I had signal for 8:15pm to 9pm , signal cut out.
Signal returns at 10:50pm then cuts out at 11:35pm

I can see channel 13,32,38,51 strong city edmonton. Maybe
i will get lucky again. Even part time HD is better than no HD.

My antenna is a reflectorless hoverman in attic with a channel master spartan 2 preamp , i think it is 3db noise figure.

I seem to only get reception when atmospheric conditions are good.

dtvman1, that is very impressive!
Do you use a SBGH or DBGH?
And perhaps the signal would be more stable if you did have a reflector …

It's a SBGH made from coathangers , but it is mounted horizontal so it is close to the top of the rafters. It's not mounted the tranditional hoverman way, so it must be behaving like a giant bow tie antenna.

I also have a channel master uhf antenna pointed south at calgary, no amp on it. It seems to pick up less then my amplified hoverman.

The reason i left the amp off the channel master was because of multipath , in the attic. The hoverman seems avoid most of the nasty ghosting on uhf.

I guess it would really be necessary to see the complete calculation including feeder losses, combiner losses and mask filter losses to know the overall gain of the system. 13 db does sound right for the antenna though!

I wonder if Mike FM can assist here?

Back in Calgary tomorrow afternoon - will check out the CICT-DT reception at home and report.

Yes, 13 dBd antenna gain would be for perfect, lossless system. Just thought I'd throw out the number to give people an idea.
BTW, I was rooting around the program guide function with my WinTV-HVR 950Q USB stick and found the following displayed under the program info for Global News Calgary:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/picture.php?albumid=322&pictureid=2795

Is this information viewable on some "real" television sets? My LG 32LH40 doesn't display this level of detail under program info.

I am now (finally) getting CICT-DT with good reception!

Just an idea — we should probably let Global know that we are receiving their signal.
First, it lets them know things are technically OK.
Second, it lets them know there are actually people in Calgary and area who rely on their OTA signals for TV!
There was a phone number displayed in the electronic program guide screen shot I posted yesterday. In case you're having trouble seeing it, it's 403-235-7777.

Tech staff keep an eye on things in here, btw. :) Also for those of you who do contact tech staff at TV stations please remember to invite them to join here if they haven't already.

Absolutely.
BTW, I just called that Global number a moment ago. It's the main local viewer contact line and it is staffed by a receptionist. (A real live human receptionist, not the automated kind!)
I gave the station a positive reception report from Hillhurst/West Hillhurst and thanked them for flipping the switch.

Hi, I'm new to this forum. We are cancelling our shaw cable to save money on a monthly basis, and are looking to hook or TVs up to a good antenna.

What should I look for that will work well enough in Calgary?

I bought a $30 antenna (with amplifier) at the Source by Circuit city and it works ok, but not spectacular. Also, shouldn't I be able to pick up CTV HD? I can't find it anywhere. Global HD works excellent. Most of the analogue stations I can get fairly clear by adjusting the antennae a little bit.

What channels should I all be able to pick up? I live in Martindale, up in the NE.

Anything else I should know?

I had very good reception before CICT move. I can barely get them now. I am in Bridgeland.

I have a question can someone explain why the Digital Frequency(Real Frequency) 41 and 36) have signal but no picture and sound? I understand that some other locations have picture and sound on both, Real Frequency and Virtual Frequency.

@andrela: Sadly, Bridgeland is one of those few Calgary neighbourhoods that don't have a good view of Broadcast Hill. How are you trying to receive TV stations?
As for your signal strength question, it sounds like your TV is getting just enough signal to identify the station but it's too weak to show you image and sound. A strong, stable signal would allow your TV to decode all the data required for normal viewing.

@Thneed: How and where is your antenna positioned? Have you tried moving it about the room it's in to get the "sweetest" spot for reception?
It's also possible you might have picked up a cruddy antenna. Have you checked out the thread with recommended antennas? See this:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=97121
There's also a thread with what *not* to buy:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=35083

Here's another thread on antennas to avoid:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=106108

I've just got a $35 Nexxtech amplified set top antenna from the Source by Circuit City. The cable that connects it to the TV is pretty short, so I haven't been able to try moving it around the room too much. If I keep the antenna, I'll position it somewhere with a longer cable.

