If only the Canadian stations were available in digital.
They are, you are just in the wrong part of Canada...

Can anyone recommend an antenna? I need something indoors, as I'm renting a house here. We could place it in the attic.

Hagbard,

You're in a prime location for OTA... you should be able to pickup locals from Detroit and Toledo easily, with possibly Cleveland depending on the setup.

If you absolutely have to place the antenna indoors, definately do the attic install. Attics can be very tight and hard to get a combo antenna placed in the proper direction due to thier design. I'd maybe look at a bowtie design. (ChannelMaster 4228 HD or AntennasDirect DB8) Those antennas are more upright and may be easier to point in an attic. We don't have a ton of VHF channels around so either one would probably do pretty descently for the area.

Or, if you're a do-it-yourselfer, the Grey-Hoverman deisgns perform better if you have it in you to build one.

Cheers

Welcome here hagbard - use the Search This Thread tool to the upper right beside Thread Tools and put in "Kingsville" as your search term to see results already posted from where you live so you can compare. :)

@hagbard
I lent out my modded CM 4221HD to a friend down in Leamington whom lives on the lake and they where getting most of the Toledo's and Detroit's stations.
Then I took it to my sister's and had it sitting in the spare bedroom and was watching Toledo's NBC on channel 24-1.
I am wondering if you were to try a CM 4228HD in you attic (if you can get it up there, you should be good to go.

I should have mentioned, I'm right on the lake, clear sight to Toledo, Cleveland, etc.

Welcome hagbard,

I can echo what PanaMark and DigitalRocks said about antenna recommendations. Those antenna models have proven themselves. I'm not that far to the east-northeast from you, it should be very easy to get Detroit digitals down there in Kingsville within an attic. Hopefully there is no aluminum siding or some roof shingles that contain metallic fibers in the way, as they can effectively block signal.

You might have to rotate or position the antenna to face Toledo if you would like to pick up any stations from there. Some of the stronger Cleveland stations may also be available to you especially on warmer days. A medium gain low noise preamplifier can also further improve any signals if the total coax run turns out to be 50+ feet, and or if you plan to split the signal to more than one TV/device.

I picked up one of those saucer antennas from The Source in Leamington and can pick up a few stations with the thing just sitting in my room. It was on clearance for $20 but I still feel ripped off...the thing was obviously used when I opened up the box. I'll see how it works and then move on if not satisfied.

Which model # is it, hagbard?

I picked up one of those saucer antennas from The Source in Leamington and can pick up a few stations with the thing just sitting in my room. It was on clearance for $20 but I still feel ripped off...the thing was obviously used when I opened up the box. I'll see how it works and then move on if not satisfied.
Unfortunately those things wont work anywhere near as well as a combo antenna or perhaps a UHF-bowtie. I always thought people used them as they might be a bit less noticeable sitting on a roof if you're concerned about the look... but I find eventually people go to the better types of antennas just to get better reception :P There are a bunch of places around that sell better equpiment..

If only the Canadian stations were available in digital.
They are, you are just in the wrong part of Canada...Yes, I'm well aware of that, and it was specifically what I was referring to.

I moved the photos and replies about that DMX tower to this thread after reading Jase88's concerns about it being overloaded:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=29559 Post #1341 and newer

That's good info for everyone.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken H
If only the Canadian stations were available in digital.


Would you like to trade your 100 HD channels on Comcast for one CBC channel in digital ? (the others mainly rebroadcast, olympics on CTV being an exception, but then again, you may not receive it anyway) :confused:

Please stick to just OTA discussion here and not CATV or Satellite. :)

Would you like to trade your 100 HD channels on Comcast for one CBC channel in digital?Probably not, but I've watched TV over-the-air for decades, and see no reason why that shouldn't continue into the digital age for Canada.

I'd bet there are others who agree with me.

No word from CBC or A Channel about an HD upgrade yet ???

Probably not until at least August 2011.

I have my system working in Sarnia and will never pay for cable again.

Wow, high def was amazing for the Olymics.

TVFool says I should easily get

2.1 WJBK FOX Detroit 7

but I can't find it, any ideas?

My tuner also picked up 43.177 and 43.193 but says it cannot decode signal. What would these be?

Here is what I am getting from a 4220HD (eave mounted)

Channel Call Sign Station
4.1 WDIV NBC
4.2 WDIV NBC
7.1 WXYZ ABC
7.2 WXYZ ABC
7.3 WXYZ ABC
10 CFPL CTV
10 CFPL A
18 TVO
19.1 CKXT SUN
19.1 CKXT MON
20.1 WMYD MyN
29 CIII Global
34 CBLN CBC
38.1 WADL
38.2 WADL
40 CBLN CBC London
42 CKCO/CFCF CTV
50.1 WKBD CW50
51 CHCH
56.1 WTVS PBS
56.2 WTVS PBS
56.3 WTVS PBS
59
62.1 WWJ CBS
68 CBLFT CBC Fr
69 CFMT OMNI

I have my system working in Sarnia and will never pay for cable again.

Wow, high def was amazing for the Olymics.

TVFool says I should easily get

2.1 WJBK FOX Detroit 7

but I can't find it, any ideas?

My tuner also picked up 43.177 and 43.193 but says it cannot decode signal. What would these be?

Here is what I am getting from a 4220HD (eave mounted)


Actually, a careful reading of your TVFool report would reveal that you cannot easily get WJBK, and certainly not with a UHF-only antenna.

TVfool only claims an 8dB Noise Margin on WJBK for central Sarnia.
To get that, you'd need a VHF Hi band antenaa, not simply a low gain UHF antenna like a 4220. An old 4221 (twice the gain of a 4220 at UHF) has a negative gain (-6dB) on channel 7. With system losses and noise figures factured in, there is no way you could get WJBK with a 4220.

You'd need a VHF/UHF antenna with a least a modest gain on channel 7 to get Fox.

My tuner also picked up 43.177 and 43.193 but says it cannot decode signal. What would these be?
Some PBS station's carry sub channels to perform updates for televisions and converter boxes. These are what these channels are.
Here is a link that might help explain http://updatelogic.com/network.html (http://updatelogic.com)