Here are the TVfool location details at U of C. j0dest3r.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dcd7275510d331f

Hope this helps as a reference with your portable receive antenna. :)

We’re moving to a house in Kensington in July. I’m interested how the digital reception is in that area. Can I get by with a small indoor antenna? Something like a Silver Sensor from The Source?

Here in the south I’ve had excellent results with a home made GH mounted in my attic. But it was such a bugger to get it up there, and so cheap to build it’s not worth the effort to retrieve it for the move.

With the chaos of the move and my starting a new job shortly afterwards I’m sure it will be more than a year before I can around to building and installing a permanent antenna. Why do we do these things to ourselves? I’m hoping that being so much closer to broadcast hill I can get by with a simpler solution. Or perhaps I’ll just relent and get HD from Shaw.

Karl

SideShowCecil - Have you done a TVfool survey for your new location in Kensington? Probably the area is well covered but the thing to check for is if your new location is shadowed by hills, buildings or anything else for that matter! I personally would recomend the use of an outdoor antenna everytime - but your location maybe one of the favoured few. Your new location will involve reception of CICT-DT from one direction and CFCN-DT from the opposite direction!

SideShowCecil, use the Search This Thread tool to the upper right beside Thread Tools and put in Hillhurst or Sunnyside as search terms, and you can compare with other members from around there. :)

SlideShowCecil - From what I can see here - there are pockets of poor reception in the area so the answer to your question will depend on your exact location. If you enter in the post code of your new location and the new exact address if you know it, then the TVfool result should be more accurate. Failing this you additionally might benefit from chatting with your new neighbours to see if they have any experience of the immediately local OTA reception conditions. I do remember being able to see CFCN´s tower from parts of Kensington but the exact place is important for your local results.

Thanks guys.

I ran the new address through TV fool (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3dcd72cb410e1928)



If I’m reading the results properly there is a chance I could use an indoor antenna. But with 36 and 41 being almost 180 degrees apart it will probably be an either/or arrangement. However it looks like my attic mounted reflector-less GH may be a good permanent solution.

Of course there is no way of knowing anything for sure until we’re actually moved in. Packing is the priority at the moment and I should get back to it.

Not so quick. We've been keeping everyone up to date as much as possible on Global's impending move to Broadcast Hill, which will solve that problem.

Its all in this thread. :)

Yes - Stampeder is correct but we just don't yet have a date at hand to know when the changeover with CICT-DT will occur. There is some pending work at the Havard mast and some engineering requirements to be met. Furthermore the final installation has to be coordinated with Harvard! We can only hope that this work proceeds smoothly. I will stick my neck out and say it may take another 2 months or so!

Have spoken to a Global engineer today. It seems that the transmitter is now installed, the combiner is in place, the damaged UHF feeder is repaired but
the antenna patch panel is not yet in place as it hasn´t arrived into Canada yet due to the Volcano Ash from Iceland affecting flights. However - the good news is that it should be in Calgary next week. Following it´s installation in the transmitter building, it is expected that all should be ready for switch-on in June! The only remaining tasks will then be administrative and a careful contour check by Industry Canada - presumably to confirm that the terms and conditions of the broadcast licence are being adhered to :)

HI there. I am in Strathmore Alberta and thinking about going OTA.I have checked the antenna chart and it seems that my best options are the HD8200P, with CM 3671 as a good second place antenna. I checked our sponsors web site and they do not list the HD8200 p but they do list the CM3671.Is there much difference in these two antennas? I also noticed a CM 3679, and a CM3018. How would these two compare to the first two? Also would i need a pre amp or anything? I plan on feeding 4 tv's at the present time. I would like to keep this as simple as possible, and still not sacrifice the picture quality.Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Billsmith: Thanks for sharing the good news! Now, we wait …

they do not list the HD8200 p but they do list the CM3671.Is there much differenceThe Winegard 8200 and the Channel Master 3671 are very comparable antennas so from Strathmore you would do just fine with either of them.

