OTA: Eastern Ontario & Quebec DXing, Tropo, Odd Reception: 2011

[kq2n]

Hello all!

I've read through the forum and was interested at some of the topics discussed. First, I live in Utica, NY - home of NBC, but no CBS. WTVH in Syracuse is the "official" CBS outlet for Utica, but being 50 miles plus away, added with the fact that Utica lies in a valley, most of the city cannot get WTVH with an indoor or modest outdoor antenna. Out of the city and into either the hills or flatter areas west and northwest of town, reception of WTVH is much better. WWNY Watertown as well as WRGB - still on VHF 6 in Schenectady, also serve parts of the area for OTA CBS. The Central NY area for the most part is blocked from receiving Watertown or Kingston channels due to the Tug Hill. As a fyi, CKWS has and continues to be (since the 1960s when cable first came to the area) carried on local Time Warner cable systems.

The idea of WWNY/WKTV would solve the missing network dilemma for both areas, although they would be SD not HD, being on a sub. I'd still like that to happen although I feel too it would be a remote chance. If it did, that would give the Utica area Buffalo Bills coverage when WTVH is blacked out due to blackout regulations set up by the NFL. And, to be honest, even though the Utica area makes up most likely a third of WTVH's audience, very little attention is given to this area.

I spend a lot of the summer up along the St. Lawrence at the NY State campgrounds. It amazes me the amount of enhancement you folks get in that area, due to Lake Ontario. I can imagaine the disappointment when the enhancement dwindles in the winter months. It seems a normal occurance, at least during the summer, to receive any number of stations from Syracuse, Rochester and even Buffalo. We too have enhancement, but only under high pressure conditions typically. The occasional warm front in this area causes some enhancement too as the cold air gets trapped in the valley areas while the warmer air rides aloft over the area and acts as a mirror to tv frequencies.

As ell383 mentioned in a post about moving the antenna a few feet, I too have seen this true many times especially with my camper's antenna. Just moving the camper one way or another many times results in appreciable differences in reception of given channels.

Gary

[ell383]

Radio waves are funny somtimes I had an an apartment in downtown Kingston lived on 4th floor.it was in a hole and from inside I could get 94.9 K-rock and KG 104.3 and sometimes 96.9 WOUR. and my apartment was on the north side and utica is south and now with a big outdoor FM antenna only on the clear hot summer days can I get Utica in the radio and it fades in and out.

[PrinceLH]

Yes, the enhancements are great, in the summer months. We're finally starting to see the Syracuse and Rochester stations starting to come in more often. Lake Ontario is a great equalizer. Have not seen Utica, up here in Belleville, for a while.

[kq2n]

Utica's RF ch. 29 (virtual 2.1) and RF ch. 27 (virtual 33) are the powerhouses here in Utica and your best bets for enhanced reception. RF and virtual ch. 6out of Schenectady also has a great coverage area and would be assumably receivable under enhanced conditions of it weren't for Deseronto's CJOH analog 6. Does CJOH plan to remain on RF 6 after the digital transition?

Of note, I wondered why I don't ever receive CKWS 11, even under enhancement conditions. Looking at TVFool.com, I see that CKWS has a null towards the Utica area. Do you know why they would null a portion of NY State (Adams area) that would otherwise receive them?

[kq2n]

Utica's RF ch. 29 (virtual 2.1) and RF ch. 27 (virtual 33) are the powerhouses here in Utica and your best bets for enhanced reception. RF and virtual ch. 6out of Schenectady also has a great coverage area and would be assumably receivable under enhanced conditions of it weren't for Deseronto's CJOH analog 6. Does CJOH plan to remain on RF 6 after the digital transition?

Of note, I wondered why I don't ever receive CKWS 11, even under enhancement conditions. Looking at TVFool.com, I see that CKWS has a null towards the Utica area. Do you know why they would null a portion of NY State (Adams area) that would otherwise receive them?

[PrinceLH]

I have only seen RF27 from Utica, twice, up here in Belleville, due to Global's analog repeater, near Brighton Ontario. I do get RF29 quite often up here, during the summer and also see RF30 a fair amount, as well. Another summer visitor is also RF26 WTEN, out of Albany. RF34 and 43 also comes in occassionally, in the summer, when the tropo is right. Rumour has it, that CJOH RF6 will be going to RF49, when the changeover happens. That eliminates RF49 WNYO, from Buffalo, at the end of August. The CKWS null is probably due to the Tug Hill, going toward Utica.

