FOX WUTV has a contour that pushes most of their signal south. It's a difficult station for most to pull in throughout this area. The issue isn't channels 11 or 13, as there is a significant gap in spectrum between channel 13 and 14. Channel 15 isn't very strong to begin with, and doubtful it's causing issues for channel 14.

In short: Any sort of notch filter or diplexer won't help reception of WUTV.

The best means of pulling in WUTV with any level of reliability from this area would be to get a very high gain antenna for channel 14, installed as high up as possible, and a low-noise pre-amp.

The best means of pulling in WUTV with any level of reliability from this area would be to get a very high gain antenna for channel 14, installed as high up as possible, and a low-noise pre-amp.
agreed.


I did pick up my UVSJ at SavenReplay. They are not expensive.

Jase88 I do remember though when I first got hooked in OTA a few years ago now. With the channel 6 filter I did see a huge diffrence not so much bleed over on analogue.Not that I watch much more than CKCO 13 on analogue. I know digital is a whole new game. Also I know people who live down 24 south out of Cambridge with antennas and 6 from Paris kills almost everything for them. I also remember CHYM FM a few years ago we had very faintly on the phone lines in my neighbourhood it took a million calls to bell as it was the casing in the lines on the poles rotting causing signal in but depending where I am in the north end of town I can see all those towers on the Glen Morris Hill. It's just a thought!! I do have my FM trap on. I do agree on the FOX WUTV DT signal I have to dead bang on the mark or no lock for me!!

Thanks PanaMark I will go get one and try.

No doubt channel 6 does cause issues for other stations (channel 9 comes to mind). But there's just too much frequency separation between VHF and UHF channels for them to bleed over. Unless you're within a couple hundred meters of a transmitter.

And I have a UVSJ I can give you for free if you're interested in testing it out....

That explains why channel 9 is messed up in analouge sometimes. Do you think its worth a shot climbing the tower to try it? Will it have the same affect on 6. I bet my tower can see the CHYM towers as I know a roof of a building not far over I can see them standing on top. I am game just to try it out and see if it does anything. I do agree I doubt it will have much effect on my UHF as 6 is a bit away from the UHF band.

Local powerful stations (see Channels 6.0, 11.0, 13.0) might cause problems for adjacent channels, but they can also cause problems for channels that are not near in frequency, but are weak and distant.

If you live near a transmitter that is also powerful, this can cause problems with your tuner to the point that weak/distant stations are squeezed out, regardless if the channel is adjacent or not.

In my experience, and in being very close to a powerful transmitter (11.0), I have had to make some incoming signal adjustments to get a weak distant station. To get weak distant channels, I first tried a pre-amp (CM7778), but this got me less channels- beacuse the pre-amp was not selective and boosted all channels, and in particular 11.0, which caused the tuner to be overloaded. To fix the problem, I used a trap/filter for one channel which decreased the signal considerably on channel 11.0, about 30-40 dbs- in doing so, the weak distant channels came in- WNYO -49.1- which is not adjacent to 11.0.

see: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1065441&postcount=1100

I say try the UVSJ splitters, and use two- this will really knock down 6.0, 11.0, and 13.0. These splitters are relatively cheap and very easy to instal (insert inside house before TV), before you go to extreme measures- higher antenna.

I'm about 2km north of the Paris tower, and have a CM4228HD antenna and HDP269 pre-amp tripod-mounted to my roof. Reception has been decent, but varies quite a bit, day-by-day. We've got trees to the east blocking the CN tower, and also to the south, blocking Erie. That leaves Hamilton/Buffalo in the clear.

TVFool:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9fbe2fb1e8ff46

We get 4.1, 7.1, 11.1, 36.1, 15.1, 23.1, 26.1 pretty much all the time. 17.1, 2.1 come in evening hours only, typically strong just after sunset. Other tropo channels such as 49.1, 29.1, 51.1 67.1 are seen once or twice a week, but usually not strong enough to be watchable.

I've wondered about overload, but don't fully understand how I can determine if this is an issue with my installation. From the TVFool above, rf6 is red-hot, with RF56, 28, and 13 following close behind. If I fit one or more UVSJ's with the VHF side capped, that will leave the strong RF56 and 28 to pass straight through. Do these also need to be addressed with individual traps?

When fitting traps or UVSJ's, does it matter where they are placed in the circuit? I assumed they'd go up on the mast between the antenna and pre-amp, but if they can go just prior to the TV, that would certainly make testing easier!

Lastly, does Sayal or Neutron in Kitchener carry these UVSJ's? I'd like to run a quick test, and don't want to drive all the way to Mississauga just to get parts!

Thanks!

If 6 is the flamethrower, I would start with 2 UVSJs using the UHF port (capping the VHF port). Either place the UVSJ before the pre-amp or after the power supply, but not between. I got mine from the forum sponsor.

Fox 29 is at -19db in the NM column. That's pretty hard to get anywhere.

You just might not get these channels without adding more height to your antenna to get the channel with a bit more strength.

goforit,

rf6 is definitely the hot one. I'll browse around for UVSJ's locally, and see about running a test. If it makes no difference, I'll definitely test in the house rather than on the roof.

hkaye,

I'm not concerned about Fox in particular, just trying to optimize my install. I have no winter OTA experience, and don't know what channels we'll end up with in the cold months when I have no interest in climbing on the roof!

From the TVFool above, rf6 is red-hot, with RF56, 28, and 13 following close behind. If I fit one or more UVSJ's with the VHF side capped, that will leave the strong RF56 and 28 to pass straight through. Do these also need to be addressed with individual traps?