A good thing about your location is that you don't have to worry about Global's upcoming move - their temporary location on Barlow is probably close enough along the same aiming line as Broadcast Hill from where you are. :)

You probably already get all the Calgary FM radio stations just fine, but in case you don't just keep in mind that an 8200 or a CM3671 will also get those for you loud and clear as an added benefit of such an antenna.

frontpl8 - Another idea, if you don´t need FM from the antenna is to consider the VHF HI/UHF Winegard HD 7698P which will get all UHF channels and VHF High band (pending channel allocations by CBC and Access).
We know that the VHF Low band will be totally off in Calgary come August 2011. The above antenna is physically smaller and lighter than either of the two that you are presently considering and has good gain. Ofcourse if you can wait until the CBC and Access dicisions are made and they happen to go the UHF route, then you can go with a UHF only antenna (smaller, less expensive and less obtrusive overall with higher performance at UHF).
At the present we are simply awaiting dicisions from the above two broadcasting organizations as to their OTA-DT channel allocations.
I don´t see the HD 7698P listed by the site sponsor but it is generally available from many US suppliers. It may be worth a phone call or email to the site sponsor to see if they have one or can have one shipped in?

That's the issue today's buyers have to face - but the great thing is that if you go for a VHF/FM/UHF combo antenna today (such as the 8200 or CM3671) you don't have any worries now or after the transition. :)

Thats the other thing i was thinking about is if the other stations go to uhf,which would be nice, it would be easier antenna wise, to go with smaller antenna. Whats the chances that all stations would be UHF in Calgary? Is the UHF band more powerful, thus we could get by with smaller antenna?I'm assuming I would not need a pre amp, or would I?

The other thing I was going to ask Is there a place in Calgary to buy these antennas? The shipping cost from Ont. seems quite high, so if i could get one locally it would save some money.

It is likely that CBC will be on 9 and if Access goes DTV they will be on 13.

Ah shucks I was hoping for UHF. I guess its easier to keep the same channel they have.

And less expensive, too. In an e-mail I received from CBC audience relations last summer, cost was one of the cited reasons for CBRT to stay on Channel 9 post-transition.

Try as I might, I can´t get any confirming answer out of CBC or Access. I hear rumours that CBC already have their equipment for Calgary.

One caviart with Combo antennas (from personal experience and manufacturer´s data) is that they have inherently lower UHF gains than their single UHF counterparts. My recommendation, therefore is always to use the antenna best suited and designed for the frequencies that one needs to receive.

The VHF HI/UHF Winegard HD 7698P will be good if CBC and/or Access stay on VHF high band.

If not then the Winegard 9032 or CM 8442HD are very good for UHF only, no doubt among others (Ref Version 7.1 of the forum´s antenna chart).

I have a chimney mast mounted combo unit in Calgary and the support brackets are suffering from strain due to high wind loading during recent storms. I now have to replace the brackets with much stronger ones! In this case "Bigger is not always better". ;)

Is the UHF band more powerful, thus we could get by with smaller antenna?I'm assuming I would not need a pre amp, or would I?

The other thing I was going to ask Is there a place in Calgary to buy these antennas? The shipping cost from Ont. seems quite high, so if i could get one locally it would save some money.
Yesterday 08:08 AM


The UHF band isn't necessarily 'more powerful'. It does tend to give a more localized reception more related to line-of-sight signal paths. Because of it's lower wavelengths, antennas are physically smaller and more compact for significantly higher gains. As against this UHF is subject to higher absorption by the surrounding terrain limiting good reception over large distances.

I'm told that there is a popular Satelite receiver store in the SW of Calgary (Macloud Trail area) which sells antennas.

Since the US dollar is presently relatively low in value then it can be cost effective to have US supplied antennas shipped to Calgary or less expensively to Montana for which a pleasant drive can result in a reduced cost antenna being available for instalation at home. :)

Good luck - frontpl8!!