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QC - City of Montréal - OTA (CLOSED - Please see FINAL POST)

366K views 1K replies 173 participants last post by  stampeder 
#1 ·
QC - City of Montréal - OTA (CLOSED - Please see FINAL POST)

I Just Have New Hdtv, and I Don't Know How Can I Get Hd Channel Ota. i Am In Montreal. Please Anyone Can Help Me?
Thanks
 
#52 ·
Anjou (Montreal) Update

So I finally got my new TV. It's the Samsung LN-S4051d and of course, it has a ATSC Tuner. For the record, awesome tv! Gives out a better image than the Sharp Aquos or the Sony Bravia XBR. Very happy with it.

So with my cheesy rabbit hear antenna I was able to get a HD channel! The signal strenght was about at half(4 bars out of 8). It is sometimes hard to catch on to the signal, but once it gets it, the image is beautiful!

Now I'm starting to plan my installation on the Channel Master 4228 (with that rotor that's on special at The Source).

Anyhow, like someone else was asking, any news on the other HD channels from the States?
 
#53 ·
CBC Ottawa DTV from Western Montreal?

Anyone with an outdoor antenna and dtv tuner able to receive digital channels 22 and 25 from western montreal?
I have a digital tuner and radio shack bowtie indoor antenna and I am receiving wcfe-dt plattsburgh.
So far indoors, I cannot receive the Ottawa CBC channels.
 
#54 ·
You'll need a heck of a good antenna go get those stations. I'm 15 miles from the tower and my signal is weaker than that of PBS stations.

-gmd
 
#55 ·
Moving to Downtown Montreal - best OTA area?

im most likely moving to montreal and was wondering if i would be able to get all the ota (llooks like cbc and pbs?) from downtown using an indoor antenna? im looking at a place near ATWATER market right now...

what would be the best place downtown for ota? thanks for any input
 
#59 ·
Lasalle (Montreal) tech advice needed

Ok, so here is my situation :

I live in Montreal, Lasalle, as stated in an earlier post back in January. My balcony faces South, straight line to Burlington/Plattsburgh to the south, and north-west I have SRC. In other words, they're both in oposite directions. From what I see, Mount Royal isn't directly blocking the signal.

I could install an antenna on the balcony (second floor, I guess that would be good !) that could probably help me a lot with the US channels. However, if I do install lets say, a CM4228 on the balcony, I guess it would be totally useless for SRC/CBC as the transmitters are in the complete opposite direction.

That being said, I have a fairly good signal in Analog for SRC/CBC right now with my cheap Radio-Shack indoor antenna (mind you, 20 $ and gives me way better results than the 80 $ amplified indoor RCA antenna, go figure..). Would the addition of a CM4228 in the aformentioned position still help me with SRC (or is SRC HD VHF ?) ? I wouldn't mind spending the 80 $ if it does help all around.

Can I combine both the indoor and outdoor antenna with a splitter/Y-adapter so I can still use the indoor for VHF ?

I will be receiving my ATSC/NTSC tuner this week (FujiPlus USB key, looks pretty nice) and want to prepare accordingly.

Thanks a lot !
 
#60 ·
Well I couldn't find and edit function so here are my updates. I got the tuner, it does upscale since the resolution itself looks much nicer than what I got trough my VCRs tuner (Analog). However, reception is still bad with my current indoor antenna. Still, I can get all standard stations in a watchable state. I can't however, get any signal in anyways in DTV/HDTV. I run a scan by channel and come up with nothing. Instead of running scans every time I move the antenna, I'd like to know which frequency/channel are the local DTV stations ?

I figured that my TV Tuner software is really bad and won't map the channels properly (ie can pick the channels need frequencies).

So far, by checking them one by one, I stumbled on CBC by accident (listed as channel 19 in the US list). The frequency for CBC was 507250 khz

Any idea what the others would be (PBS, SRC french and others...) ?

That would help me a lot

thanks !!
 
#61 ·
I don't know about specific frequencies, but in terms of physical channel numbers:

Channel 13: WVNY-DT (ABC)
Channel 14: WPTZ-DT (NBC)
Channel 19: CBFT-DT (SRC)
Channel 20: CBMT-DT (CBC)
Channel 32: WETK-DT (PBS)
Channel 38: WCFE-DT (PBS)
Channel 43: WFFF-DT (FOX/CW)
Channel 53: WCAX-DT (CBS) (will move to channel 22 in 2009)

To find the frequencies, use this calculator:
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/findvalues.html#TVFREQUENCY

(note that the U.S. stations other than WCFE are not currently on-the-air but should be within the next 2-4 weeks)
 
#62 ·
Thanks for the tips Foxfan. I was able to randomly pull CBC DTV on freq 507250 khz. Strenght 23 % Qual 100 %. Very watchable. However, this channel cameup as 19 in the US list and was no where to be found in the Canadian one (weird, the software is crap). Logically, I should be able to tune SRC french easily since CBC usually has a weaker Signal and comes from a similar place. Unfortunately, running a full scan with the software finds no signal at all (not even the CBC one I found by randomly trying channels, manually !).

