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OTA: Ontario Parts, Sales, Service, Installers

395K views 1K replies 458 participants last post by  folcan99 
#1 ·
I got a CM4248 from V&E Antenna in Thornhill. I've got it mounted on my rooftop and I use a rotor to fine tune.
 
#103 ·
Wight Electronic Services out of Princeton, ON

This is for all the people in and around the Brantford-Woodstock corridor.

I had my OTA gear installed on Saturday by Wight Electronic Services out of Princeton. Lorne is the owner/installer and he did an incredible job for a very reasonable price.

I called him on Thursday and he was out to my house on Saturday.

Earlier I had called the 2 other installers in Brantford and they said they couldn't even get out for at least 2 weeks. One shop even had my old rotor in their shop for repair for two weeks and never even looked at it. They actually told me this, I'm not making it up. Two weeks! Poor, poor customer service.

But Lorne was great. He wasn't familiar with the CM4228 and thought I was crazy for replacing my big old directional antenna with it, but after everthing was wired and operational he couldn't get over the quality of the signal it was catching. He said he'd be doing the same at his house.

Anyway, that's my plug for Wight's Electronic Services. A very positive experience from start to finish.

Ham.Clan
 
#113 ·
what do you guys think of these prices, that I got quoted for the following gear? CM4228 $119.00 9521A rotor $139.00
7775 preamp $119.00
I pulled up an old thread comment from 2005 about my costs:

"I purchased the CM4228 and the 9521A rotator with cable from Solid Signal online and had them shipped to a relative south of Buffalo. The shipping wasn't cheap (gas prices?) so, the parts cost me $195 CND including shipping, on my Visa."

I had relatives who helped me out. Yes, US prices appear to be lower but most US sellers won't ship an antenna to Canada. I think your prices are reasonable and availability is improving.
 
#106 ·
i know there is a rotor on sale at The Source for 80 something $

i only paid 90$ for my CM4228 in St. Catharines

i paid 30$ for a Magnavox preamp at Nutech, which has been amazing, and I don't see how it could perform any better. (the 7775 would certainly be a much better preamp and probably shows fairly improved performance over cheap preamps, but i don't see how thats worth spending 90$ extra, especially when you in Brantford where the signals should all be fairly strong.)

perhaps you should find a dealer where you can buy a less expensive preamp and try it out, and then if it doesn't gett all channels, take it back and get the expensive one.
 
#108 ·
I don't know about the others, but the CM4228 seems expensive to me. tigerbangs told me that $42.00 (+/-) is the going price for a CM4228 in most areas of the US. I was thinking of picking one up on a recent trip to DC, but I decided to wait to see what happens to WWNY in 2009 (it is currently on 7 and 35 and I gather that the 4228 isn't very good with channel 7).
 
#109 ·
Are you sure you even need a pre-amp (sorry I can't remember your location.)?
For $119 I'd be tempted to wait and see if your 4228 can't pull in the channels you want, and if it does need help, then think about a pre-amp. The 4228 already has a lot of gain.
Did a dealer suggest the pre-amp? If so, does he realize you are not using this for analogue?
 
#115 ·
england, I'm 15 minutes west of Brantford and I did a little experiment with my CM7777 preamp last night.
I tuned in my strongest signal on 4.1 (WIVB-HD) @ 98%, then went downstairs and unplugged the preamp.
The signal dropped to 0%.
I would strongly suggest getting the preamp and having everything installed during one service call.

As far as the prices go, they don't seem outrageous.
But sometimes patience can really save a few bucks. It took me about 3 weeks to assemble all of my gear for installl, cause I was shopping around. I purchased my CM7777 on eBay for $51 US, the best deal of the bunch.
 
#116 ·
I tuned in my strongest signal on 4.1 (WIVB-HD) @ 98%, then went downstairs and unplugged the preamp.
The signal dropped to 0%.
the reason it went to zero is because your amplifer (on mast) doesn't continue the signal unless the power source is plugged in, therefore everything would be at zero.

if you wanted to test your results without using a preamp, you'd need to take the amplifer off the antenna and go straight from antenna to your TV.
 
#120 ·
Michigan Channel Master/Winegard Dealer

Denny Duplessis has contacted me about his full service TV Antenna shop in central Michigan. For DHCers in southwestern Ontario and the Sault Ste. Marie area you can purchase Channel Master and Winegard OTA gear from:

TV Antenna Source
3758 W. Washington Rd.
Ithaca, MI
48847-9793
www.dennysantennaservice.com

Ithaca, Michigan is located northwest of Flint and Saginaw, so is a handy trip from the Sarnia area.
 
#121 ·
Nutech in Hamilton and St.Catharines has DHC Special Pricing

Karim at Nutech Electronics has provided the following info on OTA gear in the Hamilton and St. Catharines areas:
We have 2 locations, Hamilton and St. Catharines. As of today, (Nov. 17/2006) we have recieved our stock of Channel Master 4228 antennas. I have contacted stampeder and with his approval, I plan giving you guys the best deal I can on these particular antennas.

This price is obviously for pick up, but we are able to ship across the country. Shipping price is yet to be determined so I will update that ASAP.

As of now, we have 20 in stock all at the St. Catharines location (more room) but we can have them at the Hamilton store next business day.

Lastly, I would thank stampeder and this forum for allowing me to pass on this deal to you.

For further info visit the Nutech website or send an email:

www.nutechelectronics.com

nutechstkitt@bellnet.ca
Thanks Karim! :)
 
#125 ·
GTA Installers? How Much?

New here, but I've been doin my homework. I'm thinking of buying a CM 4228 from nutech the next time I go to visit my parents.

My neighbour has a tower she doesn't use and said I can do anything I like with it. Right now it has a VHF only antenna which is in pretty bad shape. So I want to rip that down. But I'm wondering if I should install it myself or get it professionally done. If so, is there any installers in my area that can be recommended? And how much should I expect to pay?
 
#127 ·
Fellows, did you try any of the names from posts #9 and #83. AF Marsh is installing at present although K-W / Guelph might be a stretch.

Pay a pro rather than DIY for installation on a tower. To my way of thinking it is like muffler work on the car. Yes, I can do it. But why put myself through the aggravation. A pro has seen it before and will do a better job.

DaveD, if you can run coaxial from your neighbours tower, that would would be a bonus. Be sure to make sure everything is grounded. You don't want to bring lightning down upon a good neighbour.
 
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