Just wondering what the future of OTA might look like for the Cariboo region.. Family has some property at Canim Lake and I'm up there quite often in the summer. There are two locals, translators or repeaters I assume. Channel 3 (Global - same content as Vancouver) and Channel 5 which is E! and with some Kamloops content.
I set up a small combo antenna (Princess Auto special) on two tower sections, so it's approx. 25' high. 8725 preamp and a 80' run of RG6 coax. Channel 3 comes in very well and channel 5 is rather snowy, but watchable.

Stampeder, I see in the list on your site:
http://www.user.dccnet.com/jonleblanc/Canada_TV_Stations/BC.html
Looks like both channels have allocations for DT channels on UHF 21 & 23. Is it likely these smaller repeaters/translators really will move over to UHF DT on 21 and 23 within a few years with the approaching analog cutoff? Or staying on VHF analog for some time yet?

Thought I'd give OTA a shot now that I have an HDTV. I'm in Victoria (Cedar Hill area) on top of a hill, with really nothing in my way between my house & the US. With a Philips SDV2510/27 (http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/us/consumer/cc/_productid_SDV2510_27_US_CONSUMER/TV-antenna+SDV2510-27) I only get 2 digital channels (KVOS & the NBC shopping channel :D) and a handful of analog ones. Not too impressive, to say the least. I'll play around with the location of the antenna once I get my EyeTV Hybrid hooked up with my MacBook.
It has sparked my curiosity in OTA, that's for sure!

solarwind, I don't think DTV will be coming to Canada's rural mountain areas if the networks get their way. Odds are that such locations will get certain channels FTA over the main satellite carriers, but this is all being hashed out over the next few years by the Feds in Ottawa so all bets are off for now.

BTW we try to go up to Mahood Lake at least once a year with the RV... :)

cooper23, if you can "see around" the mountains down to SeaTac you'll do better with an outdoor antenna like a CM4228. If you swing it to the north east you might find that CBC HD in Vancouver would be lockable, but I highly doubt you'd get anything from CTV HD.

Lots of us keep hoping that some digital translators of SeaTac stations will come up in Bellingham, but I'm not holding my breath.

Does anyone have any experience with digital reception in the Duncan area on the Island? It looks like there might be a chance to pull in SeaTac channels... My main concern is CBC-HD. I don't suppose it's possible to pick it up out of Vancouver is it?

cooper23, if you can "see around" the mountains down to SeaTac you'll do better with an outdoor antenna like a CM4228Stampeder - Thanks for the tip :) I'd love to be able to install outdoor OTA gear, but I'm in a rental suite, so not much I can do here! Thought I'd give an indoor antenna a shot, just for the heck of it.

I'm also here in Victoria close to the downdown core and wanting to explore the possibility of receiving OTA HD signals.
Not a lot of tall building or trees nearby.

I'm hearing good things about the CM 4228 antenna.
I have a Sony 46XBR4 television and testing a few fta's including a HD model.
I'm wanting CBC-HD and CTV-HD and others from the US.

Is this a possibility from my location?
Will a rotor help?

ANy info would be great !!

Are you using an indoor or outdoor antenna?
I'm very close to your hood and interested on receiving OTA HD transmissions.
How well do the stations come in?

m.

Hi Felgar,
I am in Mill Bay, just South of Duncan. I have a Winegard PR-8800 with rotor and preamp mounted on a 10 foot mast on the peak of the roof. I get very strong reception from the Bellingham stations. Nothing from Vancouver as Saltspring Island is in the way. Nothing from Seattle. So, at this point all I get is two digital stations and some too-snowy-to-watch analog stations. Big waste of time putting up the antenna as I was able to get the Beliingham stations with rabbit ears...

Didn't notice your reply till just now Insomniac - thanks so much. Looks like it's cable then... :(

Hi guys,

Just wondering if any of you are from the Okanagan Valley or know about the coverage that I might expect in my region.

