Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner
Cancel

ON/MI - Windsor, Detroit, Sarnia, Leamington, Chatham - OTA

541666 Views 1600 Replies 230 Participants Last post by  Gibsons, 
J
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.
Reply
Save
Like
1561 - 1580 of 1601 Posts
G
Anyone setup a 2 antenna system (or a rotor) to try to get Toledo or is it not worth it with 2 main stations on the High VHF?
Reply
Save
Like
D
In reality the only channel that we dont get from Detroit that Toledo offers is Weather Nation which is a weather channel on 13.7. We can also get a diff PBS on rf29 WGTE30 which does show diff shows esp. British programs than WTVS Det.The rest is the same repeat channels we already get.You have to decide if its a gotta have......

Also has anyone noticed on WPXD 31 they have now added Defy tv , Tru Real tv and finally we have GetTV back to a full power station that can be picked up across Essex and Kent county.GetTV was recently on a low power WHNE that went from rf20 which Windsor received real well to low vhf rf3 in the repack, but to add insult to injury WHNE put Windsor in the null to protect a station in Sandusky Ohio.Nice to have Get TV back !!!!!

Defy and Trureal launch soon , right now showing previews of whats upcoming.

WPXD"s new lineup
31.1 ION
31.2 Court TV
31.3 Grit
31.4 Defy
31.5 Tru Real
31.6 GetTV
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
G
31.6 still says HSN on the info but GetTV on the programming... man, what a terribly stretched pic on whatever that is playing. Hopefully they don't butcher all their content. A 70's Mustang looks as long as a Town Car with the stretching they are doing 🤮.

I've been watching some 50.3 Charge! as it's either 4:3 or 16:9 remastered and doesn't have morphed images.

I'm routinely losing 18, 28 and 15 lately. 31 goes when there is Tropo as well, then Lansing comes in. It could all be weather related though, the week long line of storms and outrageous Humidity is getting tiresome.

My antenna is still way too low, at about 18ft. We'll see if the ropes, carabiners, slings and harness I bought will give me courage to climb my tower 😱.
Reply
Save
Like
D
I dont think GetTV will get much better because I see they are broadcasting CourtTV now in HD , so the ratio on Get will be worse than the others I suspect.

Also Gibbsons I think I saw your tower the other day I went down your street, I live on George.....
Reply
Save
Like
G
2
Uh oh, went over to the dark side... the cheapest way possible with a Sony x80J, the least expensive TV with a NextGen tuner. It's rather underwhelming so I suggest not to splurge unless you are in need of a TV. Looks like all of the Detroit 3.0 is from the same transmission tower on RF31, signal strength is a little disappointing when all my 1.0 are 80% and up.


See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
M
Hi all, I'm located near Sarnia, here is my rabbitears.info: RabbitEars.Info

I always used indoor bunny ears and when those stopped working I became an LTSS subscriber. The deal has now ended, and I'm not interested in paying for TV. I want to go back to an OTA setup! But after doing some research for over a week now, I'm really confused. Can anyone recommend a setup for me that won't involve a ladder/rooftop installation (if possible)? What kind of antenna would work for me? I'm a complete noob.

I have an old TV tower on my property but I have been quoted $600-$900 to move it back to near the house and have it hooked up again and it might not even be the right kind. Hoping for a cheaper solution.

I did read all the FAQs but it seems like most of the content on this site is between 10-15 years old, so I don't know if the information (for example, antenna brand recommendations) are still current, plus most of it is pretty advanced for me.

Thank you for any help.
Reply
Save
Like
G
Your analysis is quite poor. Not much close to you and Detroit is over 60 miles away. If you wanted Detroit stations you'd basically need a high gain antenna on the roof or eave (as high as possible), with preamp to get reliable reception of a large market - Detroit. Once you got that going you'd get a lot of TV... You have some closer Canadian stations which are in a different direction and to be honest - I don't watch that much. American TV is where you see first run, high quality TV series. Getting Canadian TV and constant reruns of Corner Gas and Seinfeld gets old.

I'd say to buy a cheap 4 Bay antenna and get someone to help you with the install...

People don't work on Towers much anymore and if they do - pull out your wallet. I was quoted $150 climbing fee + tax just to climb mine and see what was wrong with my old Yagi. I just put together my own system and did it myself.

