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

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#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
 
#103 ·
new antenna or preamp ?

Hi,

This is toxiccello again, from the corner of St-Joseph and St-Laurent. I still cannot pick up vpt ch 32, although I am getting 33 (and 57) with some snow.
I'm using a CM yagi array (4848?) hung from the roof of my living room, and looking through a large, uncoated glass window (12' X 6') on the third floor of a condo. I have line of sight to the Cartier bridge, and a large angle between the bridge and the mountain --about 60 degrees. Some large buildings block progressively my southern view as one's gaze moves towards st-Laurent and the mountain, and there is a large structure close to my condo which blocks the view just east of the Cartier bridge) I tried moving the antenna in a large arc and moving it around my living room, to no avail. My tuner is built in a Sony KD-34XS955. It does not give me any indications of the strength of a signal, but both when I scan and when I put it on channel 32 it gives me naught. It is possible that the moutain is blocking my line of sight to Mt-Mansfield, as one forum member suggested. However, by all my calculations -- basically by studying google earth images -- the axis between my apartment and Mt-Mansfield basically runs parallel to the north-south streets in Montreal, and if this is true I should have a clear shot to Mansfield by aiming my yagi about 10 degrees east of the Cartier bridge. I don't see how I would pick up any signal at all from Mt-Lyons (57) if that were not the case.
I would like advice on options (putting the yagi on the roof is unfortunately not one of them) which to my mind are two:
1) I can try another antenna. Given aesthetic and practical considerations, it has to be a Yagi, as a CM 2828 style will not work in my space and directionality is desirable in order to attenuate local signals from the Mt-Royal tower. According to one of the gain charts posted here , the winegard yagi (9095p?) has up to 2db more gain. Is that possible for such a similar design?
2) I can install the Channel Master preamp 7777?. While it is not available locally, it's pretty easy to find for 50-60 bucks on the web and ebay. (I've found the people at Raybel, where I bought my CM, to be very friendly, but on the technical side it's true, they're sort of out of it when it comes to OTA advice)

If I install a preamp, will I need to attenuate the signals for Radio Canada and CBC? The antenna tower on the mountain is about 50 degrees to the right from my antenna if it align it parallel to St-Laurent. Again, I have not idea of the incoming strength of local signals.

I will be grateful for any and all input.

Merci,

J.
 
#104 ·
Papineau and Ste Cath.

That's value for your money :)

I've got the Radio Shack 15-206 http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...=uhf+antenna&kw=uhf+antenna&parentPage=search ready to go up today.

I don't have a preamp yet, going to see whats up there without one. I'm getting SRC now at 100% with it except some multipath issues - but it's also inside against a wall.

For my location - I'm at Papineau and Ste Cath - literally next door to the JC bridge with a pretty good line of sight south. The CBC building is all of five blocks away from me along with all the other stations - Global is across the street, CTV is around the corner.. I hope there is no interference.
 
#105 ·
Only SRC and CBC's digital signals are being sent from your area (from the CBC building). All the other (analog) signals (of TVA, Global, CTV) are being sent from Mt. Royal. TVA is supposed to be putting up a temporary tower and antenna on their rooftop to broadcast digitally on channel 59, but they've just been sitting on their permit for months.
 
#108 ·
almost up..

Well I mounted my antenna tonight....

I'm using the Radio Shack 15-216040 http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...=uhf+antenna&kw=uhf+antenna&parentPage=search

My scan pulled in all the current VT channels (didn't get CBC or SRC) .. and all channels are around 55%.

Obviously I want to impove this.

I'm currently using 100ft of RG6. I am going to need to increase this to about 150 in order to have a good, neat connection to my apartment.

I have two options: should I buy a preamp, or should I try for a better signal by adding an additional mast for 5 more feet? It's currently about 40 feet from the ground. I *think* I have a pretty good line of sight to Mt. Mansfield.

I have to be in Plattsburgh on Wednesday - I can pick up a preamp there if it's easier... can someone recommend one if I need it?

thanks :)
 
#109 ·
craigstar, unless you have a rotor or else the Montreal stations are in a straight line with the VT stations from where you are, you will need to re-aim to get CBC and SRC because of how directional your antenna is.