That's why I guess that with the exact frequencies, I should be able to tune in.

Thanks again
 
#63 ·
I just hope that one day, people closer to Ottawa can get those (there are currently conflicts on channels 13, 14, 32, 43 with analog stations, and 22 for digital stations).

-gmd
 
#69 ·
Would a better antenna help ?

The answer may seem obvious but right now, (living in MOntreal) I can get a great signal for both CBC and SRC DTV with my current indoor crappy RC antenna. However, the antenna needs to be in a perfect spot and when I say perfect, I mean half an inch means the signal drops dead !

In other words, with my current setup, I can get 100 % quality and minimal strenght (15 %-30 %) if the antenna is in a very particular position (and a different one for each channel !). I also noticed that touching the base (the plastic base, not the UHF ring) of the antenna makes a huge difference in signal strength and quality.

Would a Silver Sensor like antenna help me ? or maybe an amp ? I know the tuner I alright and also know that it is possible for me to get at least those 2 channel (and fairly well).. the problem is making it easier.
 
#70 ·
aren't the PBS stations within reach from your area?
it would make sense then to get an antenna capable of recieving them, along with those other American stations that are coming up in Burlington. This would probably be an antenna like the 4221 or 4228 depending on your location.
 
#71 ·
You're right and I wouldn't mind spending the 100 $ for a CM4228 if it would really fix all my problems. The thing is, they are not easy to find in Montreal so before I go on a hunt, I'd rather be 100 % that my antenna is the problem (which I really think it is).

The thing is, PBS and all the american stations are in a completely opposite direction from CBC and SRC. Would a CM4228 facing south still be able to catch channel coming from North East ? I don't have the technical skills and the time/money to invest on a rotor etc..

Thanks.
 
#72 ·
hmm this is a situation where usually you do need to get a rotor to get all stations, mainly since you don't have all these high powered stations that can be recieved from the sides, rear of a bigger antenna.

perhaps you could describe the location of where your antenna will be going, ie height, what obstacles will be blocking any signals between the transmitters, distance from the transmitters, or maybe you could even post some pictures.

You could hope that in the right spot, the closer CBC and SRC digital would be picked up on the back of an antenna like the 4228, but thats certainly not guaranteed.
 
#73 ·
New to OTA in Montreal

Hi everyone,

I just bought an ATSC tuner for my first gen Sony lcdtv. Should receive it thursday. My location is 45N.35, 73W.33. Duplex home ( rent), top floor. Clear view to South- Southeast. Landlord does NOT allow me to install outdoor antenna. Said he would bring it down if I do install one. On the other hand, a few years ago, I found out the windows glass was blocking completely dish signal if I tried to use a dish on tripod inside.

Would a silver sensor or any better indoor antenna allow me to receive DT stations from Mount Mansfied, or will I be limited to local ( CBC, SRC, TVA,etc.)?

I'm with Bell ExpressVu SD but don't want to pay for their heavily compressed HD signal and overpriced mpeg-2 receiver. Landlord reluctantly allowed dish installation but only if it was not visible from the street, so it's far back on the roof.
thanks
bernard
PS: excuse my so-so english.
 
#74 ·
Hi Bernard and welcome here - your English is fine. I don't think an indoor antenna even as good as a ZSS (or clone) will help you with the U.S. stations, but you will get SRC-HD and CBC-HD. Hopefully other people here can confirm or clarify that.

Does anyone know if TVA has plans to go digital any time?
 
#75 ·
You could hope that in the right spot, the closer CBC and SRC digital would be picked up on the back of an antenna like the 4228, but thats certainly not guaranteed.
That's what I was thinking too, but it would take real world testing at the exact location to see if it works. The CM4228 has some fairly generous side and rear lobes so it is theoretically possible that you could aim it at Mt. Mansfield and get SRC and CBC through the back door.
 
#76 ·
new OTA Montreal ( suite)

thanks, Stampeder,

as far as you can tell, knowing that my windows reduce significantly the signal that can get thru ( for reasons beyond my understanding, maybe because they are triple pane for our harsh winters...), would a CM4228 installed inside of my patio door ( facing south) be a viable solution or I'm stuck until the landlord goes to heaven ( he's 74 :) or I move....
thanks again,

Bernard

BTW; I bought a NEW DP811 on Ebay yesterday. One of the very few sat receivers with a reasonably good ota tuner that can be used without a sub to dish. I thought it would be better than the ill-fated Samsung Sir-T451.
bm
 
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