ON - City of Toronto Metro Area <INDOOR Antennas Only> - OTA

[thebigcode]

Thanks for your help. Getting the TV today so I will let you know how I go.

We have a building W-NW of us that is quite tall, not sure how unobstructed it is however. I will try pointing at that and see what happens. There is another building to the W-SW which probably is less obstructed.

If I don't pick up much with the cheapy antenna I will try the Terk HDTVI from Tiger. I got the cheap one from Complete Software Solutions on Yonge.

[thebigcode]

Ok so I plugged my el cheapo Philips antenna in and... got pretty awful results. On my first scan I picked up three channels - Global TV HD, Global SD and City TV. On my next few scans (moving the antenna around slightly) I got worse results. In the end (taking the antenna back to where I first had it) I got zero channels...

While doing this, I noticed my Rogers modem was plugged into the wall using coaxial cable. I took a gamble and plugged the TV into this cable, and did scan... I found heaps of digital cable channels, but almost all of them were unwatchtable. I was picking up some cable TV channels as well, I figure it must be from the buildings cable TV (they have cable in the gym).

Anyway I am going to buy the Terk HDTVa online and see if I can get a few more channels. I will take anything better than zero!

[Goldielover]

Is your antenna as close to your window as possible? When in use, my Terk sits about 18" from the window, and the C2V, when I am using it indoors, is even closer. Also, are there any settings on your TV that may need changing? Most models default to CATV rather than Antenna for the input. Very surprised that you're not getting CFTO. Most people can get that even using a paperclip for an antenna. Not quite sure what model you have. Some of their cheaper ones are a bit too omnidirectional for your needs. Given the buildings around, you may have some multipath issues, and these will be improved by a more directional antenna.

[majortom]

thebigcode,
rather than sit around waiting for a $50 dollar antenna to show up, have you considered building one? This one is small enough to fit in a picture window,
requires just a minimal amount of wire, a 300/75 ohm balun, and something like a piece of plastic to mount it to. I made one for a niece to use at her ground floor apartment from 10 gauge copper wire, and she was able to get all her locals with it, no problem in the window with blinds & curtains behind it.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...&postcount=289

Or ya could try just a simple UHF Loop Antenna.

[thebigcode]

Hey all

An update - last night I tried again and set up the antenna as close to the window as I could get it. I have Global and CBC almost perfectly, and two other channels which seem to be alright as well. My antenna is sitting about half a metre from the window, which is as close as I can get it at the moment. I have ordered the Terk so will see how that goes once I get it, and maybe also get a longer cable. The TV settings seem to be fine, I have selected antenna and then do an auto program scan.

If I get the antenna closer to the window (within half a metre) will that make a difference?

If I get bored during the week I might try and make one along those instructions, and I will let you know how I go.

[Kaitlyn2004]

I have a Toshiba 42HL167 TV and got a "Quantum HDTV Amplified Antenna" at Canadian tire today.

I wanted to test the waters and see how it goes.

I plug it in and I am getting ZERO channels. Complete noise - nothing is even coming in a little bit. Any ideas why?

I'm located in a downtown condo facing SE. It's not RIGHT against the window as the cable is too short, but ya...

[Jase88]

Kaitlyn2004,

Welcome to the forums! I'm assuming that you're in Toronto? I've moved your post to the Toronto Indoor thread for discussion.

You posted a link to a competing forum which discussed the Mohu Leaf (I removed this as we don't permit links to competing forums). You should note that while the Canadian Tire generic indoor antenna you purchased appears similar to the Mohu Leaf, it's not the same antenna in performance.

First things first:

- Have you done a channel scan? You must first scan in "antenna mode" for digital channels before you can tune to them. Digital over-the-air differs in that you cannot simply plug in an antenna and go directly to the station you wish to view....scanning is necessary first.

[casaubon]

Hi everyone, this is my first time participating in this forum. I hope this first contribution isn't considered off-topic.

This is my current situation:

I have a Terk indoor HDTV antenna that I have used since 2010 and I normally get 7 to 9 tv stations:

CBC
CTV
CHCH
TVO
CBC French
Global
Omni 1
Omni 2
City TV

Add one or two other ones depending on the weather conditions. As of 3 weeks I only get CTV, once in a while I may get CHCH and when I scan for tv stations (I do this constantly after moving my antenna around the living room) I can sometimes get crappy american religious tv channels so I really don't count those, I delete them right away.

The thing is: for some odd reason I only get ONE guaranteed tv station: CTV (good thing its that one since I won't lose the Olympic coverage). I used to get 9. So friggen weird.

PS: I live on the 10th floor of an apartment building in the Ossington & Bloor area in Toronto with unobstructed view of the CN Tower. My Tv is a Samsung 32" HDTV.

Any similar stories?

[bigcam406]

given your location,you'd think you would receive more stations.you didnt mention whether your Terk is the amplified version or not.if its not,are you using any amp at all? you should be receiving western New York stations as well.

[casaubon]

Thanks for the answer. I'm using the amplified version but instead of the signal amplifier that came with the Terk Antenna I am using a 10dB amplifier very much like this one:



When I first installed the Terk antenna back in 2010 I noticed that the 10dB amplifier worked better than the native Terk one that came with the antenna.

I wonder if the management at my Apartment Building has somehow "blocked" OTA signal (if that is even possible) just to force people to sign up with Bell. They hound us every week. I know its an aluminum hat theory, just saying.

[Goldielover]

Have you checked all wires to make sure they are tight, and also checked your TV to make sure it is set for Antenna rather than Cable? Have you checked the blades to make sure they are tightly seated? The fact you are mainly getting CFTO and CHCH, both of which are VHF channels which would be picked up by the dipoles rather than the blades, makes me wonder if they have become loosened. Also, are the blades vertical or horizontal? I always find I get more with them horizontal. You should definitely be getting more than that with a Terk. I have an unamplified Terk HDTVi (I'm assuming your is the HDTVa) and I can get 24 channels with mine, although Fox 29 isn't always reliable. I am near Marlee and Eglinton, also on the tenth floor, facing west so I don't have direct line of sight to the Tower. I don't think your building management would be deliberately blocking you. I think they could be in considerable legal trouble if they were. I get Bell and Rogers reps around from time to time too. I always have a bit of fun with them.

[casaubon]

Thanks for your input Goldielover. My antenna isn't the HDTVi, its the Omnidirectional indoor antenna:



Every connection is tight and I scan channels via Air and not Cable. I really have no idea what is going on.

[dheian]

Anyone want to explain to me why tonight my Toronto stations (especially CBC and City) are really breaking up and unwatchable, while the Buffalo's are pretty unscathed?

I mean the tropo's even getting me Rochester, but shouldn't Toronto still be strong? Still trying to understand how the weather works with all this.

[Jase88]

We typically discuss these issues in the unusual reception thread for your locale. However--briefly--atmospheric ducting basically creates a "wormhole" type of effect between the distant transmitters and your location. The effect can frequently be so strong that local stations are completely wiped out.

We're anticipating record heat for tomorrow. And this approaching hot air mass is no doubt going to play havoc on reception patterns. Not to mention the recent increase in solar activity...

[Jase88]

casaubon, what are your reception results without any amplification? It might be that you're overdriving (over-amplifying unnecessarily) the CN Tower stations.