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ON - Kanata, Barrhaven, Nepean, West of Greenbelt - OTA

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#1 ·
I've read the Knowledge Base & FAQ's. that was mind bending in a good way!
Thanks Stampeder for the background info and pointing me in the right direction.
I would like to post a description and photos of my antenna set up and ask for comments on what I could do to enhance reception on 2 digital channels.
Overall I am very happy with my TV reception.

I am receiving 3 digital channels perfect
CBC 4-1
SUN 20-1
OMNI1 27-1

and 2 more that pixel out and/or loose audio sometimes.
CBS 7-1
Fox 7-2 and several others that I am not interested in.

I also get 5 analog channels very good to perfect
Global 6
CTV 13
OMNI2 14
TVO 24
AChannel43 and several others that I am not interested in.

I would like to know if the reception of the 2 digital mediocre channels (7-1 & 7-2) can be improved. CBS and Fox broadcasting from Carthage Watertown USA. (TVfool report says 85 miles away)

My setup
Two 30 year old antennas that I set up 20 years ago 36 feet high on tower beside house with a Radio Shack mast mount preamplifier cat.# 15-1108. The preamp made a huge difference 20 years ago and still does for all channels.
From the preamp antenna unit to preamp power source is 40 feet.
Preamp power source to line splitter is 15 feet.
Splitter to analogue TV is 10 feet.
Splitter to the main digital LCD TV is 30 feet.

Yagi is pointing at 7-1 and 7-2 160degT (these are the two channels that pixel out sometimes) tvfool says 166degT 85 miles away.

Bowtie is pointing 40degT (sort of inbetween the rest of the channels I want) 29 miles away...some channels listed by tvfool as 31degT and the others are listed as being 80degT. (all good reception)

Here is the link to my tvfool report http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=b7c81ef5279b9c





Rookie questions...

1. Which end of the wide single bowtie antenna is the front? (I pointed the bowtie toward the desired channels...is that correct?)

2. Any suggestions on how to improve reception on 7-1 and 7-2?

3. Any comments on setup and age of components?

BTW...the slight bend on one of the horizontal poles on the bowtie antenna was from the great ice storm of 1998...could have been alot worse!

Thanks,

Rudy
 
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#418 ·
FYI, I live in northern Kanata and I have an analog TV on the first floor, with standard rabbit ears antenna beside the TV, a digital to analog converter box, and with the antenna placed just right (facing about north east) and the ears at 90 degrees to each other (with one at horizontal). I can get 4.1, 9.1, 17.1, 20.1 and 24.1. I have a digital TV in the basement with its own antenna on the first floor facing a similar, but not same, direction as the other antenna, and the ears at about 135 degrees to each other (with one near horizontal), and antenna has about 20 feet of coax to the TV with the coaxial cable not tight (else I lose signal), and am able to get channels, 4.1, 6.1, 9.1, 20.1, and 24.1. So on one TV I can get 17.1 but not 6.1 and vice versa for the other TV. The placement of the antennas is very very sensitive in order to get either of 6.1 or 17.1, but not sensitive at all for the other digital stations. Hope this info helps others in their setup.
 
#419 ·
Okay so I did a channel scan today, I'm in carp and get 4.1, 9.1, 17.1, 20.1 and whatever the omni is. Anyways, I get 24.1 now but my TV is just a black screen at full signal. My mythtv says the channel is encrypted???

My TV cannot get 6.1 but mythtv gets a partial lock so maybe I need a booster or less splits as I do split the cable 3 times.
 
#422 · (Edited)
Tried moving the cm4228 around, no luck although I did get the tv to lock but no picture. Then I tried another antenna I have nothing and I tried a set of rabbit ears up on the roof no luck there either

Boo, you suck global! I'm well within the supposedly good zone, my tvfool is showing a strong signal, I'm 19miles away.

I am heavily treed but everything else comes in 100%. Maybe I try a cm7777 amplifier and some type of yaggy antenna? Ugh seems like a lot of one channel, unfortunately it's the channel most of the stuff we watch is on. I guess I download,...

Here's my fool

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=9e74f8f8f5a118
 
#424 ·
Wing FYI

Wing, sorry you aren't getting Global. I live in Northern Kanata and have one digital TV, one analog TV (with converter attached) and one TV in my computer. I have used a separate rabbit ears attenna (dipole, UHF, VHF and FM; Terk with amplified signal bought from The Source) for each TV and all are on the first floor of my home, and am surrounded by two story homes, yet I am able to get Global on each TV. The antenna's are all at a slightly different orientation and Global reception is very finicky about orientation of the antenna. So it seems that there is no rhyme or reason to what makes a successful reception, and so don't give up or get frustrated, and just try something different.
 
