MB/SK - Winnipeg, Brandon, Regina, Saskatoon, Prairies - OTA

[stampeder]

Thanks for that cosmic_kid, that means that parts of SE Saskatchewan and SW Manitoba might be able to get KXMC-DT 45 (CBS) and KSRE-DT 40 (PBS) from Minot.

Is the PBS channel also showing "Think TV" in SD?

[Bernie]

Is there any chance I can get an OTA signal from Fargo ND to canadian channels?
Specifically, I would like to get CBC.

[tvlurker]

Is there any chance I can get an OTA signal from Fargo ND to canadian channels?

There is no digital CBC OTA between Toronto and Vancouver, at least not until probably 2011.

Don't know if you could get CBWT Winnipeg analog down in Fargo -- I doubt it. According to TVFool at http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...bwt%26type%3dA , CBWT doesn't even cover Grand Forks, let alone Fargo. TVFool is not always accurate with Canadian stations, but I think in this case you could trust it.

[knollr]

Hello,
I have spent the last hour reading and it has been incredibly interesting and informative. I live in West St.Paul just a few minutes North of Winnipeg. I have been relying on "farmer vision" as my friends call it since I moved out here years ago.

I receive 6 CBC, 7 CTV, 9 Global, 12 FOX from Grand Forks KNRR, and 13 CITY. I have had a fixed VHF antenna on the roof for years that is aimed at the happy medium location to get 12 and 6 decently. I recently purchased a Panasonic plasma with an ATSC tuner and the noise on my new 58" is clearer than ever! I am now interested in putting some time into installing a rotor, replacing my RG59 with RG6, putting an amp on the mast instead of in the basement, ect.

I spent the day trying to find a Channel Master dealer here in town that turned into a waste of time, but I did stumble on your site which has been great. I read about the 4228, 4242, the Delhi VIP 306 and the 7777 amp. But here is my predicament so far. I read the section on what OTA may be available for me out here and there was nothing listed.

Am I lead to believe that all that is available to me is "farmer vision" as listed above? If so that is so be it but I would still like to put together a decent system for what is available to me. Also, I will need to know where I can order the required parts from. By the way, I have few obstructions as I am in surrounded farmers fields and have a direct shot south.

Thank-you for this opportunity and I look forward to hearing your advice. Thanks!

[recneps77]

Welcome, Knollr!
If you check the call letters of the stations in wikipedia, you will often get their DT designation, and if it is up yet. It's probably safe to assume that the canadian ones will not be available to you (yet), but the FOX should be, since they have to switch by feb. (at the very least, you should get it then, distance permitting, of course)

I checked the fox, KNRR, and it appears to be on UHF15.
Since you have a VHF antenna, that's probably why you're not seeing it (too low signal in the UHF range)

It would be safe to assume that a UHF+VHF combo antenna will be needed in the future, as most stations are moving to mainly UHF as part of the DTV switch.

Hope that helps you some

[knollr]

Thanks recneps. Sounds like the CM4228 is the way to go. Can I stack this with my existing VHF on a rotar? If so do I need some type of combiner? Lastly, where in Canada can I get Channel Master bits?

Many Thanks

[recneps77]

Honestly, I don't know of any locally in MB. You could order it online, but it is a massive box, so shipping would be quite expensive.
Your best bet is to make a post in here

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=51079

and see if someone can help you out

[stampeder]

Hi knollr, if any Digital OTA stations pop up in the Winnipeg area other than the one already broadcasting from FOX in Pembina, ND we'll be posting it here asap, but for now you are strictly in analogue country. You can look up Industry Canada's list of present and future channel assignments for Manitoba at this link:

http://www.user.dccnet.com/jonleblan...ons/index.html

[knollr]

You guys are great! Hard to believe there is such a valuable resource so close by! Based on the info provided the best I can do is upgrade my system to receive the VHF channels available to me as best as possible as there is no UHF around to grab for a while. My current Channel Master is an unknown model and is not on a rotor. Please let me know if the following is the direction to follow:

IF I want to be ready for the future, go with a Delhi VIP 306 and a CM 4228 with a CM 7777 all on RG6.

If I just want to chase VHF Use a Delhi HD-2900 to obtain a better KNRR.

If I use deep fringe, and am north of the city by only a mile or so, how will that effect the local stations such as CTV and CBC? Will the gain be too much and just make the close stations worse?

Thanks for all of your assistance gentleman. Much appreciated.

[stampeder]

KNRR-DT will be using VHF High channel 12 after February so all your stations will be on VHF for a few years.

My advice is to go with either the Delhi 306 VHF & CM4228 UHF mounted together or else with a Delhi 936 VHF/UHF combo antenna with VU-8PZ kit for simpler installation. Either option guarantees that a UHF antenna will be there for you if/when UHF channels are used in Canada's digital cutover. Industry Canada's database says UHF channels will be used.

From your location in West St. Paul your desired Canadian stations are all in the same general area while KNRR is quite a ways south but on the same relative line. CKND is to the west of Winnipeg a bit, but I'm sure you'll get it just fine, so I believe you can go without a rotor.

[roger1818]

knollr, since KNRR-DT will be reverting to 12 in February, my inclination would be to leave your antenna alone until you have a better idea what is going to happen with your local stations unless it ends up not being adequate to receive KNRR-DT on 12. There is always a chance that the UHF allocations won't be used if the stations decide to flash cut in 2011.

[microware]

Hiya knollr,
Good questions.
To answer you, there are...unfortunately no digital over the air stations one can receive via antennas (VHF/UHF) in your area, or for that matter in all of Manitoba.

You can however receive analog Channel 3 VHF, which is CBC French (CBWFT)...of course, if you do not speak/understand Canadian French, it is for the most point pointless.
You can also more than likely receive analog UHF channel (known as JoyTV 11 on Shaw and MTS) on UHF channel....well I can't remember, but the last time I checked it was on UHF channel 30 something, if I recall correctly....I have given up on OTA channels for the most part, since I have StarChoice and Shaw Cable.

I disconnected my UHF and VHF antennas after I lost hope and gave up trying to ever getting OTA digital in my area of southeastern Manitoba...at least until 2015 or past that year.

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by microware

none of the Winnipeg based stations have any plans in place, nor funding available to implement digital broadcasting

Who did you get this information from?

[stampeder]

Posts here were starting to drift off topic into a more general discussion of the Canadian analogue OTA cutoff, so I relocated them to this thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=92740

We'll stick with specific Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Territories OTA reception discussion here again.

[microware]

Originally Posted by stampeder

Who did you get this information from?

Sorry for the late reply Stampeder..

But, unlike you, I actually live in Southern Manitoba, so my experiences with OTA reception are real, and not just guess work and/or projections of what may or may not happen within the next few years. I have actual contact with the local TV stations and I have contacted them all, on a continuous basis, regarding the transition from analog to digital OTA transmission and reception.

If you go back a few years in this forum, I'm sure you'll find raw raw hopes of OTA digital reception for southern Manitoba by none other than yourself, even though none of it has come to frutition. But you know what...no big deal.

All I am doing is providing the real up to date situation of OTA digital (as well as analog) in southern Manitoba, as IT REALLY IS, RIGHT NOW.

And I am not trying to be negative, misleading, nor anti-OTA digital.
That is the bottom line.