AB - Calgary, Lethbridge, Southern Alberta - OTA - Page 78 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

poutanen · 2011-08-24, 07:23 PM

querty, if you're using an indoor antenna you might want to try an outdoor mounted in your attic, or even hidden in a closet. I gave up pretty quick on indoor antennas when I found that a 4-bay in the attic could pull in WAY more stations...

Baslim · 2011-08-24, 07:33 PM

Quote:

I gave up pretty quick on indoor antennas when I found that a 4-bay in the attic could pull in WAY more stations...

Trouble is we've only got (and only can get) 6 stations, one of which (CBC French analog 23) has been unusable for the last week. All of those stations are local: my position is 1 mile from CBC/CBCFr, 4 miles from Global/CJIL, 5 miles from CTV and 6 miles from CITY.

querty-m4n · 2011-08-24, 08:26 PM

I don't have an attic. I wish I could use a better antenna, but I'm not able to have one. Too small of a room. Thanks for the idea though, as it has come to mind.

The idea was to use my 13 year old 19" CRT in my bedroom so I could catch the local news.

I wanted to give away my TV but since it still has some useful life left in it, I thought I might use it for a few more years. Besides, who knows when the cable goes out?

I just checked TVFool and Rabbit Ears site and wasn't surprised that CJIL is a little bit out of my coverage area.

7.1, 10, 13 (13.1 soon) all are coming in very strong in my area at the moment.

Regarding outside antennas, I'm facing the wrong direction. I have to let the signals bounce off of buildings and other structures just to get something. The roof is not inaccessible by myself and other tenants in the building.

poutanen · 2011-08-24, 11:01 PM

Another thing you might want to try is building yourself a UHF square loop. I've built a few antennas after buying 4 store bought outdoor units, and had great results with homebuilt antennas for specific purposes.

I really wish the CRTC would have a policy similar to the FCC allowing anyone to have an antenna on their roof or apartment/condo roof.

vap57 · 2011-08-25, 12:59 PM

querty-m4n, you might want to consider a ClearStream 2. It's designed or outdoor use, but many (including myself) use it as an indoor antenna. It works extremely well. It is compact, to boot.

querty-m4n · 2011-08-25, 02:33 PM

Quote:

From the site:

Consistent gain through the entire UHF DTV channel spectrum

Totally new engineering for post-2009 UHF DTV frequencies

Only issue is that is a UHF antenna and there's two VHF channels 7 & 13 in my area. I would only receive channel RF 46 with the Colorstream 2.

It is a nice looking antenna. I noticed that it has an option to use a base indoors.

I'll keep my options open. Thanks for the suggestions

^ This is my bedroom TV.

vap57 · 2011-08-25, 02:46 PM

qwerty...if you go to the Antennas Direct website, you will find that they now have a CS2 "Complete" that receives VHF. It may work for you. For UHF, it is a powerhouse of an antenna.

querty-m4n · 2011-08-25, 02:49 PM

I must have searched for the wrong one. Oops. Thanks for re-directing me.

msharp · 2011-08-25, 06:51 PM

Okay I live in Hidden Valley in Calgary and when I hook my antenna (it is a cheep one) up to my HDTV and do a scan for OTA channels all I can get is CTV analog. Zero digital channels

Am I just in a reception shadow area from Nose Hill park or am I doing something wrong? Would a $100 antenna solve my problems. I did make an antenna from a YouTube how to video and had the same results as my other store bought antenna.

frontpl8 · 2011-08-25, 08:30 PM

maybe try punching in your address in to tv fool and see what it gives you. If your using an indoor antenna it might not be getting a signal, you may need to try moving it to different locations to see if that helps, ie near a window, and maybe higher up.Also the antenna must be capable of recieving UHF channels. If its just plain rabbit ears it probably won't work since all digital channels in Calgary are broadcasting on UHF frequencies.

msharp · 2011-08-25, 08:52 PM

Just found TV Fool and it does show me in a signal week area because of a hill between me and the TV tower. I guess I'll have to get something on the larger size to stick in my attic.

andrela · 2011-08-25, 10:36 PM

msharp: Would you like to post the link to your TVfool result? There are some of the most knowledgeable users on the forum that may be able to help in your setup. Hidden Valley area may be almost impossible to get a signal depending where you are located (TVfool link does not provide your personal info.)

downbeat · 2011-08-26, 03:12 AM

@msharp: Welcome to the forum.
Apart from using tvfool.com to share some useful info, as other members has suggested, do take a moment to see these helpful instruction for new members.
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=125161
That will help you provide us with the right info so we can all help you better.