You have to remember that OTA is indeed, free. A one-time setup cost is an investment for years of enjoyment. Guys in Toronto have had whole systems installed for $400-500 range for good equipment and a clean install. Once you get a certain age, you know climbing the roof isn't for you anymore. Not worth it to save some money to risk falling off a roof.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
M
Okay.. yeah, I realize I won't get many channels (in the old analogue days, I think I got around 5-7). I'm good with that, but more would be better :) I don't want to have to continually move my antenna between the Canadian/American stations though. Would something like this work? It says it's multi-directional so I'm thinking I could mount it on the south side of my house where my satellite dish currently is (about 6 feet up) and then not have to play around with it whenever I watch TV. As a bonus, the cabling is already there.
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/produc...-outdoor-multidirectional-tv-antenna/12404088

Or is it better to forget the more affordable ones and save for the aerial/tower?
Reply
Save
Like
Kenneth J Adams
Digital Home members don't let other Digital Home members buy expensive OTA antenna's from Best buy. LOL.

Better to go to websites like Amazon or Primecables as they are cheaper or more affordable. I honestly think you'd be wasting your money on that over priced "antenna".
Reply
Save
Like
majortom
IMO, you won't find any deals on antennas at amazon.
They typically charge full Retail price for just about anything...
Reply
Save
Like
Kenneth J Adams
majortom said:
IMO, you won't find any deals on antennas at amazon.
They typically charge full Retail price for just about anything...
Click to expand...
Not true. The one I picked up went on sale $20 cheaper. Granted if I lived in a house it would have worked better but.... you can still finder cheaper deals on Amazon and Primecables than at Bestbuy. That was my point.
Reply
Save
Like
majortom
Won't get any argument from me about best buy.
I was talking about Amazon....
If your Comparing Best Buy to Amazon, Amazon is charging full retail price.
So no deals to be had from either IMO. I would rather buy direct from the source than
Amazon...

Further goes without saying, if your obsessed about pricing to the point ur pulling the trigger at the first sight of something that's too good to be true online, it probably is. As always...Buyer Beware.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
G
miss_my_ota said:
Okay.. yeah, I realize I won't get many channels (in the old analogue days, I think I got around 5-7). I'm good with that, but more would be better :) I don't want to have to continually move my antenna between the Canadian/American stations though. Would something like this work? It says it's multi-directional so I'm thinking I could mount it on the south side of my house where my satellite dish currently is (about 6 feet up) and then not have to play around with it whenever I watch TV. As a bonus, the cabling is already there.
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/produc...-outdoor-multidirectional-tv-antenna/12404088

Or is it better to forget the more affordable ones and save for the aerial/tower?
Click to expand...
It probably won't work that well at your Fringe location. You'd have to go really high (6ft won't work well) and add a preamp, in my estimation. Multidirectional antennas usually don't work that well, so I don't suggest those space ship style antennas. As an example, my antenna for Detroit (I'm 14-23 miles from Detroit transmitters) is rather low at 18ft high. I still need to raise it.

Up to you what you want to spend, but if you want Detroit - go big. At least you'll be getting about 40-50 stations if it works out.
Reply
Save
Like
S
Big things happening at WADL ch38 Detroit. WADL has now taken over the MY network from WMYD ch20 and now calls itself MY38 on 38.1.

They are also debuting a new diginet on sept27 called DigiTV, on 38.8 looks like some UK and Aussie tv shows.Might be interesting. Twist tv has moved up the channels to 38.2.

Still no home for Antenna Tv's sister network that went on the air recently called Rewind TV in Detroit or Toledo.

@the poster from Sarnia......dont go for a cheap china made antenna it wont work for you and you will waste your money.You need something high gain like a DB8e with a CM7777 or7778 or LNA200 amp. Point it right at Detroit , you may get London tv off the back side. Check ebay or a place in Mississauga called Play and Replay website.Get a couple of mast pipes and mount it near open sky towards Detroit. You will get most of Detroit with that antenna but not Fox2 because its on VHF and the DB8e is only a UHF reception.The DB8e is the best for long distance tv. Just my 2 cents.....
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
G
SpitsFanSec108 said:
Big things happening at WADL ch38 Detroit. WADL has now taken over the MY network from WMYD ch20 and now calls itself MY38 on 38.1.

They are also debuting a new diginet on sept27 called DigiTV, on 38.8 looks like some UK and Aussie tv shows.Might be interesting. Twist tv has moved up the channels to 38.2.

Still no home for Antenna Tv's sister network that went on the air recently called Rewind TV in Detroit or Toledo.

