OTA: Lk. Ontario Area DXing, Tropo, Atypical Reception - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

fgt · 2012-01-01, 10:49 AM

New channel for me last night. I was flipping through the manual tuning feature and noticed a signal coming in on channel 15 where Sun TV used to be. Moved the antenna a bit and it remapped to channel 19. Apparently it is Flint Michigan. It is another PBS channel. First time this has ever showed up for me. This morning I am getting some of the stations in from Rochester.

goforit · 2012-01-04, 11:26 AM

Last night ION - WPXJ (94 miles away, -15 NM) was booming in last night and the temperature was -10 C.

Who said tropo only occurs with temps are above freezing...

Jase88 · 2012-01-04, 02:26 PM

goforit, is it really that difficult to receive ION?! I catch this one on a regular basis all year around here in KW.

CenturyBreak · 2012-01-04, 07:25 PM

Well, the only way of getting WPXJ in Burlington is when 'bad tropo' over Lake Ontario is completely killing WUTV-DT... and occasionally other Buffalo-area stations!

goforit · 2012-01-04, 10:15 PM

Jase88, the only time ION comes in for me, is when there appears to be some tropo going on- other channels see a bounce in signal strength, like last night, which tells me something is going on in the atmosphere; it's interesting it's happening in sub-freezing weather.

Maybe the signal is receivable with a better set-up like yours, but for others with more modest set-ups, we need the help of the right atmosphere conditions to snag it, which occurs regularly during the warmer months of the year, and surprisingly in -10 C weather too; maybe it's something unique to digital signals over analog or something else... It seems to be occurring tonight a little, with BUF readings higher than normal, but not enough to lock in ION.

Jase88 · 2012-01-05, 12:35 AM

My setup might not be the key here. I believe my area is significantly higher above sea level than most of Hamilton. What's your height ASL? I'm about 350m.

wilspin · 2012-01-05, 07:18 PM

Was it just me or was last year really poor for those multi day tropos?

goforit · 2012-01-05, 08:46 PM

Jase88, I'm 639 feet and then 35 for the tower, so about 670 feet, so about 220m..., so not as high as you.

Additionally, the Highland area of Hamilton is east of me (prime OTA land!) plus the CHCH tower is about 2 miles from my house- which makes getting ION more difficult even though I'm closer than you.

Interestingly, ION was coming in this evening, how is it at your location?

Jase88 · 2012-01-05, 11:42 PM

goforit, no ION tonight for me...not even a hint.

Jase88 · 2012-01-05, 11:44 PM

Wilspin, I thought 2011 was an average year. Maybe a little more consistency caused by slightly less tropo or hotter average temps, but I still had some good catches last year.

wilspin · 2012-01-06, 11:24 PM

In 2010 I watched Syracuse for days on end no drop outs, 2011 not even an hour at a time.

Goldielover · 2012-03-12, 10:52 AM

Getting my first hint of tropo for the season today. Am picking up:

24.1 WJET Erie
31.1 CITY Woodstock
35.1 WSEE Erie
35.2 WBEP Erie
51.1 ION
51.2 qubo
51.3 IONLIFE
54.1 WQLN-HDErie
51.2 WQLN-S1 Erie
51.3 WQLN-S2 Erie
66.1 WFXP Erie

Signals aren't as strong as they will be later on, but this is a definite sign of spring in the air.

Garth J · 2012-03-15, 06:00 AM

Nice catches Goldielover! Haven't seen any Erie in my neck of the woods this year so far!

Going to bed now after staying up all night watching Rochester, Syracuse & Utica! No new catches, but was great to see some "old friends" return with this great weather!

From Rochester, NY I got WXXI (RF16), WUHF (RF28) and WROC (RF45). (No sign at all of the new WBGT-CA signal on RF46...not even a blink! Does anyone know how much power they're running right now? I still see a stronger "blink" from W42CO which is lower powered than WGBT-CA is supposed to be.)

Syracuse, NY's WSTM (RF24) came in for about an hour around 3am!

