Channel Master 4221 4 Bay UHF Antenna (CM4221) = $39.99CAD
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $39.99CAD
Shipping (Shipping to Quebec, Canada ): $22.90CAD
GST 6.0%: $3.77CAD
Total: $66.66CAD

Hi!

I just talked with somebody from a local (St-Hilaire) store that told me he could sell me a CM4228 and install it (though I'm not sure if the installer works for him or he just subcontracts the installation).

Only problem is that he gets his antennas from Raybel... :(

I`m supposed to call him this week and he'll let me know if he can get one (since he`s a store and already doing business with them maybe he can get one faster than doing business directly with Raybel) and its price...

He told me that he recently put an ad in a local newspaper about the fact that you could get digital/HD signals from an OTA antenna (which unfortunatly I did not noticed) and had a few people call about it...

We'll see what happens...

Nick

What is available for someone who needs a good omni-directional UHF antenna (that a separate VHF antenna can be connected to)?

foxfan, I don't like omnis very much but The Source has a couple of different models but they are VHF/UHF:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41074

Or if you are in between signal sources you might consider a Wade SL-4BT, which has a figure-eight reception pattern and is UHF only (it is a 4BT-1483 without the reflector):

http://www.wade-antenna.com/Wade/UHF.htm

I don't like omnis either, but since my American UHF stations are coming in much stronger than expected, I would rather replace my directional SFA with something that I could catch the Quebec stations with too, especially since they are all weak and don't come in reliably through the side of my directional one.

It needs to be UHF only so that I can still keep my big channel 13 antenna for the laughably inadequate and weak signal of WVNY-DT.

How about a rotor, foxfan? With your VHF and a top quality CM4228 UHF antenna on a rotor pointed at the U.S. stations you would find that you probably would not have to rotate it much to pick up the Canadian stations on one of the side or back lobes. I'm guessing a rotation time between 5 to 20 seconds to get a lock, but that's just a guess. Another option would be to put the UHF and rotor above the permanently aimed VHF antenna.

Yeah. I already have a rotor (set-up as you've said), but I don't like using it. Let's say I'm going on vacation and want the PVR to record all my shows, I don't want to have to call someone to go to my house to turn the rotor between shows...

Is the CM4228 less directional than the "super flying arrow" yagi I already have?

Yes, it would be less directional so probably much easier to get a signal lock on a rotor.

I just phone raybel today and the guy who answer me in the parts service seems to be a bit confused....He said that the CM4228 were backorder and they dont know if they will have more someday and by continuing talking he said they will have some soon for sure.......yeah right....

still looking to find a dealer in Ontario that could ship me a CM 4228

J

still looking to find a dealer in Ontario that could ship me a CM 4228

J

Ship to *where* in Ontario (big province)? There are several dealers in Toronto with them in stock, for about double the US$ pricing. I'm in Ottawa, and am going to be ordering from the US shortly. If there's anyone else near here who wants to piggyback onto the order to split the shipping costs, email me (mlord at pobox doht com).

Cheers

I just phone raybel today and the guy who answer me in the parts service seems to be a bit confused....He said that the CM4228 were backorder and they dont know if they will have more someday and by continuing talking he said they will have some soon for sure.......yeah right....
J

Had the same impression when I called them 3-4 times so I decided to settle with the Wade 4BT-1483. I'm picking one up next week at Electro-Mike on my visit to Quebec City. They apparently keep them in stock as well as an interesting inventory of antenna related gear.

As per mr Stampeder's recomendations I'll pick up a CM 7778 which they sell for around 60$. Is that a good price?

I'll still need a VHF antenna to get WVNY-DT. Any recommendations in the Wade family?

I'll still need a VHF antenna to get WVNY-DT. Any recommendations in the Wade family?A Wade-Delhi 306 or 307 would be perfect.

Folks, remember to put your location into your user profile so that we can always see where you are. It helps us to help you.

I just bought a 4221 from them, received it yesterday. I'm a satisfied customer.
Products. Here is the detail of my purchase.

1 x Channel Master 4221 4 Bay UHF Antenna (CM4221) = $39.99CAD
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $39.99CAD
Shipping (Shipping to Quebec, Canada ): $22.90CAD
GST 6.0%: $3.77CAD
Total: $66.66CAD
I also bought it from them (www.sensuz.com), (Shipping is by Canada Post) I ask them if they could have the Channel Master 7777 preAmp and the answer came back 30 minutes later.

>>Thank you for the recommendation. We will have that >>product available on our website shortly. The CM 7777 >>Pre-amp will sell for $96.99CAD + Shipping, and ready >>for delivery for Thursday.

It seam that it is possible to have Channel Master product in Canada...Really don't know why Raybel can't.

Is that price fair (96.99)?

I got a voicemail last night telling me to call Jean at Raybel!
They (finally!) received their Channel Master order.

I'll be getting my CM4228 by purolator later this week :D

Costs:
Antenna: 99$
Shipping: 10$
Taxes: 16$
------------
TOTAL: 125$

Of course it would have been cheaper to get one in the US but I'd have to go get it of have it delivered which I consider a hazard on long distances. :confused:

Mr stampeder: do you think I will still need a preamp with this one? I'm already getting 70%-90% signals in fair weather with the Silver sensor 40' in the air with a clear line of sight.

Hope I can catch ABC with it!