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yonoid
May 26th, 2009, 11:43 PM
Wondering if anyone has any experience using this antenna? Trying to find a good indoor antenna to use for OTA, unfortunately living in a condo near bathurst/lakeshore I'm not able to mount an outdoor antenna.
tsatsa
May 27th, 2009, 09:08 AM
Are you facing South and which floor? If you are facing North, you can just forget it all together.
yonoid
May 27th, 2009, 10:23 AM
Thanks for the quick response. I'm on the 7th floor facing south, I don't have a clear line of sight to the cn tower, but right across the street from me is the city tv building which has a number of dishes on it's roof.
tsatsa
May 27th, 2009, 02:14 PM
Thanks for the quick response. I'm on the 7th floor facing south, I don't have a clear line of sight to the cn tower, but right across the street from me is the city tv building which has a number of dishes on it's roof.

Is the CITY TV building blocking (taller) than your 7th floor?
yonoid
May 27th, 2009, 02:49 PM
Nope, it's a pretty short building only a couple floors at most.

Might be worth a shot? Thinking of going to active surplus to pick up an antenna this weekend to try it out. A lot of the other stores people recommend is just a little to far to go to.
tsatsa
May 28th, 2009, 07:57 AM
Nope, it's a pretty short building only a couple floors at most.

Might be worth a shot? Thinking of going to active surplus to pick up an antenna this weekend to try it out. A lot of the other stores people recommend is just a little to far to go to.

Yes, I think it is worth giving it a try, but just don't expect too many channels.
ppl4golf
May 28th, 2009, 09:47 AM
Nope, it's a pretty short building only a couple floors at most.

Might be worth a shot? Thinking of going to active surplus to pick up an antenna this weekend to try it out. A lot of the other stores people recommend is just a little to far to go to.

I think there is a pretty good chance you'll pick up everything with the right antenna.

Get the DB2 or equivalent for indoor if I were you.
teoconca
May 28th, 2009, 09:55 AM
Get the DB2 or equivalent for indoor if I were you.

+1. You can get this DB2 here as the price is same or cheaper than CM4040.
http://www.swiftgamers.com/product-p/db2.htm
yonoid
May 28th, 2009, 10:50 AM
+1. You can get this DB2 here as the price is same or cheaper than CM4040.
http://www.swiftgamers.com/product-p/db2.htm

Thanks jjust read some great reviews on this. This might be a dumb question but do you need to mount it on the wall? I rather not have it on the wall, could I just place it on the window on something?
teoconca
May 28th, 2009, 10:55 AM
Thanks jjust read some great reviews on this. This might be a dumb question but do you need to mount it on the wall? I rather not have it on the wall, could I just place it on the window on something?

You should just put this against the window as putting it on the wall. Facing the window gives it better reception. If you put it outside then you have to ground it to avoid static built up.
yonoid
May 31st, 2009, 01:45 AM
Hmm getting about 7-8 digital channels, none of them are nbc or fox though. Weird all the analogs signals I pick up (around 14) aren't very clear at all. Might have to play around a bit more.
mike24
May 31st, 2009, 09:53 PM
Hmm getting about 7-8 digital channels, none of them are nbc or fox though. Weird all the analogs signals I pick up (around 14) aren't very clear at all. Might have to play around a bit more.

You can build your own simple dipole antenna to pick up the local VHF and most of the UHF channels in your region.

I'm 150km+ away from the Toronto and I can pick up all of the channels that are being broadcasted from the CN tower.

Here is my simple dipole antenna:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3326/3583830534_5348df3411_b.jpg

I have no snowy picture but slight ghosting on a few channels. My antenna has a habit of picking up some signals from the back. Still not bad for a do it yourself project from scrap metal and wood.

If you live in a condo, the unfortunately the signals you want to receive are attenuated by the bricks/concrete. It's best to keep your antenna outdoors for the best reception.
ppl4golf
May 31st, 2009, 11:25 PM
You can build your own simple dipole antenna to pick up the local VHF and most of the UHF channels in your region.

I'm 150km+ away from the Toronto and I can pick up all of the channels that are being broadcasted from the CN tower.

Here is my simple dipole antenna:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3326/3583830534_5348df3411_b.jpg

I have no snowy picture but slight ghosting on a few channels. My antenna has a habit of picking up some signals from the back. Still not bad for a do it yourself project from scrap metal and wood.

If you live in a condo, the unfortunately the signals you want to receive are attenuated by the bricks/concrete. It's best to keep your antenna outdoors for the best reception.

Keep the discussion/info for DIGITAL OTA. I don't thing anyone gives a dang about analog OTA whether it is crystal clear or not:cheesygri

I am interested in how your DIY do when it is fed to an ATSC tuner...
yonoid
Jun 1st, 2009, 12:38 PM
thats not the prettiest looking antenna but it does the job. I wish i could use an outdoor one but I'm not able to place one on my balcony.

Might have to stick it out with rogers a while longer :(
mike24
Jun 2nd, 2009, 09:03 AM
Keep the discussion/info for DIGITAL OTA. I don't thing anyone gives a dang about analog OTA whether it is crystal clear or not:cheesygri

I am interested in how your DIY do when it is fed to an ATSC tuner...

My cheap antenna with two wires can pick up digital programming as well as analog. I'm preparing myself for the eventual transition from analog to digital broadcasting by building my own antenna to receive clear picture.

The OP wanted to know a little about antennas. So instead of spending 150+ on a "good" antenna, you can build one yourself for $6 (including the impedance transformer).

I pick up SUNTV and other digital broadcasters from the GTA.

So for anyone out there, don't listen to BS about how you need this expensive equipment to pick up digital programming. It's a retail tactic, don't fall for it. Of course you need a TV with a tuner or just a converter box, but there is no 'special' antenna that you need to buy. An antenna design from 100 years ago will do just fine.

With digital broadcasting, you don't have to worry so much about pointing your antenna in the right direction. Multipath, snowy pictures or ghosting is eliminated. It's possible to build an antenna yourself to get the following specs:

http://images.jedsoft.org/fun/antennas/dtv/gh6_10_rev2_gain.png

This is preamp gain, which is very good. It will allow you to pick up all of the digital broadcasters in your region.
ppl4golf
Jun 2nd, 2009, 10:28 AM
I don't know how the other folks in London do with OTA, it is fair game for anyone in southern Ontario to pick up GTA stations AND major US network stations. I don't see how anyone need to watch any more TV than on this list.

Picking up GTA stations means nothing to me. My old house has a huge yagi style attic antenna and I climbed in and all I got was CBC,CFTO,CW.

My half-assed CM4221 at 18ft gets me everything fairly consistently except NBC. There is some difference an antenna can make. The chart you list is possibly the best antenna but there is a lot of work to do for many including myself.

If you go OTA, you should aim for best results so you could cancel subscription from carrier.