I was Googling for info on WNPI and found this web site from Birch Island, ON, including a very well researched and documented page on OTA reception in the area:

http://birchisland.info/docs/tvdoc.htm

If the author is already a member here, please let me know by PM. If not, I'm emailing him now with an invitation to join us here.

Kingston west

Antenna CM4228
pre-amp CM7775
hight 28 feet
ground level 276 feet above sea level
coax cable 80 feet RG6
pointed at Syracuse

STATIONS
-------------------------
Watertown (always get)
WPBS 16 98%
WPBS-DT 41 97%
WWTI 50 100%
WWTI-DT 21 100%
WWNY 7 0% UHF only
WWNY-DT 35 85%

Syracuse
WSYT 68 55 - 70% some snow on screen
WSYT-dt 19 50 - 60% get 70% of the time with some pixalation
WNYS 43 60 - 90% little snow on screen
WNYS-DT 44 65 - 70% always get some pixalation
WNCY 24 65 - 90% clear
WNCY-DT 25 65 - 70% always get some pixalation
WTVH-DT 47 55 - 60% get 90% of the time with some pixalation
WSYR-DT 17 60 - 75% always get some pixalation
WSTM-DT 54 0 - 55% get 5% of the time with lots of pixalation

Note: in spring may try going 38 feet

That's great ell383, and while the extra 10' in the springtime will probably be of benefit, you might want to consider stacking 2 CM4228s for an extra chance at locking the Syracuse stations.

I forgot Syracuse is 90 miles away Watertown is 45 miles. I have been thinking
about stacking antennas but I'm think wind load could be a problem also local T.V. Station (CKWS-HD 69 550 KW HAAT of 383 meters) is 8 Miles away so when they start transmitting HD I'm thinking OVERLOAD "I can see the tower from the base of my tower" I also want to point an antenna at Rochester (95 miles away). next thing I will do is change the coax to RG11. any idea's would
be great.

I'm as new as it gets to OTA. Just started reading today...I live in Peterborough, Ontario and would like to know if this is a smart city to invest in an OTA Antenna. I haven't even scratched the surface, but if anybody has any feedback...channels available, setup, etc...would be very much appreciated.

Thanks, Newbieaota

Hi newbieota and welcome here, have a look at Posts #25 and 26 in this thread and you'll see that Peterborough OTAers face deep to deepest fringe challenges to get Buffalo or Rochester stations.

Does that means that rather than heading into this on my own, I should get a pro to do a site survey? And give recommendations for the local area?

If you can find a pro that will do a Peterborough site survey you might save yourself a lot of heartbreak while the DTV transition happens in North America.

Personally I'm guessing from Tom.F.1's post that a tower-mounted CM4228 (or stacked pair) will be needed for DTV stations from where you are, so definitely it would be good for you to get a consultation first.

I'll check the yellow pages and see if anyone in the area does anything like that. Thanks again!

My Brother (the Luddite) has finally bowed to pressure from the DW & daughter and gotten a wide-screen TV. He is still resisting cable and will be connecting the ATSC tuner to a FM dipole to get local reception.

He's in Downtown K'town (Student Ghetto) and has a fairly clear shot at the lake. I'm planning on going down in the spring and "pimping" his tv. I'm thinking a external antenna mounted 20' up the side of his house. What should I be looking at to get some success getting PBS HD? Form means more than function in this household so a tower with a rotor is out of the question.

Peterborough is also down in the bottom of a valley , I know people that have tried to get OTA HD with no luck.

gordonb, Watertown PBS-HD 41 is easy to get in Kingston. but with an FM antenna I don't think that will work. He should get an outdoor UHF antenna
Watertown is about 45 miles away.

Yes, that's what I'm intending but I'm looking for a recommendation for a good outside antenna that can be wall-mounted (i.e. not on a mast on the roof) and the recommended antennae all appear to be big mother yagi's but the bowtie reflector looks like it might be an option. This is sort of like the "I live in an apartment & don't want to piss off my landlord scenario"

I contacted a local installer and he confirmed your post. "A 50ft tower with stacked antennas...might get something other than Chex!" He was REALLY pushing for FTA (not for true FTA), but I just want decent FREE Tv that has already been paid for by advertising. Are there any other options? So far I'm considering Star Choice at 20$ a month, with an High Def receiver, which would get me 13 hd channels. But I'd rather not pay for whats already paid for...you know what I mean? Any advice would be appreciated.

newbieota, sometimes the hand you are dealt is not a good one, so sorry to hear that OTA is not an option for you.

Regarding satellite, we don't discuss that here since there are dedicated forums here at DHC about that topic and the many ways to get it. You could start with posting questions comparing BEV and *C in this thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=64454