[kq2n]

Didn't think RF 30 would make it that far, even in tropo conditions due to it's relative low power.

The CKWS null starts right at the transmiter site and not due to the Tug Hill. It's like it's blanked out for a segment. Check it out on TVFool.com

[ell383]

last night the sky's where open and I picked up a channel 16.7 for about 10 min.
WPBS was there too 16.1 .2 .3 but I can't figure out what 16-7 was it was audio only sounded like a pbs radio station but it wasn't WPBS I had 100% signal for WPBS and for 16.7 had 55% signal. It was one of the best nights I have had for T.V. DXing when I scanned for channels I got 8 analog and 52 digital witch I have never got. but the 16.7 puzzled me. If anyone knows what it is please let me Know.

[stampeder]

This thread is for reporting and discussing DXing, Tropo, and other odd reception in areas of Eastern Ontario and Quebec (from Trenton/Belleville through Cornwall and across Southern Quebec).

[Trip]

Originally Posted by ell383

last night the sky's where open and I picked up a channel 16.7 for about 10 min.
WPBS was there too 16.1 .2 .3 but I can't figure out what 16-7 was it was audio only sounded like a pbs radio station but it wasn't WPBS I had 100% signal for WPBS and for 16.7 had 55% signal. It was one of the best nights I have had for T.V. DXing when I scanned for channels I got 8 analog and 52 digital witch I have never got. but the 16.7 puzzled me. If anyone knows what it is please let me Know.

WXXI. http://www.rabbitears.info/market.ph...&callsign=wxxi

- Trip

[xilbus]

Oh no lets hope for the best for our dear antennas.

from the weather network

..Scattered strong thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds, large hail with a risk of a tornado.. This is an alert to the potential development of severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging winds or heavy rainfall..Monitor weather conditions and listen for updated bulletins.



Details
A line of thunderstorms is racing across Eastern Ontario ahead of a low pressure system over Manitoulin Island. The main concerns are damaging wind gusts to 90 km/h.

[wzardmtl]

I have the original CM 4228 (not the new one) on a 40 foot tower with a CM 3412. Previously got a good lock on 31. and 5.1. Not anymore. Any reason why? I'm getting CTV , CBC at 100 percent since they went live. And still get a good signal on 331. and 57.1, but no 3.1 or 5.1.

[mille]

Loss of signal NBC CBS

same for me, but only CBs, still have NBC.
Since CBMT and CBFT -DT moved to the Mt-Royal....could be interferences from them

[tvlurker]

Originally Posted by wzardmtl

I have the original CM 4228 (not the new one) on a 40 foot tower with a CM 3412. Previously got a good lock on 31. and 5.1. Not anymore. Any reason why? I'm getting CTV , CBC at 100 percent since they went live. And still get a good signal on 331. and 57.1, but no 3.1 or 5.1.

The 3412 is a distribution amp, not a preamp (but it does have a fairly good Noise Figure). You could be suffering from intermodulation products.
High power analog channel 17 mixing with CBC on channel 20 will put a spur into the middle of channel 14.
That problem will go away in the fall when channel 17 analog goes dark.

Not sure what the problem with WCAX on 22 is. Perhaps tropo from SRC in Ottawa.

[skipticum]

Anybody noticed the great OTA reception over the last 3-4 days? I have. That was the result of the tropo we had over our area. That should be gone by now.

I decided to move my outdoor mounted antenna to the attic, because it was not grounded (and I didn't want to go through the hassle of grounding it), and because I've observed only marginal improvement from the attic setup after having it outdoor for almost a year. Initially, I thought I will be loosing my wnyf (CBS and Fox) channels (I can already get all the locals, WCFE, and WNPI from my attic setup), but I was surprise after I connected my 7777 pre-amp to my home made XGH (modified) antenna in the attic to see that I lost nothing. The antenna I had outdoor was CM4221hd (modified).

I have a second XGH (modified) antenna (without pre-amp) that I pointed to the WPBS direction, and was able to get WWTI and WPBS. These are tropo dependent channels though, but I was not expect to see them with an antenna without a pre-amp in the attic.