Hi,

Presently I am using my VHF rabbit ears in the basement with poor signal on some channels, low vhf. I am considering purchasing an HD television but want to make sure I can get a decent enough signal to justify. Worst case I would like to improve the analogue channels to get a decent picture on my existing tv.
When it comes to antennas it would seem that a VHF/UHF antenna would be my best option. I was looking at the antenna chart and the winegard square shooter looked like a good option from a distance and size standpoint but after looking into the spec's it appears to be UHF only. Would I be better off going with seperate VHF and UHF antennas and use a combiner?
My final question is are their any local stores in the Calgary area that sell decent UHF/VHF antennas most seem to be over the internet and would require shipping?

Thanks for any help

Davids the list in Post #413 shows the present and future channel layout in Calgary, so if you want an antenna that will cover you for today and tomorrow I'd suggest a good medium-sized VHF/FM/UHF combo antenna aimed at the Broadcast Hill antenna farm, and it is unlikely you'll need a preamp from your distance.

You can check this thread for a Calgary antenna supplier but I don't think there is much stock on hand there these days:

OTA: BC & Western Canada Parts, Sales, Service, Installers (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=51079)

Hi,

Presently I am using my VHF rabbit ears in the basement with poor signal on some channels, low vhf. I am considering purchasing an HD television but want to make sure I can get a decent enough signal to justify. Worst case I would like to improve the analogue channels to get a decent picture on my existing tv.
When it comes to antennas it would seem that a VHF/UHF antenna would be my best option. I was looking at the antenna chart and the winegard square shooter looked like a good option from a distance and size standpoint but after looking into the spec's it appears to be UHF only. Would I be better off going with seperate VHF and UHF antennas and use a combiner?
My final question is are their any local stores in the Calgary area that sell decent UHF/VHF antennas most seem to be over the internet and would require shipping?

Thanks for any help
do you have any interest in building an antenna?

if so check this out. GH For Calgary (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=97985)

I would think you could achieve a lock on global since you are way closer than me, and you should have no problem receiving cfcn hd.

I am very satisfied with my build.

Thanks for the advice it sounds like a good project to try and build an antenna but to save time I think I am going to try a CM3016 antenna. Will let you know how it works out.

Thanks

I've upgraded from my randomly hanging rabbit ears to a home-brew SBGH. There is no reflector because from my location, Global Calgary is to the east but the city's TV antenna farms are to the west.
The antenna is fed by a few metres of RG-6 to a Tivax STB-T8 set-top converter box.
Here's what the converter captures:

2.1 CICT (UHF 41): 40/100 (but with occasional unexplained dropouts and wild fluctuations in signal strength)
4.1 CFCN (UHF 36): 90 to 100/100 (Hooray!)

And just for fun, I hooked up the antenna direct to the TV for analog. Curiously, the antenna does very well in low and high VHF, probably due to my neighbourhood's proximity to the city's antenna farms. However, there is mucho ghosting in UHF. In any case, this bodes well for reception of CBRT (CBC English) and CIAN (Access), which are slotted to remain on channel 9 and 13 respectively post-transition.

That's great, downbeat. Is your SBGH outdoors? How high up is it?

Southland and 14 ST

I finally got my GH assembled and installed in the attic this week. We have bungalow so it’s only 13 to 15 feet off the ground. With it aimed directly between CFCN and Global I’m getting 75-80% on both stations so I’m happy with the set-up.

Oops, I'd meant to include this info!
It's outdoors. The balcony is about 5 metres up, and the SBGH is at the top of a 5-foot PVC pipe.
I tried it inside, but the results were less than satisfactory. CFCN came in about 40/100 on my Tivax. CICT was not received at all.

Southland and 14 ST

I finally got my GH assembled and installed in the attic this week. We have bungalow so it’s only 13 to 15 feet off the ground. With it aimed directly between CFCN and Global I’m getting 75-80% on both stations so I’m happy with the set-up.
I helped my friend build a four-bay bow-tie antenna mounted on a wood plank. Here's near you. He can get both station with medium-strength signal with the antenna aimed out oa window at ground level, due north.

To further expand on my earlier post ...
After leaving the antenna exactly where it was this afternoon, I've come home to find reception of Global TV is now unreliable. CTV remains visible with very good to excellent strength.
Is there anything you guys can suggest to fix this? Or is this going to be a "normal" occurrence until Global moves its OTA digital transmission facilities to its main tower?

can you turn the antenna more towards global, sacrifice some cfcn signal?

can you turn the antenna more towards global, sacrifice some cfcn signal?
My antenna is pointing right at Global. With that, my signal from CICT is either a steady 40, or it's fluctuating between 0 and 30 -- below the threshold needed for the converter box to lock onto the signal. Coincidentally, the back side of the antenna is pointed more or less toward everything else, so there's not really any signal "sacrifice".

downbeat, try a temporary reflector on your SBGH (aluminum foil on cardboard will do, but use the proper spacing from the SBGH plans) and re-peak your antenna for highest Global signal. At that aiming point check if CFCN still locks, and if so you can then put a proper mesh reflector on the SBGH. :)

If you can't find a happy medium between the two stations you might need to have one antenna for each.

As I've mentioned before, I have my doubts that people on the west side of Crescent Heights/Rosedale can "see" the weak CICT-DT signals. We have to keep hoping, though. :)

Frankly, I'm shocked myself. The bluff near the Centre St. Bridge sits pretty much in the way!

There might even be a bounce from downtown off the Telus or Shaw Buildings - how ironic would that be?!!! :D

Whatever works. :)
I'm going to try this reflector business later on and report back.

So I've put together a "temporary" reflector with foam board covered in aluminum foil. It does improve the signal strength on both CICT and CFCN -- when there *is* a signal to receive.
CICT still drops out quite often. Just this morning, the signal meter on my Tivax was bouncing around 60/100 before dropping to 15/100 a half hour later. That said, my WinTV USB stick seems to have a higher tolerance for bad reception of CICT's weak signal. Perhaps my converter box isn't helping matters?
As I've written before, the antenna is aimed at the temporary antenna site at the Barlow Tr. studio. On Google Earth, I see that my line of site to the Global studio is blocked not by geographical features but by man-made structures. There are several tall buildings and a construction site in the way. Perhaps that is why my reception is relatively poor.

** UPDATE ** Now CICT is steady around 40 (in the yellow "normal" zone). In contrast, CFCN consistently receives a signal of 95 to 100/100 on the signal meter -- even though the antenna is pointed the "wrong" way! Woo-hoo!

Unfortunately the Tivax converters don't have the greatest reputation:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=42186

Indeed ... looks like quality control problems are at play here, as some owners appear to genuinely love the product, from the online reviews I'd read before purchasing the thing.

As of 20090831 the CHCA station ceases to exist, becoming a CITV Edmonton satellite (2.5 hours per week local programming) :(.

Will we keep the CHCA OTA transmissions on Ch 44? Or will that channel be removed from the suite of signals? Will the transmitter/transponder location be sold then? :confused: