Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner

ON - London, St. Thomas, Woodstock, Goderich - OTA

519K views 2K replies 196 participants last post by  audioquest 
#1 ·
On the north shore directly across from Erie, PA. I'm going to cut and paste a reply I gave on another thread that was asking about reception of Erie stations cause I thought this might lead to some more discusions here, cause I have a crappy antenna, and just bought a Toshiba 57HX84, and want to try and get much more .... so...

"Port Dover ON - About 1/4 Mile from Lake right across from Erie. I bring in 4 stations - 3 digital SD and one HD. FOX, NBC and ABC are SD (66-1, 12-1 and 24-1 respectively) and One HD (PBS 50-1). I have a 30 foot tower, and a dinky little "MiniState Antenna". I suspect the antenna is not that good, and will be replacing in the spring in hopes of picking up Buffalo and other areas (fingers crossed).

This area used to be pretty good for most analogue (before I went cable and then satellite - antenna was a backup), but this ministate doens't seem that good.
Oh yes, I have a Samsung SIR T451 that I picked up in BUffalo at Circuit City for $250. Unfrotunately, the additional $50 rebate was only for US citizens. Rats.


Hope this generates some more interest in this thread / area.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Reception question from newbie in Rodney, Ontario

Hello there,
I have been perusing through many sections to see if anyone has posted regarding my geographical area. I found none.
I am located 6 km from Lake Erie, near a town called Rodney.
It is situated between London and Chatham (approx. 55 km either direction).
From the graphic provided by "stampeder" it appears as if I am on the fringe of being able to receive HDTV OTV from 3 cities. Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo.
Could anyone please comment on the possiblility of doing so, and/or with what tower height and equipment you would reccomended for my area?
I am still in the research phase and have yet not purchased any gear.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks for the great forum.:confused:
 
#3 ·
I looked up your location and you should be able to get Cleveland and maybe Detroit depending on how high your antenna is mounted.

Being close to the lake is a excellent location for tv signals as they travel much further with no obstructions.

To get Detroit and Cleveland you will need to buy a rotor. Buffalo reception I would say no, but you would have a much better chance with Erie.
 
#4 ·
Yep, what Yaamon said, but also keep in mind that winter is the best time to check long distance signals from where you are because in the hot summer Tropospheric Skip and the effect of the lake on TV signals can combine to give some unrealistic results when you're trying to get your best aiming done.

I'm looking at the map now and I think a deep or deepest fringe setup in Rodney, ON would be able to get Detroit because the stations there are cranking out at huge power, and I would say that with a swing southwards you'd maybe get Toledo OH and certainly Cleveland. Other possibilities are Sandusky and Akron OH, Erie PA, and maybe some others. Canadian stations would of course be London and Windsor, with maybe some others.

With deep fringe gear (especially deepest fringe gear) and good tropo in the summertime you should be able to get some wild DX results from the U.S. midwest (Chicago, Indianapolis, others?)
 
#5 ·
London - can I get Detroit OTA?

jdh79 said:
This thread is a one-stop-shopping location for info on receiving Over The Air High Definition and Digital broadcasts as experienced by Digital Home Canada members. This thread is for people who are in Southwestern Ontario.
I'm 70+ miles from Detroit in London i.e. deepest fringe. What can I expect to receive OTA? Antenna recommendations welcome.
 
#6 ·
fgmurphy, I think if you check the earlier posts about the Blenheim and Rodney areas you'll see that getting Detroit in London is going to require some big gear and even so may be iffy. When I was a kid people in Strathroy used to barely get Detroit with big gear on towers.
 
#7 ·
Picking Up Lansing MI in London, but no Detroit

The last couple of days the tropo has bounced some channels from Lansing(WLNS+WB on 2nd channel,WKAR)WJRT Flint and even WHEC Rochester NY to my small bowtie antenna in the attic. Im located in London....HD is incredible..this was the first HD I've seen on my new Sharp LC37D40U tv. I find it interesting that no Detroit or Cleveland stations register, as I thought these would have stronger transmitters. How does OTA HD compare to Bell or Rogers...if OTA was a stable option I'd put up a good antenna but past experience with analog tv tells me its not worth the effort.
 
#8 ·
stucatz said:
The last couple of days the tropo has bounced some channels from Lansing(WLNS+WB on 2nd channel,WKAR)WJRT Flint and even WHEC Rochester NY to my small bowtie antenna in the attic.
Tropo and ducting have captured many hearts and then broken them in the years gone by... :D

I think the consensus in this thread is that Londoners aren't going to have steady OTA DTV without big gear mounted up high. BEV would probably be the way to go.
 
#9 ·
OTA Gear for London, ON for Cleveland, Erie, Maybe Detroit Digitals?

I am looking for info on an antenna setup for my home in London. I have 2 new sets both HD and both have built in ATSC tuners. I live in old south just north of Baseline Rd the bottom of the hill from the London CFPL (A channel) tower. I am looking for recommendations on how high I may need to put the antenna to receive the locals being broadcast from Cleveland and Erie. I am looking for the HD feeds and nothing else.
 
#11 ·
I am looking for the HD feeds and nothing else.
Keep your money in your pockets. You are out of luck for reliable ATSC in London. Only available during the summer heat - when there are better things to do outside.

