BC - City of Vancouver, North Van, West Van - OTA

[thenewguy]

Originally Posted by gkyc

What's your antenna's orientation?

I have the antenna on the 2nd floor on the window ledge on the north side of the house. When i had it on the main floor in the south corner i had no luck with CTV-HD, but was amazed with the signal change when i moved the antenna upstairs. What is your set-up?

[stampeder]

Tip for thenewguy: just click on his user name in one of his posts and click on "find more posts by..." and you'll see what info he's provided already about his OTA gear.

[Michael DeAbreu]

I just installed my new ATI HDTV Wonder card. I set up the supplied table top antenna pointing due east. Without any real effort, in Lynn Valley I can pick up:

 2-1   CBC    1080i   Vancouver HD     (Signal Strength ~88%) 
32-1   CTV    1080i   CIVT DT          (Signal Strength ~66%)
24-1   KBCB    480i   Independent      (Signal Strength <50%)

CBC and CTV have occasional drop-outs (~3/hr) especially when a scene changes abruptly. KBCB stutters badly until I move the antenna to a window.

[gkyc]

Originally Posted by thenewguy

I have the antenna on the 2nd floor on the window ledge on the north side of the house. When i had it on the main floor in the south corner i had no luck with CTV-HD, but was amazed with the signal change when i moved the antenna upstairs. What is your set-up?

The antenna is on the ground-floor on the north side of the building. I've been wanting to try upstair but have been too lazy to move the TV. (Plus, I don't want my TV upstair.)

Anyone know if there are standalone ATSC tuners available? I have a small NTSC CRT monitor (Sony ProFeel PVM-2030) upstair that I currently use with a DVD player. Being able to display "down-sampled" HD content would be nice...

George

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by gkyc

Anyone know if there are standalone ATSC tuners available?

See the OTA Equipment Dealers, Sources & Installers thread for a gentleman in the Lower Mainland who sells them.

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by Michael DeAbreu

Without any real effort, in Lynn Valley I can pick up...

That's a great start since some parts of N. Van. have to worry about Grouse Mountain being in the way of the Mt. Seymour antenna farm (see Jeffnoone's posts in this thread). That problem doesn't seem to apply to Lynn Valley, does it?

No matter, with an outdoor antenna affixed to the east side of your dwelling you will get rock solid signal from all three of the stations you listed. Are you allowed antennas/sat dishes there?

[Michael DeAbreu]

No, our strata doesn't allow external antennas. As more Bellingham transmitters become available, I might try an antenna in my attic.

Funny story, I had to return some inexpensive Cyber Acoustics PC speakers because they clearly picked up a radio station. I later found out that some neighbours had exactly the same problem. I assume it's because we are so close to the Mt. Seymour transmitters. What a great place; clean air, mountains and free radio on my fillings!

[blakew]

I didn't think this was possible, but I'm now able to pickup KBCB on 24.1. Albeit severly pixelated, I've got a lock when I've never been able to get one before. I'm getting a signal strength between 56-59% with a SNR of 16db.

Does anyone know if they've upped the ERP? I know I've just recently got the Sharpshooter, but I don't think I can give it all the credit.

[gkyc]

Hi,

So I had "4DTV HD" come over to my place this past Sunday afternoon for a site survey. I'm located in Vancouver east between Joyce Station and 29th Avenue (about 350ft above sea-level, according to Google Earth).

Greg showed up on time and brought a Squareshooter and a scope. We spent about 90 minutes at various parts of the house where I was considering mounting an antenna. On the whole, it was an informative session and gave me some objective data to decide on the next steps.

The results:
1. While Greg's Squareshooter did improved analog reception inside the house, it was not better than my current Silver Sensor for HD channels (CBC HD or CTV HD).
2. That is, the signal strength of CBC HD indoor with the Squareshooter was comparable to my current Silver Sensor (about 20/21dB, according to my BRAVIA's diagnostic mode).
3. I have not been able to receive CTV HD with the Silver Sensor mounted indoor. The Squareshooter (either indoors or out) did not change this. <sigh>
4. We were able to get good signal from the Squareshooter at the top floor of my house. In particular, signal from both Mt. Seymour and Bellingham were nice and strong almost independently of the direction. I'm gonna be getting something external installed once the Bellingham repeaters are viable.
5. The most surprising result was with the Silver Sensor outdoor. I was able to get a big 6dB (21 vs 27dB) boost on CBC HD.

George

[blakew]

do you have line of sight to Mt.Seymour (either 1st floor or 2nd floor)? At what db were american stations coming in at? You might find the best success with ch 48.1 KING-DT, as I get slight activity at nighttime. I'm able to a 12db lock (but no picture or audio) for a split second.

[jimmyjjames]

I am new at all this OTA stuff. I just bought myself a TV, connect some old RCA rabbit ears to my TV and presto I got CBC HD and CTV HD. But I was wondering if it is at all possible or has anyone been able to receive any digital signals from the states in the North Vancouver area. I don't want to go out and purchase equipment only to realise that I can only get the channels I have now.

[stampeder]

jimmyjjames, we don't yet have a lot of practical experience with U.S. DTV reception from your area in this forum, but we do have some reports going back to the beginning of this thread so please have a look.

Depending on your location in N. Van., how high up you are, and whether you have a good southwards view for an outdoor antenna, U.S. reception might be possible with deep fringe gear. Keep in mind that a bunch of low power repeaters are likely going to be coming up in Bellingham within the next 2 years (FCC has already issued construction permits) so an antenna will be a great thing to have.

Click on the links in my signature for more info about OTA.

[gkyc]

Originally Posted by blakew

do you have line of sight to Mt.Seymour (either 1st floor or 2nd floor)?

I've got a line of sight to Seymour from the 2nd floor. But the TV is located on the first floor and does not have an unobstructed line to Mt. Seymour. I'm betting that I'm likely receiving a multipath signal.

At what db were american stations coming in at?

Alas, the BRAVIA doesn't report on the signal strength for analog channels. Plus, I'm not getting any American analog channels. Or did you mean the American HD channels?

You might find the best success with ch 48.1 KING-DT, as I get slight activity at nighttime. I'm able to a 12db lock (but no picture or audio) for a split second.

I let the BRAVIA do its channel scan when I first bought the Silver Sensor and it detected only 1 HD channel (CBC HD). Until I get an outdoor antenna, I don't think anything can change.

With CTV HD, I too get 14dB split-second lock with no picture or audio with the Silver Sensor. Alas, the Squareshooter didn't change that.

George

[blakew]

Do you think you can get a db of 17 or greater with your silver sensor on the 2nd floor running a cable to the first floor (by any means nessesary)? Maybe bring your BRAVIA upstairs to try it out (I know, it ain't light I have the same tv)?

How's the picture quality of your analogs? Global, A-chan, CTV, and Chan-M. Static, multipath distortions, ghosting? I think you'll find if you move where your antenna is, you'll significantly increase the db for your digital channels, and clear up your analogs.

What is your signal strength and snr for CBC-DT?

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by gkyc

I had "4DTV HD" come over to my place this past Sunday afternoon for a site survey.

Very smart move. That is how you get realistic expectations and information about your exact situation from a professional.

Originally Posted by gkyc

We spent about 90 minutes at various parts of the house where I was considering mounting an antenna. On the whole, it was an informative session and gave me some objective data to decide on the next steps.

Good luck with your new information and ideas. Let us know what you decide to do.