ON - Scarborough, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa - OTA

[byebye_cable]

Originally Posted by Tom.F.1

I've installed 7777 & 4221 at Coxwell and danforth area and it works great. with a splitter to 2 tv's.
Point the antenna directly at WGRZ. all the toronto stations will com in on the side.

So Tom would you recommend the 7777 or the 7778 for me? (Birchmount/Danforth, tv fool link above)

[mir]

I'm up by the university. I have a two story house and mounted a 4221HD in my attic (well, not exactly mounted - I actually have it wedged between two boards from one of the roof trusses. It aims straight south.

With this (very lazy) setup, and an 18db preamp I picked up at Durham Radio, I get everything (CBS, PBS, CBC, ABC, NBC, FOX, CITY, SUN, CW, MYTV).

The only channels I have trouble with are the 51.x channels, which sit around the 5% signal level according to my television. I have a three year old daughter so getting QUBO would be great. Anybody in Durham area get Qubo reliably?

Still pretty astonished at my results considering the half-arsed way I have it setup - but at this point, I'm wondering if there would be any benefit to putting it up on my roof (and the ensuining hassle involved with roof mounting in the winter!).

Thoughts?

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by mir

The only channels I have trouble with are the 51.x channels, which sit around the 5% signal level according to my television. I have a three year old daughter so getting QUBO would be great. Anybody in Durham area get Qubo reliably?

I am in the exact same situation, except I live in Scarberia. A 4221 leaning on roof trusses in the attic. I am really considering moving my antenna outdoors since it should allow for reliable reception of Qubo - mounting the antenna on your roof has to improve your reception for marginal stations. It might also allow you to pick up Rochester stations but that is unlikely to be of much benefit since that will just duplicate what you already get.

[stampeder]

mir it sounds like you should leave it be for the winter, but in the springtime when trees get leafy and atmospheric effects start to have more impact on reception you should definitely put it up on the roof.

[recneps77]

51's iffy in the wintertime.
In the summer it came in pretty much all the time. But now that things have cooled off (in both temp and atmospheric activity), more often than not, it's not coming in. (I'm not aiming specifically to get it though.. I'm talking off the side when aimed for buf/tor)

As stampeder said, wait for springtime and see what happens. Outdoors is always best, though.
At least by the school you've got some elevation on your side.

[Lineloss]

Anybody in Durham area get Qubo reliably?

Yep.... Mounting on the roof should get you that channel (considering you are able to detect it currently)

You know, it will be going above zero in a couple days!!! But the only way you might be allowed up there is in a Santa suit....

Cheers

[CaptainKen]

Having problems tuning in PBS 17.1 WNED

I usually get it at around 40% and it some days it drops out for a little while at a time. The last couple days the signal has been averaging lower with frequent dropouts. I even turned my antenna more directly to Buffalo -- average signal strength improved but the signal is still very intermittent with frequent dropouts.

Yesterday the weather was fairly clear with the wind picking up. Today it's more overcast, but radar is not showing any storm activity between Oshawa and Buffalo, not yet...

Let me know if any of you are have troubles tuning 17.1 WNED or if you have any ideas as to what's up. I should mention that most of the other Buffalo stations (including some that should be weaker than WNED) are coming in good, with the strange exception of 29.1 FOX which is usually strong for me but is now mostly dropped.

[Jase88]

CaptainKen: I just checked WNED, and it's coming in at the typical level for me here in Kitchener; without dropouts.

Whenever I've had problems with WNED (not often), it's typically caused by Detroit tropo--where the Detroit PBS affiliate is on the same channel as WNED. Though I haven't noticed any Detroit tropo recently....

[thenewdc]

I still get ION reliably in the Stouffville area although the signal has dropped in the cold weather to about 2 bars, and was usually fully peaked with above 0C temperatures.

[byebye_cable]

In the past few days, ION/QUBO have become spotty for me, as the temperature has dropped.

I have a 4221 mounted outside pointed at Buffalo. Does anyone have an opinion on what preamp would be good to improve this?

Quite fond of those channels, especially QUBO for the kids (Jane & the Dragon is a favorite in our house).

[DdDave]

Originally Posted by byebye_cable

In the past few days, ION/QUBO have become spotty for me, as the temperature has dropped.

I have a 4221 mounted outside pointed at Buffalo. Does anyone have an opinion on what preamp would be good to improve this?

Quite fond of those channels, especially QUBO for the kids (Jane & the Dragon is a favorite in our house).

It depends on your setup. You can read through theSignal Amplifiers (Amps, Preamps, Distro Amps) thread and find lots of info.

In a nutshell, you want to figure out how much signal loss you have between your antenna and your furthest TV from the antenna, and then get an amp 10dB higher than that number. You want an amp with a low noise margin so it doesn't add more noise to the signal. Post # 1 of the thread above has a chart of commonly available pre-amps, as well as a link to a loss calculator.

[Flagrum_3]

Hi guys noobie here! Just picked up a new TV with built in HD tuner, I'm situated in a condo building (no balcony).The view from my unit window is E-SE...I can see the lake and have no obstructions so I can see clearly to New York state on clear days...only problem is; to point SW, I'd be pointing thru the building!...Just hoping for input on what I should try/purchase to get some reception.What would be a good indoor antenna? Would a booster/amp be necessary etc; etc;?? Would really appreciate any help

Thanks,
F_3

[bigcam406]

it seems the most popular indoor antenna that is most recommended on this forum is either a Terk hdtva or a Philips silver sensor clone.i myself have been using a Philips Mant510 for 2 years,and im facing north in my apt with no balcony,and generally i can pick up between 10-15 digital stations,depending on the weather.your location is alot better than mine,so i dont see a problem with you receiving more stations.

[CaptainKen]

Thanks Jase for checking WNED 17.1 (PBS) for me. Interesting thot on the Detroit tropo; there must be some wacky explanation out there for what I'm experiencing with that channel.

I still have my antenna pointed more toward Buffalo than usual and almost all the Buffalo stations are coming in strong. Today WNED 17.1 is coming in solid at around 58% which is surprising as it is very overcast and raining. Last night there was no rain and no reception, no signal at all! FOX 29.1 is also not coming in, last night or today. Everything else from Buffalo is strong. This is unusual because I've generally got FOX 29.1 even when the other Buffalo stations are dropping out.

The PBS matter is a frustrating problem as I really WNED 17.1 for my kids and it doesn't seem like others from my area are having a problem with it. The mystery continues....

[recneps77]

That's definitely strange. I haven't heard of anyone around here having issues with PBS when they're pointed at buffalo.
Even if you're pointed at TO it's hard to not get it