ON - Vaughan/Richmond Hill//Markham/North of 407 - OTA

[stampeder]

bete_noir and gg22, if its a $$$ issue I would try raising the antenna first. If you want to test what difference a higher mount would be before committing to buying a roof mount, buy a 10 or 12 foot length of the cheapest 2x2 pine at Rona and mount your antenna on that as a test rig. Get an assistant to go up on the roof with that test rig and aim it in the same direction the antenna originally was in, while you go inside and scan all your channels again. If you get better results and you're satisfied, buy a proper roof mount and be happy. If your results aren't satisfactory, go with a proper roof mount but also proceed to the preamp option, saving the bigger antenna option for last. Sounds like you folks are neighbours, so you might think about doing this same test at each house.

Of course if you want to try a preamp from where the antennas already are mounted I'd be curious to see if that fixes the problems too. It might help, but then again sometimes all you are amplifying is poor signal so the results end up poor. The trouble with getting a bigger antenna is what to do with the one you've already got, unless you get a trade-in credit.

[bete_noir]

Originally Posted by videobruce

You live in the CN tower?

Nah, I'm scared of heights....

[bete_noir]

Originally Posted by gg22

bete_noir, looks like we have a similar set up.
I'm also located in the 16th & Bathurst area...

Hey, gg22 - we're neighbours. I'm about 5 kms away from you, North East direction...just up Bathurst and East on Weldrick, just before the lights at the school.

Yeah, this is the first decent antenna I've put up - not including sat dishes - so it is a learning process all the way. The pre-amp suggestion has occurred to me, but I don't wanna over-drive my receiver by amping up the powerful local signals from the CN Tower. Elevating the antenna is the most practical solution, although it may require a chimney mount since I cannot clear the eaves with a wall mount....you would have to stand off about two feet from the wall on my house and I'm not sure where I can purchase the necessary hardware. Didn't see it at Home Depot, that's for sure....



Don't think the bigger antenna would necessarily help, considering Yaamon has indicated from his tests that a lot of people are happier with the performance of the 4221. Later....

[gg22]

Originally Posted by bete_noir

Hey, gg22 - we're neighbours. I'm about 5 kms away from you, North East direction...

I think Yaamon can help you with the proper wall mount (even two feet from the wall). There is one more way to see if additional height will help... If you drive East on 16 Ave, after you pass Dufferin you will see house with roof mounted Winegard 4400 antenna. I always wanted to stop at this house and ask owner about his reception ... Maybe he is a member of this forum and can share his OTA results?

[bete_noir]

I'll take a look. Thanks...

[Yaamon]

With the proper height a 4221 should pull in the Buffalo stations.

If you drive by 18th and Woodbine south west corner you will see a 4221 that is mounted on the roof. I helped a friend with his install.

I brought my Samsung 451 for the install and pulled in 8 out of 10 on his Buffalo and 10 on the Toronto stations, after realising he had bad connectors. His cable run was not that long maybe 40 to 50'.

He is waiting to see my Jvc as he is interested in buying a 61FH96 with a atsc tuner built in.

At my new office location as of Dec 12th, 300 Steelcase Road W I will be setting up a 4221 as I will now have a clear view south. No more Monte Carlo Motel blocking my view.

I just bought from my local distributor a the Winegard AP4700 UHF preamp that has 19db of boost so it wont over drive some tuners. Its also about 20% cheaper than the Channel master 7775 preamp.

I was thinking of testing it out at the new location.

[bete_noir]

Someone asked me for an update on the reception issue so here it is: haven't really had much improvement by rotating more towards the South East....did manage to scan in channel 7-1 WKBW-HD but not very good reception. Stilll just seeing a few bars on 43-1 (PBS digital), so it looks as though I'm going to hafta go for more altitude as Yaamon suggested....perhaps an eave mount.

Mind you, in the current position it pulls all the local (Toronto) digital channels perfectly as well as getting the VHF stuff nicely...I was a little surprised by that but Global analog and TVO come in nice and clear! I guess my advice to anyone considering a similar setup (satellite dish mast and jam-fit 1 1/4" I.D. galvanized pipe) would be to go as high up as you can.....

