BC - Victoria, The Island, Sunshine Coast, BC Interior, BC North - OTA

[kaal]

Anyone with great reception with HD in Victoria? Tell me what you've got, where you're located, stuff you're using, etc.

I'm sitting on a ridge in the Rockland area. Approx height is 60 meters above sea level. I'm overlooking Juan de Fuca Strait with no obstructions to the south and southeast.

I'm presently using a HDTV ready set with just a regular analogue cable connection. I've recently had serious problems with my vision in 1 eye (vitrectomy & scelera buckle) and want to see the best before or if my vision deteriorates further

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by kaal

Anyone with great reception with HD?

Sorry to hear about your medical troubles - I understand what you're saying.

There are some earlier posts in this thread about Victoria, but to sum it up there might be a problem with the Olympic mountain range being in the way of a clear shot at SeaTac stations, so it all depends on your location. Further up the Island's eastern shoreline SeaTac reception improves quite a bit.

Judging from your location I'd say you will probably have luck.

[harrybarry]

Originally Posted by kaal

Anyone with great reception with HD in Victoria? Tell me what you've got, where you're located, stuff you're using, etc.

Hi there

I used to receive good but inconsistent signals from Seattle-Tacoma area with CM4228 and Hughes STB.

I wanted to contact you but your PM is turned off. If you enable your PM
I would gladly share my HD experience with you.

Regards
Harry

[kaal]

Thanks to those of you who took the time to reply. While the FTA's & OTA's for HDTV are very strong financial motivations, I can't personally make myself the pioneer

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by kaal

Thanks to those of you who took the time to reply. While the FTA's & OTA's for HDTV are very strong financial motivations, I can't personally make myself the pioneer

That's the tough thing about Victoria and the south Island - with the Olympic Mountains in the way there's just not a solid SeaTac signal at this time. I feel your pain. My hope is that you folks will be able to get the new translators that are likely to come up in the Bellingham area in the future.

[rbears]

More than one dropout on that debate for sure!
Seriously, Cubt is solid for me in Vic. while Ctv is weaker than many of the Seattle digitals.
Kvos should be no problem once they come on.They will have good elevation as well. Kbcb is a strong signal here.

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by rbears

Cubt is solid for me in Vic. while Ctv is weaker than many of the Seattle digitals.

Thanks rbears - can you tell us a bit about your gear and if possible post some signal strength numbers for us? Have a look at my North Delta results posts earlier in this thread for a template if you like. cheers!

[sputnik]

Originally Posted by stampeder

How's CBUT-DT coming in where you are on the Island and up the Fraser Valley?

Here in Nanaimo were I am located, the signal from CBUT-DT 58 (2.1) seems more prone to drop-outs than CIVT-DT 33 (32.1). Both are more far more reliable than KCBC-DT 19 (24.1) which most of the time I can not recieve.

Thermal ducting over Georgia Straint and rain causes signal fade problems for all of the stations.

Definately not a reliable signal.

Its a joke the the CRTC let any of the Canadian stations broadcast with such minimal power. I guess that the ATSC transmiters are up primarily so they can sim-sub.

[rbears]

Location: Gorge/Tillicum area, north of the Gorge about 50' above sea level.
65 miles to Van. towers, 75/80 miles to Seattle towers,31milesto Bellingham.

Antenna #1 Channelmaster 3650 combo/rotator/7778preamp.UpsinceSept/99
Originally for analog, garage roof mast about 36' above grade.

Antenna # 2 A pair of RS U120R yagis/ horizontally stacked/rotator/RS 15-1109 pre-amp. Homemade coax-baluns. On a 3 section tower 35' above grade. Up since summer/ 04.

Receiver Samsung Sirt-150. Sept./02

Receive lots of analog from Van. Vic. Bell. and Seattle.

Digital; I will list the remapped channel #. Results for Jan.15/6:40 pm.

chan#---call--strength--picture--antenna---comment

2 --- cubt---7bars-----solid------Rs----5/6bars with Cm.
4--- komo---fluctuates-no--------Rs----seldom get this
5--- king--- 6bars-----solid-------Rs
7--- kiro--- 6bars------solid------Cm
9--- kcts---5-6bars--variable -----Rs---usually good
11-- kstw---0-5-6------no--------Rs---sometimes good
16-- kong---not much--no---------Rs---seldom get this
22-- ktwb---0-6bars--freezing-----Rs ---usually good.
24-- kbcb---7bars-----solid--------Rs
32-- civt--- 6bars-----solid--------Rs
33-- kwpx--6bars-odd pixilation----Rs
45--khcv---0-5-6------no---------Rs---usually get
51--kwog--0-5-6------no---------Rs---usually get

The Sirt-150 shows sig. strength in bars on a graph, (not %) goes up to 15.
This is 2 or 3 generations old now, newer receivers prob. better.
Reception from Seattle varies; Bad weather/fog/temp inversions over the straights can affect. The horizontal stack helps to null the multipath that affects atsc ota reception. The coax-balun improved sig. strength. I'll post some pictures on the pictures thread.

Regards to all, Rob

[rbears]

Pictures link in Pimp my gear thread:

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/for...ad.php?t=24755

..Rob

[34power]

rbears, stampeder - thanks for the great information.

I'm currently in Saanichton and wondering if the ATSC option on the sony KDFE versus the KFE is a good use of money. Initially, I wasn't thinking about going to digital cable, so the idea of a few OTA channels seems interesting.

There are certainly lots of tall trees between my house and Orcas Island, but it's quite close by. Am I more likely to get something out of the Sea-Tac corridor?

[stampeder]

34power, early posts in this thread deal with the issue of whether you can "see around" the Olympic Mountains down to SeaTac from the south Island, so you might need to get out a map and a straightedge to see if it clears fairly well from Saanichton. I would think so, but rbears and others would know from experience.

[danjorgensen]

I live in a apartment in milton street and i am on the 7th floor in the back and with my 27' 1997 sanyo tv, sumsung t151 astc tuner and outdoor amp. round radioshack antenna used inside, the antenna is small. I can pick up 3 hdtv channel but you need to play around the antenna to pick up the signal.

HD--Asg--Channel

19 - 24.1 KBCB
33 - 32.1 CTV Vancouver
58 - 02.1 CBC Vancouver

It very clear and it pick up better than analog signals but there is cutouts anlong the way.

I cant pick up any channels from seattle, wa because i don't have a window pointing south and east.

let me know when Global, CH, CityTV, A-Channel, KVOS or ChannelM come on the air on HD OTA.

[idearat]

rbears, Stampeder, I'm in essentially the same position as 34power above. Living in Sidney, 4th storey condo facing North but with a possibility of raising an antenna above the roofline... if it's discreet. Close to the best shot around the Olympics to be found on the peninsula.

I'm about to buy a plasma, and debating whether an internal tuner is worthwhile. I'll have Shaw digital, probably with an HD box, but wondering if there's more OTA HD to be had.

Thoughts appreciated... Perry.

[stampeder]

To have an ATSC tuner is always better than to not have one, especially when all those translator stations in Bellingham start to come up. Since you're on the north side of the building you'll probably get CBUT-DT out of Vancouver too. For SeaTac stations you'd need something like a Channel Master 4228 UHF antenna & preamp mounted up on a mast above the roofline by 6 to 10 feet. With a rotor you could sweep the antenna from the north-northeast to the south to get Vancouver-Bellingham-SeaTac.