Elect 4-Bay HD Antenna - $17.99 [Archive]

cheap_guy

Sep 25th, 2009, 06:18 PM

I tried to use one of those HD antennas once, couldn't get any of the HD channels. I lived in downtown Montreal back then.

Hmm, Montreal has very good HD reception... well at least it does now. Maybe you weren't facing in the right direction, or you were shielded by the mountain.

Using one of these (a digiwave one) from the Pointe inside a building, I can pick up NBC/CBS/TQS/VPT/CBC/SRC/TQ.

Better, from where my folks are (south shore), using a simple UHF loop indoors, I can get NBC/FOX/CBS/VPT/WCFE/CBC/SRC/TQS/TQ when attached to my CM7000.

entity

Sep 25th, 2009, 07:07 PM

hehe, everytime I see one of these posts, I have to add,
look into building one for yourself if you have the time. Takes ~30 mins to do so if you have the parts. Instructions at digitalhome.ca forums..
Specifically, look into building the Single-Bay or Double-Bay Gray Hoverman design antenna. I get awesome reception with my $5 antenna (although it looks like an eye-sore).

Just outta curiousity, is there a big difference between the clones and the branded ones? Design is the same is it not? Much difference in part quality?

zoolander

Sep 25th, 2009, 07:45 PM

Worth a try if it has the same dimensions and configuration as a CM4221HD.

zoolander

Sep 25th, 2009, 07:49 PM

Oh, and you want a good quality weatherproof balun if it's going to be an outdoor install.

jackass_ca

Sep 25th, 2009, 07:49 PM

I picked up the $20 one at Factorydirect last week, haven't hooked it up yet though... they also had an 8 bay one for $30

Azenha

Sep 25th, 2009, 07:57 PM

ab20

Sep 25th, 2009, 08:02 PM

Azenha

Sep 25th, 2009, 08:12 PM

What did you use to combine the two antennas?

See last paragraph of my post:

"I have two of them on my roof linked to a satellite splitter..."

They are just like a regular cable TV splitters, but have a far higher bandwidth. A regular splitter will handle up to 900Mhz, whereas a satellite splitter will handle upward of 2,400Mhz. Although the HD signal does not actually transmit beyond the 900Mhz range, I find that the satellite splitter allows a clearer passthrough signal.

If you are in Toronto, there's a dollar store on Yonge St, just a block north of Welesley, that has two way satellite splitters for about $3 and three way splitters for about $4. The source sells them for about $15 to $20 each about two years ago when I last checked.

kcotoulas

Sep 25th, 2009, 08:26 PM

is there a prize for most thanks, or do you have low self-esteem?
:cool:

lol

Teletran

Sep 25th, 2009, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by bastich
is there a prize for most thanks, or do you have low self-esteem?

lol

That wasn't funny.

-=Wraith=-

Sep 25th, 2009, 08:59 PM

lol @ body cream 2/$4.99

"BRAND NEW" too! Man, i'm so sick of having to buy cheap used body cream

zoolander

Sep 25th, 2009, 09:31 PM

Fortune Computers (Toronto) has had them for this price ($17.99) for a few weeks now.

http://www.fortunecomputer.com/

I have two of the on my roof linked to a satellite splitter. I get about 20 to 26 HD channels, depending on the weather. I'm planning to get a third in order to clean up some of the bad channels that are affected by the weather.

You lose gain with every signal split. 3 antennas=2 splits. It's a rare combo, but might work.
Are the present antennas ganged the proper distance apart in width and height? If you find stacking 2 at Buffalo and ganging it with 1 at the CN tower/First Canadian Place yeilds no better results, try a preamp.

I use 2 ganged CM4221HDs and a Winegard preamp, signals are solid.
They are on separate tripods at different heights such that there is no beam interference.

luckydog2006

Sep 25th, 2009, 09:55 PM

Bought mine at factorydirect for $18 and it works well if you know how to use and place it depending on your area. TVFool is your friend.

dtrader69

Sep 25th, 2009, 10:05 PM

Is there a prize for most Thanks, or do you have low self-esteem?
:cool:

guess i will stop posting deals then...

cheap_guy

Sep 25th, 2009, 11:30 PM

You lose gain with every signal split. 3 antennas=2 splits. It's a rare combo, but might work.
Are the present antennas ganged the proper distance apart in width and height? If you find stacking 2 at Buffalo and ganging it with 1 at the CN tower/First Canadian Place yeilds no better results, try a preamp.

I use 2 ganged CM4221HDs and a Winegard preamp, signals are solid.
They are on separate tripods at different heights such that there is no beam interference.

Combining 3 antennas isn't 2 splits... its 2 combinations. You lose signal in the combination so instead of getting double the signal strength, you'll get slightly less than that.

zoolander

Sep 26th, 2009, 01:41 AM

Combining 3 antennas isn't 2 splits... its 2 combinations. You lose signal in the combination so instead of getting double the signal strength, you'll get slightly less than that.

Sorry, I guess combo is the proper term. I was calling it split because if he is buying a third antenna, it's two on the Buffalo stack connected by a reverse splitter, then that single line is connected to the Toronto antenna with another reverse splitter... assuming since he bought from Fortune, he lives in the GTA and has no trouble picking up the T.O. channels with one antenna. I had "splitter" in my mind, lol.

So which is better for getting that extra gain for the scattered N.Y. channels, a preamp or an extra antenna? From personal experience, I live west of Hamilton and originally stacked 2 at NY/Buffalo but found a preamp with 1 to give better reception results.

Bastich

Sep 26th, 2009, 02:09 AM

guess i will stop posting deals then...

Ah, so it's the latter. ;)

Seriously, your antenna deal is fine. I'm just confused by all the posts lately seeking gratitude from the community.

:cool:

vsaint

Sep 26th, 2009, 05:12 AM

was at the store it's listed as UHF 21-69.
so FOX, CBC and CHCH is in the 14-20 range.
has anyone gotten those channels with something like this ?
are the antennas really picky about the range.

CozmikDebris

Sep 26th, 2009, 07:25 AM

guess i will stop posting deals then...

Now you're sounding like a 12 year old. Are you saying you post deals only because you want thanks?

dtrader69

Sep 26th, 2009, 08:30 AM

Now you're sounding like a 12 year old. Are you saying you post deals only because you want thanks?

its called gratitude...no point of posting deals if it doesnt help the community...to know that the deals i am posting are....the number of thanks shows....if it is useless then the admin should remove that feature....

vectorz090

Sep 26th, 2009, 09:05 AM

Is there a prize for most Thanks, or do you have low self-esteem?
:cool:

lol

Originally Posted by bastich
is there a prize for most thanks, or do you have low self-esteem?

That wasn't funny.

Ah, so it's the latter. ;)

Seriously, your antenna deal is fine. I'm just confused by all the posts lately seeking gratitude from the community.

:cool:

I LOL'ed hardd.. ROTFL.. :D

djredhat

Sep 26th, 2009, 10:05 AM

What's the resolution of these over the air HD channels?

jaemes

Sep 26th, 2009, 10:12 AM

Thanks for the link/flyer! Just wondering when this'll end? It writes this "week" but doesn't show the starting/ending dates

Fortune Computers (Toronto) has had them for this price ($17.99) for a few weeks now.

http://www.fortunecomputer.com/

I have two of the on my roof linked to a satellite splitter. I get about 20 to 26 HD channels, depending on the weather. I'm planning to get a third in order to clean up some of the bad channels that are affected by the weather.

stevelam

Sep 26th, 2009, 10:14 AM

i'm probably going to end up building one of those $5 ones you see on youtube. i dont want to buy one and find out i can't get any channels, especially since i live in a basement apartment. gah!

wysiwyg

Sep 26th, 2009, 10:17 AM

What's the resolution of these over the air HD channels?

720P or 1080i depending on the channel and in DD 5.1. Just like what the cable and sat providers give you, except in better quality due to no compression.

stevelam

Sep 26th, 2009, 10:24 AM

Yes, it's a clone...

http://www.techsourcecanada.ca/html/flyer.html

But for $17.99, it's the cheapest I've seen.
Don't forget to press the THANK button.

thanks. probably gonna get that $15.99 network 'n' usb adapter.

Sep 26th, 2009, 10:59 AM

Yes, it's a clone...

http://www.techsourcecanada.ca/html/flyer.html

But for $17.99, it's the cheapest I've seen.
Don't forget to press the THANK button.

This is a good price for a 4-bay. Few months ago I bought a similar antenna from a store on Matheson & Dixie, Mississauga for $19.99 and never regretted it. Have installed it on the bar of an unused satellite dish close to the wall. Installing on the roof might give you 2-3 more channels. My TV does not have a built-in ATSC tuner so had to connect the antenna cable to a "Antenna-In" of a DVD recorder which does have a built-in ATSC tuner & component & S-Video out. I get most of the channels for free mentioned on the following site:

http://www.remotecentral.com/hdtv/

Hope the above info helps! Cheers!

P.S. I have thanked the OP just to encourage him to post such deals in future, though the deal didn't personally benefit me. But it will sure be useful to a lot of readers.

djredhat

Sep 26th, 2009, 11:12 AM

Is there a place in Montreal selling them in that price range?

cheap_guy

Sep 26th, 2009, 12:45 PM

Is there a place in Montreal selling them in that price range?

Not that I've seen, but getting the ant-2084 from xpresscanada makes it reasonably cheap ($20) with 5.99 shipping.

http://www.xpresscanada.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=016930&cid=SAT.502

cheap_guy

Sep 26th, 2009, 12:52 PM

was at the store it's listed as UHF 21-69.
so FOX, CBC and CHCH is in the 14-20 range.
has anyone gotten those channels with something like this ?
are the antennas really picky about the range.

21-69 is european UHF (470�862 MHz). It should work just fine for channels under 21 in North America. That frequency range is 14-80 here. I am using the ant-2084 which is spec-ed that way and I get channel 14 from the US, and 19 and 20 locally with no problems.

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_high_frequency

rodolfo

Sep 26th, 2009, 02:08 PM

Has anyone had any luck with these in London? I keep hearing that London is not very good for trying to get OTA HD.

djredhat

Sep 26th, 2009, 11:57 PM

Not that I've seen, but getting the ant-2084 from xpresscanada makes it reasonably cheap ($20) with 5.99 shipping.

http://www.xpresscanada.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=016930&cid=SAT.502

How's the HD coverage in Montreal? What channels will I be able to get (I live in Verdun). Looking to replace my Skywalker til they fix DN.

djredhat

Sep 27th, 2009, 12:35 AM

Also,

How is this external one compared to this internal:

http://www.consumer.philips.com/c/tv-accessories/hdtv-uhf-vhf-fm-indoor-50-db-amplified-sdv2510_27/prd/en/ca/

It's on sale for $25 at electrotel.

bonzo

Sep 27th, 2009, 01:05 AM

Is this antenna made by the company "Volfe" with product number HD-007?

cheap_guy

Sep 27th, 2009, 01:12 AM

Internal ones are crap... make your own/buy an outside 4 bay and use it inside. I have one of those aluratek ones and its simply a colossal waste of money.

Reception in Montreal is pretty good from verdun. I have a friend near the water who could pick up everything from burlington (except ABC) using an FM wire antenna. BUT, your reception will depend on the sensitivity of the tuner and the obstruction of your view. Check google earth and draw a line between your place and mount mansfield.

Tvfool can give you a good idea of signal strengths to expect.

digitalhome.ca can give you help for everything else.

Before this thread gets out of hand, we should note that there are other very complete threads on OTA at RFD

FlyingElvi

Sep 27th, 2009, 07:33 AM

How's the HD coverage in Montreal? What channels will I be able to get (I live in Verdun). Looking to replace my Skywalker til they fix DN.

I live in Verdun (Crawford), I use a CM 4221 inside my attic. I get the following channels:
CBS,NBC, FOX (+ CW), SRC, CBC, Tele-Quebec, PBS Vermont and PBS Mountain

At Addisson in montreal they sell a clone of the CM 4221 but it's 50$.

Xax

Sep 27th, 2009, 07:47 AM

Does anyone happen to know for a fact how these compare with CM4221s?

ppl4golf

Sep 27th, 2009, 09:56 PM

cheap_guy

Sep 28th, 2009, 12:54 AM

The real question is roughly how it stacks up with say the CM4221HD. After 3 pages, nobody has earned any thank yet :D

For real OTAer's, getting a few channels doesn't mean much...it's getting ALL the expected channels reliably that matters. That's the breaking point where there should be enough content to watch for >>90% people (assumed in GTA). The real saving is after you cancel the cable/satellite subscription:cheesygri

Well, how it works is pretty much different for everyone - there is no generic answer to your problem. Sometimes people find that the CM4221 works better than a clone, but often the clone works just as well in terms of getting all the available channels. The real question is, are you willing to pay double for something which may work better, may be the same, or may not work at all?

In Montreal, where getting local channels is as hard (if not harder than) getting US channels, the result is more a function of your line of sight as opposed to the quality of the antenna you use. And frankly, until CTV head office (in Toronto) changes its position on OTA HD for CFCF (canada's finest, my a$$), there is no getting away from cable.

zoolander

Sep 28th, 2009, 01:18 AM

The only other way I can get the HD channels I'm getting now is subscribing to Cogeco HD which would be $70 or $60 bundled. Of course there are a lot of specialty channels and fluff in that package but after a few months, we don't miss them at all. So for a saving of around $800/y, I was not going to worry about spending another $30 on a proven CM4221HD, especially the time I invested on my 30+ foot high pitched roof installing them roped to a roofer's D-ring.

This a good listing for GTA (note "Local Broadcast 14072" gives us all the correct channel call numbers).
http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZCGrid.do?fromTimeInMillis=1254146400000

ppl4golf

Sep 28th, 2009, 09:21 AM

Well, how it works is pretty much different for everyone - there is no generic answer to your problem. Sometimes people find that the CM4221 works better than a clone, but often the clone works just as well in terms of getting all the available channels. The real question is, are you willing to pay double for something which may work better, may be the same, or may not work at all?