#427 ·
Why can't I get any digital channels?

I live in Morgan's Grant in Kanata. Using an unmodified Channel Master 4221HD antenna, mounted in my attic aimed towards Camp Fortune (21%), I cannot get any digital channels. I have the antenna plugged directly into my Sony TV (KDL52W3000).

Here is my TV Fool report:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d9e74315b0e7020

Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks

Norm
 
#428 ·
Normancw, which analog channels do you receive and how well?

I don't know your level of knowledge so I'll just mention some basics.

Check all your connections and that the cable is okay. Also check that you are in antenna mode, not cable mode, or else you won't receive any UHF channels. Also have you actually scanned for channels? Some TV's will not let you go directly to a digital channel without scanning for them.
 
#429 ·
CTV Ottawa transition plan

My neighbor is a technician with CTV. He told me today that all the digital equipment is installed at CF and is currently transmitting into a dummy load.

For those who can't wait, CTV is going to perform a test transmission in digital from 01:00-05:00h on Tuesday morning (on channel 13 I believe). Otherwise they will perform their planned switchover on Aug. 31st at midnight.
 
#430 ·
Thanks!

Thanks renegade73! Previously I was in cable mode. Now in antenna mode, I now get 4 digital channels:
4.1 CBOT (CBC)
9.1 CBOFT (French CBC)
20.1 CKXT
24.1 TVO

I also get the following analog channels as well: 4, 9, 13. 30, 34, and 40
 
#432 ·
normancw, now you can play around the antenna to point it at HC - the spot where you have a bunch of other channels coming in on your TVFool report. Try to find a position where you'll get the channels from HC (City, Omni,...), without losing the channels you just got from CF. You should be aiming at HC while hoping your CF channels will come off the back of your antenna.
 
#434 ·
Thanks - got 4 more digital channels!



Thanks - I rotated my antenna to point towards HC and got more digital channels (without losing any CF channels). I tried a few angles in between CF and HC, but I only get 66.1 (OMNI2) reliably when pointed directly at HC.

I'm still not getting 13.1 (CJOH) but it might not be broadcasting at the moment.

4.1 CBOT (CBC)
6.1 (Global)
9.1 CBOFT (French CBC)
17.1 CITY
20.1 CKXT (Sun)
24.1 CICI (TVO)
27.1 CFMT (OMNI 1)
66.1 CJMT (OMNI 2)
 
#433 · (Edited)
Hey guys,

Thought I'd report back in since the winter. I'm the guy that started out with a CM4221HD sitting in my kitchen. I moved it outside the house in the spring to an existing Bell arm that was here before we moved it. It was pretty low on the house though.

Today I had a guy come in to move it to the peak of the house. As expected the results have been great. I'm in the Katimavic area (near castlefrank & mccurdy) and here is what I now get:

digital:
4-1
6-1
9-1
17-1
20-1
24-1
27-1
66-1

analog:
11 pretty fuzzy
13 good-very good
43 fuzzy but viewable

This is on my Panasonic Plasma.

I also have an Elgato EyeTV unit setup - the cable is split inside the house, 1 to the tv and 1 to the computer. The macMini doesn't pick up 6-1 even when the plasma is showing 65-70% strength.

My question is: Can someone help me in manually adding a channel to EyeTV. It is asking for the kHz of the channel rather than its 6-1 name. I doubt it will work since an autotune doesn't grab it but its worth a try.

I'm going to assume the EyeTV tuner isn't as strong as the Panny plasma. If this is the case does anyone know if a HomeRunHD unit would be better? If I'm looking at recording 2 shows at a time in the fall I will most likely get one.

thanks for the info.


my current tvfool: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=9e74d8ca52c063


EDIT: My macmini is plugged into a small LCD tv. After posting I removed the cable from the EyeTV and plugged it into the LCD and did a scan and it got 6-1 no problem. I'm wondering if the EyeTV is not sensitive enough to grab 6-1. My hope is that I can pic kit up so I can do some recording on it and CTV in the fall.

EDIT #2: I moved the eyeTV unit and Macmini downstairs ahead of the split as a test and 6-1 still won't lock but the 2 tvs will after the split.
 