I can get CICT-HD perfectly clear (shows up as channel 2-1 on my Samsung TV), Then I get analog CBC, CTV, Onmi, Access, SRC, CTS, and City TV, some better quality than others. If I change the channel to channel 41, the TV says I'm on 2-1 and Global works great. However, if I try to go to channel 36 for CTV, there is nothing at all, not even a weak picture.

I will consider getting an outdoor antenna if it would help to get better reception on all of the analog stations. I would likely place an outdoor antenna up on top of my chimney. Getting all of the channels I listed with good quality would help the pain of not having cable TV anymore.

If the Reason I'm not getting CTV HD at all had to with the antenna, I'd at least get some signal, wouldn't I? CICT-HD comes in clear no matter what I do with the antenna, as long as the antenna is being held still.

It could depend on where in the house you are. I'm under the assumption that you might be out of the line of sight from the CFCN-DT UHF spin antenna.
You might consider putting an outside antenna up (at least until September when their capital gets approved to purchase the higher power transmitter).

The antenna is on the main floor (about 8 feet off the ground), but I have no SW facing windows, and defiiately have other houses in the way. My antenna isn't really close to a window either.

How much would I need to spend on an outside antenna (the whole setup)? I'd need the antenna, about 20' of cable to run down to where the cable enters the house, I think I might have an amplifier lying around left over that shaw gave me, so I could use that unless an outdoor amplifier would be required.

@Downbeat: I have an outdoor Terk 55 mounted on the roof. I am around the 7a St. When I looked on TVFool, I saw that I was in a difficult zone but was please to see that both digital channels were coming in with a strong signal. I was not worried until I found out that the transmission sites planned to be moved:(. Now it is confirmed. Need something more robust! Should I go directional as, I understand, all the Calgary transmission antennas are from the same direction (Broadcast hill)? I looked at the antenna chart again and I am not sure what "range" I should use for the area I am in. The only channels I am interested are the digital ones. The rest I can get on cable.

I helped a friend (located on an acreage in Claresholm, AB) install two clone bowtie / reflector UHF antennas and a large Delhi LPDA for VHF reception. After straightening all the feedlines and moving the PCB based baluns to the center of the feedlines, I removed the el-cheapo splitter / joiners and the RG-58 harnesses. I made RG-6 harnesses of equal length, and made sure to scrape the center conductor with a utility knife until shiny-bright. The harness was joined with a Channel Master 4 into 1 splitter-joiner. The UHF reflectors and bowties were straightened and aligned into parallelism (this exercise took about 4 hours dammit!). This antenna was placed atop a 10 foot length of 1.5" OD galvanized exhaust tubing. The Delhi LPDA was mounted approximately 2 feet below the lowest edge of the UHF ganged antenna. All threaded bolts were secured with red loctite (except for the signal connections). All signal connections -- F connectors were filled with silicone dielectric grease (available at auto supply store) for weather proofing. Additionally, all F connectors were covered with polyolefin heat shrink tube.

The two antennae were joined with a Channel Master 7777 preamp. The whole shebang was mounted on the roof via a 5 foot tripod (this matches to the roof joists for lag bolt attachment. The antenna array was attached to the tripod with a Channel Master rotor and two TB-105 thrust bearings. Additionally, the top TB-105 was guy wired to the roof with plastic covered aircraft cable attached to eyebolts screwed into roof joist approximately 15 feet away from the tripod. The top of the array is about 35 feet AGL.

The good news is that reception from Calgary (about 120 kM away) is very good, with both CICT-DT and CFCN-DT appearing in the low 90 percentiles of signal strength. All the analog UHF stations are string and noise-free. Access and City-TV are too weak to be of use in this remote area.

Just checked and I am getting 100% on south side of Airdrie. Where before I could not reliably stay locked on the signal.

Do you get CFCN-DT in Airdrie too?