Of course, you probably already knew that....

[Yaamon]

bete if you need I have stock of the wall mounts that extends out 12 or 18" from the wall.

By the way once you get a goos strong signal from Nbc from our Gta location Nbc is located south east. To get anything from Grand Island you need to be more west of Nbc. That is where Cbs/Upn (23), Fox and Pbs is being broadcasted from.

Tune for a good signal from Nbc and then swing the antenna slowly more west till Nbc slightly drops is signal and then check the Grand Island stations for signal.

Definately with more height and signal, the antenna position is not as critical as you getting a overall stronger signal.

[intrac]

When I first put up my CM4228, I was getting 4-1 consistently, along with 7-1, 23-1, 29-1, and 43-1 with 2-1 rather spotty.

However since 2-1 increased their power, 2-1 has been quite solid, but in the past few weeks, I've been unable to get 4-1.

Anybody else have this problem with 4-1?

I didn't mention 5-1, 9-1, 53-1 and 66-1 since they are local and solid.

[intrac]

Originally Posted by bete_noir

Someone asked me for an update on the reception issue so here it is: haven't really had much improvement by rotating more towards the South East....did manage to scan in channel 7-1 WKBW-HD but not very good reception. Stilll just seeing a few bars on 43-1 (PBS digital), so it looks as though I'm going to hafta go for more altitude as Yaamon suggested....perhaps an eave mount.

Mind you, in the current position it pulls all the local (Toronto) digital channels perfectly as well as getting the VHF stuff nicely...I was a little surprised by that but Global analog and TVO come in nice and clear! I guess my advice to anyone considering a similar setup (satellite dish mast and jam-fit 1 1/4" I.D. galvanized pipe) would be to go as high up as you can.....

Of course, you probably already knew that....

The 4221 has an average 10 dB gain across the band, while the 4228 has an average 12 dB gain. Not much difference, but the beamwidth is a bit tighter with the 4228, which will give you a better signal from a further distance. On the CM web page, the 4221 is listed at 45 miles while the 4228 is listed at 60 miles. (Your results may vary!)

I'm using a chimney mount, and the instructions say a max of 10 ft. I wish I could go a a bit higher. The CM antenna would'nt fit on a thicker mast than 1 1/4".

[bete_noir]

Yeah, I just barely got the u-bolts over the 1 1/4 " ID pipe....I think the wall thickness is about 1/8", so I guess OD is about 1 1/2 inches....it jams nicely into a satellite dish mast, anyway.

I've never received 4-1.....don't even know what that channel is. looks like I will hafta go up about 4 feet as Yaamon suggested if I wanna pull in all the B'low channels with any consistencey.

[Yaamon]

intrac 4-1 has been fine. Maybe you can try and rescan for that channel ?

Was showing some friends Csi tonight on 4-1 and 23-1 both had strong signals.

[intrac]

Originally Posted by Yaamon

intrac 4-1 has been fine. Maybe you can try and rescan for that channel ?

Was showing some friends Csi tonight on 4-1 and 23-1 both had strong signals.

4-1 came in this morning. First time in weeks. I didn't have to re-scan. It remained in my Channel Edit screen (a spread-sheet-like layout that shows the available channels after a scan).

[dougjp]

Refer my results for the 4221, including signal strength comparison with the RCA Indoor 30 db amplified antenna here:

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/for...&postcount=249

Where signal strength was measured by the TV for SD, it was the same as the stations' HD channels. Channel 49 is clear except a little ghosting, but easy to watch. Very happy!

[stampeder]

North of Toronto 16 floors up facing southwards
Sony 42A10

Results with RCA amplified indoor antenna

2.1 sometimes
4.1 sometimes
5.1 good
9.1 good
43.1 rarely without dropouts
53.1 good
66.1 good

5.1 and 9.1 had signal strength of 90 however the rest varied between 45 and 70 tops, with wide fluctuations.

Results with Channel Master 4221

All of these came in above 90 on the meter with proper aiming:
2.1
4.1
5.1
7.1
9.1
23.1
29.1
43.1
53.1
66.1