With 100 feet of RG6 and the prospect of 50 more feet you definitely need a preamp! :) I always recommend the Winegard AP series or the Channel Master 777x Titan series. You don't need to get the most powerful ones, but look for gain figures in the 12dB to 18dB range. Those 55% numbers you are seeing will go way up.

It is possible that with a preamp the antenna would deliver the CBC and SRC feeds too without re-aiming, but if it doesn't and having all the US and Canadian DTV stations is a must, you could mount your present antenna on a rotor. Another option is to run 2 antennas, with the preamped one pointed at the VT stations and a second un-amped antenna pointed straight at the CBC/SRC location. Either you could select between the 2 antennas with an A-B switch or you can try to join them, which can be a bit tricky.
 
#110 ·
craigstar, unless you have a rotor or else the Montreal stations are in a straight line with the VT stations from where you are, you will need to re-aim to get CBC and SRC because of how directional your antenna is.
Thanks... then I'll go hunt for one today. It's a pity Channel Master and Winegard amps are so hard to find in Canada.. :/

I don't really care about the CBC and SRC for now - and I was aware of that when I bought the directional antenna. I'm going to feed this into Media Centre which currently (stupidly) only supports US ATSC signals and has no clue that CBC is even broadcasting in HD.

Are the amplifiers at The Source really that bad? I have issues with being patient and having to order something from the States :)
 
#112 ·
Yes, Channel Master's DSB line was called the "Spartan" series and I believe that dealers are selling off old stock. AFAIK only the Titan series is still being made and comparisons show that the circuitry in the Titan was improved. I think you'll be fine with a Spartan under warranty as long as they have a replacement in stock if yours was to crap out.
 
#114 ·
It would be fine for you, and the 300ohm input means that you would run twinlead to it from the antenna with no balun, so get Raybel to cut you about 3 feet of twinlead so that you have a bit extra to make a drip loop before it screws into the preamp. From there on down you run RG6 coax. RG59 isn't as good for this type of application.

Also when you talk to Raybel tell them to get serious about offering new Channel Master, Wade-Delhi, and Winegard OTA gear! ;)
 
#118 ·
Verdun on Wellington St

Went to the hardware store and bought a 10' galvanized steel pole. Installed it on the roof (already @ 50' high) on an unused electrical entry pole.

Stuck the indoor antenna that came with the ATI HDTV wonder (I know.. waiting on the 4228 from Raybel) and guess what:

3-1 WCAX-HD 80%
44-1 WFFF-HD 88%
57-1 WCFE-HD 64%

Also getting VPT on 33 at 94% but nothing comes up on either sub channels!

I'm getting jittery sound sometimes. Am I the only one?
 
#121 ·
Montreal (Papineau and Ste Cath.)

My update.. my highly directional antenna with my preamp now is getting some very very very nice signal strength...

3.1 (CBS) 90-100%
13.1 (ABC) 0%
33.1 (PBS) 90-100%%
44.1 (FOX) 90-100%
I never caught the NBC test..

Pity about the ABC thing - but I know you guys will figure out something soon.. I'm interested in the channel 13 specific antennas. My preamp does VHF as well, so I should be good to combine the two..

Craig (happy with his HD PVR now)
 
#126 ·
I am struggling with my silver sensor. The antenna does the job quite well for SRC and CBC. I can get WCAX and WETK but I have to move the antenna around the house. I can’t get anything from WFFF, WPTZ and WVNY.

I decided to look for an outdoor antenna. I'm living in a condo and I can't mount anything on a wall or roof outside. I would have to put it on my balcony. I'm looking for something discrete because I'm already at odds with my condo board (they don't like my Bell ExpressVu dish mounted on a little cinder block tower on my balcony).

I searched a lot and concluded that the CM4228 would be best but it is obviously too big. I also saw the DB2 from antennadirect.com. They market it as an indoor antenna but it was originally made for outside. I was wondering if a pre-amped DB2 would do the job.
 
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