#435 ·
My question is: Can someone help me in manually adding a channel to EyeTV. It is asking for the kHz of the channel rather than its 6-1 name. I doubt it will work since an autotune doesn't grab it but its worth a try.

I'm going to assume the EyeTV tuner isn't as strong as the P
To manually scan in an ATSC channel in EyeTV, click on the arrow next to the frequency. You'll get a pulldown menu with both frequencies AND channel numbers. For global which broadcasting on channel 6, select 6 / 85000 kHz.

I have found that my eyetv hybrid is a bit noisy on vhf-low, but i have picked up 6.1 on it in some locations.
 
#438 ·
Hey guys, did some more testing and research tonight. Here are some numbers off both the EyeTV 250 and my Plasma tv.

Plasma picks up all channels fine. 66-1 (Omni) does have some pixelation. I left Global on tonight no pixelation or drops.
EyeTV 250 picks up all channels fine except for 6-1 (Global). It even gets 66-1 while plasma is struggling with it.

SQ= Signal Quality on Elgato EyeTV 250
SS= Signal Strength on Elgato EyeTV250
Plasma = Signal Strength reported on Panny Plasma tv

4-1 SQ=100%, SS=35%, Plasma=100%
6-1 SQ=97%, SS=18%, Plasma=68%
9-1 SQ=100%, SS=30%, Plasma=96-100%
17-1 SQ=100%, SS=3%, Plasma=55-60%
20-1 SQ=100%, SS=27%, Plasma=100%
24-1 SQ=97%, SS=37%, Plasma=100%
27-1 SQ=100%, SS=6%, Plasma=60%
66-1 SQ=100%, SS=2%, Plasma=20-30%

My goal is to be able to record Global. We all know Global is notorious as of late for being a toughy to get. Since the tvs in the house can lock on to Global no problem am I close to being able to get the eyeTV (or a soon to arrive HDHomerun) to lock on to it

Thoughts/questions:
1. Based on reading about CM7777 and CM7778 pre amps on here and other sites I think my signals are already too strong and adding a pre amp would hinder me although the EyeTV signals strengths seem to be a bit misleading?!?!. Input welcome here.
2. Distribution amp. When it comes to a distribution amp I'm still a bit iffy on whether that would help or hinder me with the possible additional noise, input welcome here too. I tried the eyeTV setup before the split in the house to no avail.
3. Antenna re-position, CM4221HD. I wonder if I'm so close to locking on that a simple tweak to the antenna aiming may help. Right now the antenna is pointed kind of in the middle of Camp Fortune and Herbert's Corner leaning more towards the Herbert's tower slightly. My problem is the antenna is high on my roof and hard to get to by scared-of-heights-and-rolling-off-the-roof-me. I'd have to pay a guy to come back I think to play with it.
4. Perhaps the ordered HomeRunHD will have a tuner that is a little more discrete and will grab 6-1 and this is all a moot point.

My gut is telling me that #4 is probably going to do it. Or at least my gut is saying wait to try #4 before attempting to fall off the roof :)

Here is my TV Fool for reference:
http://goo.gl/13ulB
 
#439 ·
Bucketo, there a couple things that could improve your setup.
You know your 4221 is not made for channel 6 ? That is usually the first thing to fix.

Antenna positioning and preamp. Have you though about pointing at Wnpi ? You'd now get CF channel of the back and still get HC off the side. I also prefer not going back to the roof, and for that reason alone I bought and installed a rotor. No more roof visits and I can tweak antenna position all I want.

If CF comes off the back or if you just point it away like what you're doing now, Chances are you'd be fine with a preamp. Worst case you bring it inside and use it as a distribution amp like Panamark does, I've done it too when I was testing and it does help. Either way it will help with the split signal.
 
#440 ·
Thanks for the insight Flavoie. Yup I realize the 4221HD is geared towards UHF. Man a rotor would totally rock, I should have thought of that when I had buddy move it up the roof earlier today. It might actually be worth getting him back to put a rotor in. That way I could try your suggestions as far as pointing direction with ease.
 
#441 ·
Doh! It's been ages since I've had to think of any of this so I've forgotten a lot.

But, No change on Global reception after connecting rabbit ears into the D2A & rescanning. I'll try moving the antenna to another room & see what happens. I'd hate to have to put it outside & have to drill another hole for coax....
 
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