Utica, NY's WKTV (RF29) squeaked in for a few minutes around 5:15am-ish, but faded quickly after that!

Good to see the season starting up!

Goldielover · 2012-03-15, 11:44 AM

Garth, I face west, so usually find it a bit more common to pick up Erie or Cleveland than I do Syracuse, Utica or even Rochester. WQLN Erie and CITY Woodstock in particular I consider to be "summer regulars".

I have my Clearstream 2V now, by the way. Inside, it seems roughly equivalent to my trusty Terk, although I don't have it properly mounted yet and haven't played with it a whole lot. Where I think it will come into its own is when I put it out on the balcony. That was always very hard to do with the Terk, as it has a very short cable permanently attached, and I didn't have an extension cable for it.

Geo35 · 2012-03-16, 06:59 PM

21-WXXI Rochester, 8-WROC and 9-WSYR Syracuse have made their first appearances for me this year. WXXI has been stable, WROC and WSYR are cutting in and out.

2012-01-01, 10:49 AM	#1
fgt Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Brantford near Gretsky centre Posts: 70	OTA: Lk. Ontario Area DXing, Tropo, Atypical Reception New channel for me last night. I was flipping through the manual tuning feature and noticed a signal coming in on channel 15 where Sun TV used to be. Moved the antenna a bit and it remapped to channel 19. Apparently it is Flint Michigan. It is another PBS channel. First time this has ever showed up for me. This morning I am getting some of the stations in from Rochester.

2012-01-04, 11:26 AM	#2
goforit Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hamilton Mtn. Posts: 1,458	Winter Tropo Last night ION - WPXJ (94 miles away, -15 NM) was booming in last night and the temperature was -10 C. Who said tropo only occurs with temps are above freezing... __________________ 91XG, C5, CPA-19; Denon AVR-1312

2012-01-04, 02:26 PM	#3
Jase88 Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kitchener, ON Posts: 4,110	goforit, is it really that difficult to receive ION?! I catch this one on a regular basis all year around here in KW. __________________ DMX 68' tower, HyGain HAM 5 rotator, Antennas Direct 91-XG & C5, Channel Master 7777 preamp, Siemens surge protection

2012-01-04, 10:15 PM	#5
goforit Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hamilton Mtn. Posts: 1,458	Jase88, the only time ION comes in for me, is when there appears to be some tropo going on- other channels see a bounce in signal strength, like last night, which tells me something is going on in the atmosphere; it's interesting it's happening in sub-freezing weather. Maybe the signal is receivable with a better set-up like yours, but for others with more modest set-ups, we need the help of the right atmosphere conditions to snag it, which occurs regularly during the warmer months of the year, and surprisingly in -10 C weather too; maybe it's something unique to digital signals over analog or something else... It seems to be occurring tonight a little, with BUF readings higher than normal, but not enough to lock in ION. __________________ 91XG, C5, CPA-19; Denon AVR-1312

2012-01-05, 12:35 AM	#6
Jase88 Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kitchener, ON Posts: 4,110	My setup might not be the key here. I believe my area is significantly higher above sea level than most of Hamilton. What's your height ASL? I'm about 350m. __________________ DMX 68' tower, HyGain HAM 5 rotator, Antennas Direct 91-XG & C5, Channel Master 7777 preamp, Siemens surge protection

2012-01-04, 07:25 PM	#4
CenturyBreak Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burlington, ON Posts: 422	Well, the only way of getting WPXJ in Burlington is when 'bad tropo' over Lake Ontario is completely killing WUTV-DT... and occasionally other Buffalo-area stations!