Billsmith · 2011-08-26, 01:13 PM

msharp - what is the nearest intersection to your location. This will help us to determine what TVfool predicts?

msharp · 2011-08-26, 09:55 PM

I am close to Hidden Valley Dr. and Shaganappi

these are my results
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9e74cc5a57710d

2011-08-24, 08:26 PM	#1158
querty-m4n Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Posts: 316	I don't have an attic. I wish I could use a better antenna, but I'm not able to have one. Too small of a room. Thanks for the idea though, as it has come to mind. The idea was to use my 13 year old 19" CRT in my bedroom so I could catch the local news. I wanted to give away my TV but since it still has some useful life left in it, I thought I might use it for a few more years. Besides, who knows when the cable goes out? I just checked TVFool and Rabbit Ears site and wasn't surprised that CJIL is a little bit out of my coverage area. 7.1, 10, 13 (13.1 soon) all are coming in very strong in my area at the moment. Regarding outside antennas, I'm facing the wrong direction. I have to let the signals bounce off of buildings and other structures just to get something. The roof is not inaccessible by myself and other tenants in the building. Last edited by querty-m4n; 2011-08-24 at 11:56 PM.

2011-08-25, 06:51 PM	#1164
msharp Rookie Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 3	Calgary (Hidden Valley) Okay I live in Hidden Valley in Calgary and when I hook my antenna (it is a cheep one) up to my HDTV and do a scan for OTA channels all I can get is CTV analog. Zero digital channels Am I just in a reception shadow area from Nose Hill park or am I doing something wrong? Would a $100 antenna solve my problems. I did make an antenna from a YouTube how to video and had the same results as my other store bought antenna.

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2011-08-24, 07:23 PM	#1156
poutanen Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Calgary Posts: 220	querty, if you're using an indoor antenna you might want to try an outdoor mounted in your attic, or even hidden in a closet. I gave up pretty quick on indoor antennas when I found that a 4-bay in the attic could pull in WAY more stations...

2011-08-24, 11:01 PM	#1159
poutanen Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Calgary Posts: 220	Another thing you might want to try is building yourself a UHF square loop. I've built a few antennas after buying 4 store bought outdoor units, and had great results with homebuilt antennas for specific purposes. I really wish the CRTC would have a policy similar to the FCC allowing anyone to have an antenna on their roof or apartment/condo roof.

2011-08-25, 12:59 PM	#1160
vap57 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Mississauga, ON: North of Dundas on west side of Winston Churchill between Laird & Orleans. Posts: 107	querty-m4n, you might want to consider a ClearStream 2. It's designed or outdoor use, but many (including myself) use it as an indoor antenna. It works extremely well. It is compact, to boot.

2011-08-25, 02:46 PM	#1162
vap57 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Mississauga, ON: North of Dundas on west side of Winston Churchill between Laird & Orleans. Posts: 107	qwerty...if you go to the Antennas Direct website, you will find that they now have a CS2 "Complete" that receives VHF. It may work for you. For UHF, it is a powerhouse of an antenna.

2011-08-25, 02:49 PM	#1163
querty-m4n Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Lethbridge, Alberta Posts: 316	I must have searched for the wrong one. Oops. Thanks for re-directing me.

2011-08-25, 08:30 PM	#1165
frontpl8 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Strathmore, Ab Posts: 214	maybe try punching in your address in to tv fool and see what it gives you. If your using an indoor antenna it might not be getting a signal, you may need to try moving it to different locations to see if that helps, ie near a window, and maybe higher up.Also the antenna must be capable of recieving UHF channels. If its just plain rabbit ears it probably won't work since all digital channels in Calgary are broadcasting on UHF frequencies.

2011-08-25, 08:52 PM	#1166
msharp Rookie Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 3	Just found TV Fool and it does show me in a signal week area because of a hill between me and the TV tower. I guess I'll have to get something on the larger size to stick in my attic.

2011-08-25, 10:36 PM	#1167
andrela Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 224	msharp: Would you like to post the link to your TVfool result? There are some of the most knowledgeable users on the forum that may be able to help in your setup. Hidden Valley area may be almost impossible to get a signal depending where you are located (TVfool link does not provide your personal info.)

2011-08-26, 03:12 AM	#1168
downbeat Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Calgary Posts: 3,565	@msharp: Welcome to the forum. Apart from using tvfool.com to share some useful info, as other members has suggested, do take a moment to see these helpful instruction for new members. http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=125161 That will help you provide us with the right info so we can all help you better.

2011-08-26, 01:13 PM	#1169
Billsmith Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Banff Trail district, Calgary. Posts: 437	msharp - what is the nearest intersection to your location. This will help us to determine what TVfool predicts?

2011-08-26, 09:55 PM	#1170
msharp Rookie Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 3	I am close to Hidden Valley Dr. and Shaganappi these are my results http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9e74cc5a57710d