I currently live in a downtown Toronto condo and get my HD signal using a Silver Sensor indoor antenna.

In a few months I'll be moving to a remote and densely forested island off the BC coast and am trying to determine what my TV options will be.

I do know that for high speed(ish) internet, the best local option is WiFi and in order to have access on my property, I'll have to either erect a tower or top off a big tree and mount the WiFi antenna and receiver on it.

I figure that once I have the tower or an appropriately trimmed tree, I should be able to also mount an antenna to receive HD OTA.

My question is, given this situation and location (latitude 50° 3'9.97"N, longitude 124°59'11.44"W), is this even possible and if it is, what type of antenna is recommended?

Hi Richard, what is the name of the island?

If his lat/long is correct, I'd say Cortes... if it's dead on, on the southern penninsula just north of Sutil point.

I'm no expert, but I'm guesing sol for HD OTA.

Yes, it is Cortes.

idearat, how sure are you about my being sol?

Here's a Google Earth image (http://loft4sale.net/cortestovancouver.jpg) showing a straight line between the property on Cortes and Vancouver. It's about 100 miles and doesn't appear to be blocked by any mountains.

Depends on what you call a mountain. I've sailed a lot along that coast, and it's steep and rugged country. I measure elevations up to 2500 feet on that line. And I believe the Vancouver transmitters are all on the south slopes of the North Shore Mountains.

That said, Richard, I don't really know squat about ota, so you should wait for an answer from stampeder or another knowledgable member. My reaction's just based on the topography and other replys in this thread.

Cheers... Perry.

richard061458

I can only speak from my limited attempts at getting signals in the 30 to 50 (with good equipment ) mile range and even shorter distances by finding good reflection / bounce locations to grab signal from behind me and having siad this is.... you can hope for good tropo skip conditions

http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo_wam.html

that is a faint option at best I think but oddities do happen. Another fact to think about is that all the transmitters are aimed at the general populations of their areas and that seems to be in a opposite direction from you and adding on to the possibility ( injecting a little light humour here ) aiming toward Alaska as the anologue cut off is just a few months away from the time you move it may give you another chance at an oddity in reception. I look forward to your results in the DTV Reception adventure. Best of luck.

Hi richard, I agree with idearat that you will not be getting any of the Mt. Seymour Digital OTA stations from there.

The antenna farm on Mt. Seymour is located about 1/3 of the way up on the southwest side of it, so any signal headed towards Cortes Island gets bounced away by Grouse, Cypress, and The Lions (mountains). SeaTac and Victoria (when they come up) are out of the question too due to the distance involved.

What you will get can be found here if you look up local communities such as Campbell River and/or Powell River with analogue repeaters:

http://www.user.dccnet.com/jonleblanc/Canada_TV_Stations/BC.html

Also something you mentioned earlier:I'll have to either erect a tower or top off a big tree and mount the WiFi antenna and receiver on it.

I figure that once I have the tower or an appropriately trimmed tree, I should be able to also mount an antenna to receive HD OTA.Using a tree as an antenna mast is not a good idea. I researched that idea several years ago due to the giant fir tree on my own property, and the short answer is that trees, no matter how robust, will flex in even slight winds, which is a disaster for any form of digital communications. You will need a tower for WiFi.

For digital TV you will be looking at StarChoice or Bell ExpressVu.

BTW, if you are a canoeist or kayaker, the Powell Lake loop is a spectacular multi-day trip!

Thanks for the info stampeder.

Do you remember any of the sources you used when researching using a tree as an antenna mast? I've tried searching on this board and AVS and can't find much discussion of this issue.

The guy who does all the installations on Cortes says that 3 or 4 homes on the island use a properly pruned tree as an antenna mast and it works fine.

You've got to realize that some of the old growth trees are 100' - 150' tall. If you take one of those babies and top it off at 30' or so, then cut off all the limbs and smaller branches (so that they don't catch the wind), it's got to be pretty stable.