I am 50 feet higher than you, 20 miles closer to the signals with a 64ft tower and a 6 foot Channel Master UHF parabolic dish and a $200 Blonder Tonque preamp - & I'm watching HD via satellite tonite.
 
#10 ·
DSNY FN, thats a tough situation.

you are basically 120 miles away from all 3 main American HD sources, Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo. And just over 100miles from TO.

your best chance is definitely Hamilton, which has one HD channel right now, with CH-HD on the way. Erie is also closer to you, but right now they only have SD channels.

in order for you to get the American HD channels, you are going to need a monster tower, with a high performance UHF antenna, a high performance preamp, and a rotor.

i think if you got your self a 60foot tower with a premamped CM4228 on a rotor, you'd be able to get Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, and possibly Toronto all at the same time with the turn of your rotor.

this would probably give you the most impressive reception on this forum, period.

whether you want to spend the money and time on this, and still not be guaranteed anything will come in, is up to you.
 
#13 ·
please post your results, i'll be interetesed to hear what you get.

i'd try for (in order of chance of getting):

50-1 WQLN PBS Erie (mostly SD)
15-1 SunTV Hamilton
20-1 CBC-HD Toronto

and then whether you will get the High Powered stations out of Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, who knows.
 
#14 ·
No Digital OTA in London, ON

Well no luck I put up the CMmm4228 on a 25' mast with the amp that was sold to me by the shop and I only recieved a signl strength of 12% on the high end and 0 most of the time. I even rased the mast to about 35' to the top of the antenna but still no luck.The company I got the stuff from delivered it to me and suggested a 60 plus foot tower to get some signal strength but figured even that would be a stretch. I just returned the equipment no problems they told me to wait a few more years with a chuckle and we may actually have a digtal broadcast coming from the CFPL/A Channel tower here in London.
 
#18 ·
Reception Results from St.Thomas, On

Hi guys,

I've been using a US Digital set top box with some very good results at times. From what I've seen, if you're receiving the analog stations from Cleveland, then you will get some of the higher powered DTV stations as well.
WEWS-DT 15, WUAB-DT 28, WJW-DT 31 and WQHS-DT 34 are the most regular. So long as the signal is stable, these stations will lock. My receiver needs at least a stable 35% signal on the meter to lock. They don't come in every day, but during the warmer months, they are fairly regular. WEWS is the best. (ABC)

Erie PA, is a different story. I receive the Erie analog stations every day with a very good signal. The problem with their digital stations is that they are all really low powered. The highest powered station from Erie is WQLN-DT at 39kw. The other stations are all well below that. I'm quite sure that when they increase power, I'll get them

If the Erie stations make any changes, and I receive them daily, I'll put up another post on the forum.

I'm using a Wade-Delhi VU-937sr with the VU8PZ power zoom @50 ft. I'm located in St. Thomas, about 8 miles north of Lake Erie.
 
#21 ·
Actually, I receive Detroit as well, but not as consistently as Cleveland. I think that the signal coming across lake Erie is what really makes the difference. During the summer months, Cleveland will be at 90 to 100% on the signal meter for days at a time. The best time for Detroit is during the evening and into the morning. I receive Buffalo as well, but not every day. Again, those stations are usually seen in the evening if they are coming in.

Regards,
 
#23 ·
Yes, Sir. It's an old Rat Shack job I bought in 1992. 25dB on VHF and 20dB on UHF. It goes to a 3 way splitter, with the -3.5dB tap connected to the US Digital STB. The other two lines (-7dB) connect to the TV for analog and to my FM receiver. I can hardly wait till the Erie stations start running high power, because if the digitals are as strong as the analog stations, I'll get them all the time. I wish I got Cleveland 24/7!
 
#24 ·
i hope you aren't judging your results based on going through a 3-way splitter.

remove that splitter, and your signal strengths will all go way up. I've been getting the area stations easily the last few days. WQLN has been 100% for three nights now. FOX 22 and ABC 58 also come in, althogh i've never recieved NBC digital on 52. This must be extremely low power.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I need the splitter, because I also use the antenna for analog TV and FM DXing. I'm disabled, and it's too much of a pain to switch cables all the time. Even with the splitter out of line, the Erie's still don't lock all the time. As I said, the analog stations are all very good, so I'm convinced that it's a low power issue. As I mentioned, the -3.5dB side of the splitter feeds the DTV box. 3dB isn't a heck of a lot considering that the amp is 20dB on UHF. The cable run to the DTV box is quite short, to limit feed line loss. I'm about 70 miles from Erie and about 90 miles from Cleveland. BTW, the nights that you had Erie at 100%, I had Cleveland @ 100%.
 
#29 ·
I wonder if there is any HDTV OTA signal available in London, Ontario
Forget it. I am 20 miles west of you and on 25 foot higher ground.

With the best (and most expensive cost ~ $1.7K) setup - 64 tower, rotator, BT preamp, + 6' Channel Master UHF dish; I can't get reliable ATSC except in the heat of summer.

Besides distance from the US transmitters; another big problem is the lackies at Industry Canada who allow every 2 bit broadcaster in Canada to use the same frequencies for NTSC repeaters thus blocking the US digital signals.

Cheapest solution for you would be Star Choice Essentials package which will get you US Nets + CBC/CTV/SRC/TSN in HD for $34/month
 
Top