In Montreal, where getting local channels is as hard (if not harder than) getting US channels, the result is more a function of your line of sight as opposed to the quality of the antenna you use. And frankly, until CTV head office (in Toronto) changes its position on OTA HD for CFCF (canada's finest, my a$$), there is no getting away from cable.

Any direct comparison of similar designs (eg 4-bay) is helpful as long as the variables are controlled.

@ <$20, it is true there is very little to lose. I actually debated whether I should get the equivalent Digiwave 2084 for my folks' chimney mount.

I ended up with a DB2 ($40!!!) just because it looks better and it's small. I may still get one of these 4-bay clone and see how it stacks up against a proven 2-Bay.

I know there will be some use for the DB2 as it can be used indoor and fairly portable.

ionic

Sep 28th, 2009, 09:41 AM

Ah, so it's the latter. ;)

Seriously, your antenna deal is fine. I'm just confused by all the posts lately seeking gratitude from the community.

:cool:

how about all the posts from people being rude for no apparent reason???

cheap_guy

Sep 28th, 2009, 10:41 AM

Any direct comparison of similar designs (eg 4-bay) is helpful as long as the variables are controlled.

@ <$20, it is true there is very little to lose. I actually debated whether I should get the equivalent Digiwave 2084 for my folks' chimney mount.

I ended up with a DB2 ($40!!!) just because it looks better and it's small. I may still get one of these 4-bay clone and see how it stacks up against a proven 2-Bay.

I know there will be some use for the DB2 as it can be used indoor and fairly portable.

In toronto, depending on where you are, its sometimes useful to point one antenna towards buffalo and another towards the CN tower. You can combine these with a splitter.

I'm happy with my 2084, but I use it indoors. Outdoors, I wouldn't be surprised if it would start rusting.

zoolander

Sep 28th, 2009, 02:53 PM

One method is to use GoogleEarth and the arrow option. Enter your home address/postal code to pin it, then pin the CN Tower and the all the Buffalo towers. Draw a digital line to the CN Tower. Draw a second line to the middle of the Buffalo cluster. Zoom in. Now you have a detailed view of where those lines cross your neighbouring roofs and landmarks ie; where to point your antennas.

If those two lines are within the beam width of the 4-Bay, you can get away with using one antenna, or even better, stack two of them for greater gain to reliably get the Buffalo stations... which may be a better option than a preamp if you live close to the CN Tower because the amp in that situation could cause the CN signal to overpower the Buffalo stations. And yes, do what ppl4golf suggests below, point it at Buffalo, slightly away from the CN Tower because you will easily pick up the Toronto channels at an angle. Living near a tower is tricky when you're trying to receive further towers near the same path.

ppl4golf

Sep 28th, 2009, 05:44 PM

The best website for OTA aim is :

www.antennamap.com

Move the bubble to the exact antenna location, click the channel call and voila the aim. Zoom out to see what's in the line of sight.

The only thing Earth does and antennamap doesn't is the real-time elevation.

ppl4golf

Sep 28th, 2009, 05:57 PM

In toronto, depending on where you are, its sometimes useful to point one antenna towards buffalo and another towards the CN tower. You can combine these with a splitter.

I'm happy with my 2084, but I use it indoors. Outdoors, I wouldn't be surprised if it would start rusting.

I totally agree every city is different. In around Metro Toronto and immediate surroundings, sometimes it's advantageous to just aim at Buffalo and away from the CN Tower to 'equalize' the signal strengths.

For my particular location, combining 2 antennae in different direction will get me CHCH-DT. I didn't bother as the 4221 is enough of an eye sore as it is:cheesygri

ppl4golf

Oct 12th, 2009, 12:26 PM

I'll give an update :

I just bought a Electronic Master (aka Digiwave) ANT-2092 4-Bay antenna kit with a built-in 'preamp'...All for $25 and I said what the heck.

I replaced the DB2 at my folks and the reception of the non-amplified Electronic Master is worse than the non-amplified DB2. After I plugged in the power/amp unit, the reception +++improved and is almost as good as the non-amplified DB2. I did not get any new channels. The catchment/beam angle seem to be equal on both.

The ANT-2092 is extremely flimsy and lightweight. The quality of the relflector is decent. The cookie-cutted elements can be bent easily and the mounting hardware is dollar-store quality. It is not a good idea to use it indoor because the elements can be bent if it is bumped. The lightweight works to my advantage because it goes on a 5 feet aluminum mast of 1" diameter.

Overall, price is good and it is comparable to a DB2. The DB2 is not quite as good as my original 4221. You get what you pay for.