@the poster from Sarnia......dont go for a cheap china made antenna it wont work for you and you will waste your money.You need something high gain like a DB8e with a CM7777 or7778 or LNA200 amp. Point it right at Detroit , you may get London tv off the back side. Check ebay or a place in Mississauga called Play and Replay website.Get a couple of mast pipes and mount it near open sky towards Detroit. You will get most of Detroit with that antenna but not Fox2 because its on VHF and the DB8e is only a UHF reception.The DB8e is the best for long distance tv. Just my 2 cents.....
Click to expand...
He doesn't want to spend the money or climb the roof (or tower) so it seems like a moot point to make. I'm not that far away but I'm making do with a $25 antenna and $40 preamp.

Totally agree on the recommendation but the desire doesn't seem to be there. There wasn't much interesting to watch on Ch 38 before, so maybe this is a good change.
Reply
Save
Like
T
Hey all, have any of you lost 22.1 Global in the last few weeks? It's disappeared from the airwaves; not sure what's going on with it. Luckily I can still receive 29.1 from Sarnia no problem; it's just weird, because 16.1 in Wheatley is still coming in good and strong, and that's only a stones throw from the 22.1 transmitter. I checked the Rabbit Ears site for any changes in Toledo and Cleveland in their lineups that may be causing co-channel interference, but there's no other channel in the area operating on RF 33 like Global 22.1. Anyone lose it as well and have you heard anything? Thanks -JT
Reply
Save
Like
G
I get 29.1 during Tropo (not pointed in that direction) but have never received Global in Central Windsor... but I'm not pointing out there as Southfield is in the opposite direction.

Haven't heard anything about Global 22 going down.
Reply
Save
Like
S
Detroit TVfan here......login prob.

Good to see you again Tec stack......sorry man cant help you with rf33 or 35. East end ford test track, we dont get Global only with occasional tropo.Must be null for Detroit.Wish they would vacate rf33 just to get some open ch. for dxing.

Are you still able to get CHCH on rf14 again??? and WUPW rf26???

looks like WUDT daystar rf23 isnt going to leave.They should have been on rf8 by now.That would open WNWO Toledo in our direction.

Also a couple more new channels to reprt .....Newsy added to WPXD 31.7 and WTOL Toledo adds GetTV to 11.6, now we can view GET on 11.6 or 31.6. Nice evening lineup with Kojack added in oct, starsky and hutch, charlies angels and hart to hart then all in the family.

cut the cord folks, cancel cogeco/bell GO OTA!!!!
Reply
Save
Like
S
miss_my_ota said:
Hi all, I'm located near Sarnia, here is my rabbitears.info: RabbitEars.Info

I always used indoor bunny ears and when those stopped working I became an LTSS subscriber. The deal has now ended, and I'm not interested in paying for TV. I want to go back to an OTA setup! But after doing some research for over a week now, I'm really confused. Can anyone recommend a setup for me that won't involve a ladder/rooftop installation (if possible)? What kind of antenna would work for me? I'm a complete noob.

I have an old TV tower on my property but I have been quoted $600-$900 to move it back to near the house and have it hooked up again and it might not even be the right kind. Hoping for a cheaper solution.

I did read all the FAQs but it seems like most of the content on this site is between 10-15 years old, so I don't know if the information (for example, antenna brand recommendations) are still current, plus most of it is pretty advanced for me.

Thank you for any help.
Click to expand...
Did you make any progress with your setup? I'm in Sarnia too and I'm considering a DB8e with a CM7777 mounted to my chimney to get it as high as possible. It looks like it's going to cost around $400 for the antenna, preamp, mounting hardware, cables, etc, and I'm a bit reluctant to spend that kind of money without knowing if it will work. Especially when the RabbitEars info for this area says all the signals are either "poor" or "bad".

Thanks.
Reply
Save
Like
S
@streetcore............your right in picking the DB8e and 7777amp. That antenna is your best bet in locking the Detroit full power stations. The only other antenna might be the 91XG but it is a big antenna.Remember Port Huron is still listed as part of the Detroit tv market so they do send quite a bit of signal up your way.The DB8e is UHF only so you wont get Fox2 on rf7 vhf but you should get 4,7,20,31,38,56 with 38WADL being the closest to you its in Mt Clemens. 50/62 might be iffy but it will be interesting to see what you get.

Plz keep us posted.....Det tv fan
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
1561 - 1580 of 1601 Posts
Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums
A forum community dedicated to Canadian TV, computing and home theatre owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about home audio/video, displays, troubleshooting, styles, projects, DIY’s, product reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Shaw Direct Satellite Bell Satellite TV OTA Reception Results Television Industry / Channels and Providers Over-The-Air (OTA) Digital Television
Top