The issue with addressing traps for strong local analogs especially for channel 56 is, it is not cheap.

let's say you do have a channel 28 trap built, it affects the channel's right next to it. There would be a small dB loss on channel 27 and on channel 29.

I would just wait until August 2011 for our supposed digital change over.

You should not be to concerned unless you have the tower right in the LOS towards Buffalo.

I also thought this and had a channel 19, channel 53 trap built by Tin Lee.
It was a big fat waste of money.

On the other hand I had a channel 10/FM custom trap built and without it I could not pull in Cleveland stations.
When I point towards the Byron station here in London which hosts a various amount of strong UHF analogs the AGC on my televisions are affected, and the preamp does get overloaded. Good news is the only market it affects is Toledo, which I have only ever pulled in once anyways.

If I had it my way I could do without the local television towers, and live with just Dxing and tropo event reception.
I don't use my antenna for everyday use, but probably would if it were not for my families addiction to specialty television channels ie: Much, Ytv

renns if you can find a local supplier. i have lots of terminating 75ohm caps.

renns if you can find a local supplier. i have lots of terminating 75ohm caps.
hsplrguy,

Thanks for the offer, but I've not had any luck with UVSJ's locally. Sayal didn't carry them, and suggested a place in Toronto. I'd stop at SaveAndReplay before going that far, but doubt I'll be out that way for a few weeks at least.

Ah the never ending antenna dilema. I am in Orangeville on the second hill, and just can't wrap my head around paying Rogers $100 a month to watch some almost HD channels(720p). So I started some research on OTA stuff. My father lives outside of Sarnia and gets a tonne of HD channels out of the states, so I thought I would try my luck for some of the toronto stations. I proceeded to make a DB4 using some online guides and only got CBLT on digital and a few others over analog (global and some others) from the living room with it.

Anyhow I am now ready to put an antenna on the roof, likely a chimney mount pointed at the CN tower, possibly I'll try for some of the buffalo stuff, but won't hold my breath. There is no line of site North East or West, due to houses and a hill behind me. So no point using a rotor. I am not putting up a tower...the wife will never go for that.

Here's my TVFOOL stats: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9fbe80df5b9f2d

I was thinking a 4228HD however the guys at save and replay suggest I use a DB8 with a pre-amp. Everything I am reading says the 4228HD is better and less directional, however their site says the DB8 is redesigned with much better performance. So thought I would check to see what others here think before dropping a couple hundred on gear. Or perhaps I should be looking at something completely different...

Ian

I would skip both and get a 91XG with a CM7777 or a Kitztech preamp.

I would, but it's too large...the missus would never go for that. Also I doubt I could mount that on a simple chimney mount. The two I quoted (also thinking U8000) are moderately small enough that if pressed I could toss into the attic. I was thinking of putting two CM4228's in the attic for giggles to see what I get there. Really I am just looking for the toronto stations, and might just try for some buffalo stuff when I get bored. Budget is a bit weak right now too (new baby) so for a bit I considered some of the china stuff, but research tells me that build quality and consistency could be suspect...and I am too lazy to be dealing with a bad antenna on a daily basis.

Ian

DB-8. The 4228HD is terrible unless you modify it, and it comes pre-assembled- difficult to get into the attic. The old 4228 was exceptional, the new one is not as good, especially for high UHF (see TO signals). Go for the DB-8 and a CM7777 pre-amp.

Thislilfishy: 720p is high definition. Several OTA networks and stations broadcast in HD using this resolution, including FOX and ABC.

And I've had good luck with the XG91...though the DB8 has had good feedback as well.

Yeah I was assuming I'd have to mod the 4228, no biggie really. I considered building an M8 (per this site), but time and materials will be against me. I could probably get some copper wire, but figured just buying premade is less hassle. I have a large stock of baluns and high frequency splitters so the mod is simple enough...would the modded 4228hd be equal or better then the DB8? Just curious as I can get the 4228 for a few bucks less (and the mod would be free as I have the materials)...like I say budget is tight right now. Pre-amp may need to wait for a month or two..but that's not a big issue as roof access is super simple here, and the low slope makes working easy there.

Edit: Of course if I did that, I'd be sitting in my basement thinking I should have got the DB8...lols...

Ian

Thought I would do an update to my reception results with my new antenna.

Location - Queen & Margarette on the 15th floor.
Antenna: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1117457&postcount=35
tvfool report - http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1117456&postcount=34

I receive 14 channels reliably 24/7

5.1 CBC
9.1 CTV (tropo can cause audio drop outs).
11.1 CHCH
13 CFTO
17.1 WNED
19 TVO
23.1 WNLO
25.1 CBC-F
36.1 CITS
41.1 Global
44.1 OMNI (tropo can knock this one out)
57.1 City
64.1 OMNI (tropo can knock this one out)
66.1 Sun

This building blocks 4.1 and 7.1 - I probably could get these channels too if I was facing more toward buffalo.

I can receive 29.1 but only with a channel cut 10 element yagi that has a gain of 14dbi. This is a difficult channel to receive and requires the special yagi and accurate aiming.

I get a number of analogs 5,9,11,25,41,47,57,69 but since I get these channels in digital I watch the digital channels. I can receive 8 with some snow but still watchable.

--------------

KW has lots of high and low points which can make OTA difficult for households in the lower elevations. As well there are buildings that get in the way of a direct line of sight with Toronto. Location is key and getting an antenna up in the air as high as possible is also key. Apartment living when facing the right direction make OTA easy.