2012-01-05, 07:18 PM	#7
wilspin Corporate Supporter Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rice Lake near Bewdley Posts: 637	NON Event 2011 Was it just me or was last year really poor for those multi day tropos? __________________ 60' Delhi tower,91XG,Y13-10,DB8,Tin Lee Traps,CM9521A,CM7777,CM7000,Winegard RC-1010 & HDA200,Samsung 32 LCD,2 WTV950Q Twinntech supports Digital Home

2012-01-05, 08:46 PM	#8
goforit Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hamilton Mtn. Posts: 1,458	Jase88, I'm 639 feet and then 35 for the tower, so about 670 feet, so about 220m..., so not as high as you. Additionally, the Highland area of Hamilton is east of me (prime OTA land!) plus the CHCH tower is about 2 miles from my house- which makes getting ION more difficult even though I'm closer than you. Interestingly, ION was coming in this evening, how is it at your location? __________________ 91XG, C5, CPA-19; Denon AVR-1312

2012-01-05, 11:42 PM	#9
Jase88 Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kitchener, ON Posts: 4,110	goforit, no ION tonight for me...not even a hint. __________________ DMX 68' tower, HyGain HAM 5 rotator, Antennas Direct 91-XG & C5, Channel Master 7777 preamp, Siemens surge protection

2012-01-05, 11:44 PM	#10
Jase88 Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kitchener, ON Posts: 4,110	Wilspin, I thought 2011 was an average year. Maybe a little more consistency caused by slightly less tropo or hotter average temps, but I still had some good catches last year. __________________ DMX 68' tower, HyGain HAM 5 rotator, Antennas Direct 91-XG & C5, Channel Master 7777 preamp, Siemens surge protection

2012-01-06, 11:24 PM	#11
wilspin Corporate Supporter Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rice Lake near Bewdley Posts: 637	In 2010 I watched Syracuse for days on end no drop outs, 2011 not even an hour at a time. __________________ 60' Delhi tower,91XG,Y13-10,DB8,Tin Lee Traps,CM9521A,CM7777,CM7000,Winegard RC-1010 & HDA200,Samsung 32 LCD,2 WTV950Q Twinntech supports Digital Home

2012-03-12, 10:52 AM	#12
Goldielover Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Toronto (Midtown) Posts: 248	A sign of things to come.... Getting my first hint of tropo for the season today. Am picking up: 24.1 WJET Erie 31.1 CITY Woodstock 35.1 WSEE Erie 35.2 WBEP Erie 51.1 ION 51.2 qubo 51.3 IONLIFE 54.1 WQLN-HDErie 51.2 WQLN-S1 Erie 51.3 WQLN-S2 Erie 66.1 WFXP Erie Signals aren't as strong as they will be later on, but this is a definite sign of spring in the air.

2012-03-15, 06:00 AM	#13
Garth J Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Markham, Ontario Posts: 114	Nice catches Goldielover! Haven't seen any Erie in my neck of the woods this year so far! Going to bed now after staying up all night watching Rochester, Syracuse & Utica! No new catches, but was great to see some "old friends" return with this great weather! From Rochester, NY I got WXXI (RF16), WUHF (RF28) and WROC (RF45). (No sign at all of the new WBGT-CA signal on RF46...not even a blink! Does anyone know how much power they're running right now? I still see a stronger "blink" from W42CO which is lower powered than WGBT-CA is supposed to be.) Syracuse, NY's WSTM (RF24) came in for about an hour around 3am! Utica, NY's WKTV (RF29) squeaked in for a few minutes around 5:15am-ish, but faded quickly after that! Good to see the season starting up!

2012-03-15, 11:44 AM	#14
Goldielover Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Toronto (Midtown) Posts: 248	Garth, I face west, so usually find it a bit more common to pick up Erie or Cleveland than I do Syracuse, Utica or even Rochester. WQLN Erie and CITY Woodstock in particular I consider to be "summer regulars". I have my Clearstream 2V now, by the way. Inside, it seems roughly equivalent to my trusty Terk, although I don't have it properly mounted yet and haven't played with it a whole lot. Where I think it will come into its own is when I put it out on the balcony. That was always very hard to do with the Terk, as it has a very short cable permanently attached, and I didn't have an extension cable for it.

2012-03-16, 06:59 PM	#15
Geo35 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Scarberia Posts: 150	21-WXXI Rochester, 8-WROC and 9-WSYR Syracuse have made their first appearances for me this year. WXXI has been stable, WROC and WSYR are cutting in and out.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode