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-   -   South Nepean, Ottawa - What do I need? (http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2099)

bigred78 5-Sep-2011 5:34 AM

South Nepean, Ottawa - What do I need?
 
According to my TVFool reception results it seems that I would need up to 2 antennas to fully take advantage of all the current and pending channels on my plot. Could someone advise on a setup and antenna models you could recommend.

Thanks.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...83873da5623995

John Candle 5-Sep-2011 8:33 AM

Tv Antennas and Reception
 
How many Tv's will be connected?? Is this a , house , condo , apt. , mobile home , motor home , or ect. ??

Tigerbangs 5-Sep-2011 2:28 PM

YUP, I have done this for quite a few Ottawans, as I used to live on Ottawa, and know the lay of the land. You have 2 transmitter locations: Camp Fortune in Gatineau, and the Rogers Tower in Herbert's Corner in Manotick, and they are far enough apart, and in different directions to require 2 antennas to get everything that is available to you. If you are using only one TV, and are willing to mount outdoors, you can use a single broadband antenna mounted on a rotator, but most Ottawans are loathe to do that because the rotators freeze at times in winter, which locks you into one transmitting location or the other.

The Camp Fortune tower has both VHF and UHF channels on it, however, the Herbert's Corners tower is now all UHF. Since CIII, channel 6 Global, is still on VHF-low band channel 6, you'll need a broadband VHF-UHF antenna aimed at camp Fortune, and a UHF antenna aimed at Herbert's Corner.

I would use an AntennaCraft HD850 mounted on your roof aimed at the Camp Fortune tower, which is located virtually due north of your location. On the same mast, but separated by at least 4', use a UHF Yagi-style antenna like an AntennasCraft MXU-47 aimed at the Rogers Tower, 125 degrees compass heading.

Run a coaxial RG-6u coaxial cable from each antenna to your TV location, and connect each cable to a good-quality RF A/B switch, which will allow you to easily switch from one antenna to the other: remote control A/B switches are available if you don't want to get out of your chair...LOL. You need to be sure to ground the coaxial cable using a coax ground clamp and grounding rod where the cable enters the house to be sure to discharge any static electricity that builds up in the atmosphere and can damage your TV set.

If you plan to run multiple TV sets from this antenna system, there are a couple of extra steps to take, and I will outline them if you need that information. This setup will get you all of the Ottawa-Gatineau stations perfectly: most likely better than you'd see them on cable or satellite.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...83873da5623995

http://antennacraft.com/pdfs/MXU47.pdf

http://antennacraft.com/pdfs/HD850.pdf

http://www.amazon.com/Remote-Control.../dp/B0042QCLQ4

http://manuals.solidsignal.com/AntIn...tm_campaign=CJ

bigred78 5-Sep-2011 6:27 PM

How many Tv's will be connected?? Is this a , house , condo , apt. , mobile home , motor home , or ect. ??

Well, my plan is one in the basement/family/entertainment room and another in our main living room.

The home we've just purchased is a semi-detached home (basement, ground floor & second floor).

Exact height of the home i am not sure but I think the height should be sufficient for an antenna on the roof.

According to Tigerbangs it seems that I may need to "stack" two antennas as I was thinking.

Any advice on a contractor or company that knows their way around installing such antennas in Ottawa?

bigred78 5-Sep-2011 6:39 PM

"You need to be sure to ground the coaxial cable using a coax ground clamp and grounding rod where the cable enters the house to be sure to discharge any static electricity that builds up in the atmosphere and can damage your TV set."

You mean like this? =>

http://www.dxengineering.com/Parts.a...No=DXE-CGB-200

bigred78 5-Sep-2011 7:10 PM

"If you plan to run multiple TV sets from this antenna system, there are a couple of extra steps to take, and I will outline them if you need that information."

On second thought, yes I will definitely have two sets (living room and basement). So a 2 set setup would be appreciated.

Some details;

My home has a 2" (inch) PVC pipe running from the attic to the basement mechanical room for future wiring such as this.

Thank you very much for all the info given so far, much appreciated, feeling more "edudimicated" (hehe) already.

John Candle 5-Sep-2011 7:58 PM

Tv Antennas and Reception
 
Antennas , supplies , installers . Not listed in any order of which one is the best. Lighthouse Electronics , 1636 Tecumseh Rd. East Windsor , Ontario , N8W 1C5 , 519-252-2512 . http://www.saveandreplay.com , http://www.trentondistributors.com

John Candle 5-Sep-2011 8:30 PM

Tv Antennas and Reception
 
I recommend give the ChannelMaster CM3000A a try. If it works , it solves the problem of 2 antennas.

Tigerbangs 5-Sep-2011 8:33 PM

OK, thanks for the input. 2 TV sets will be pretty easy: install the antennas as previously recommended. and run the two coaxial cables to your basement via the conduit. In the basement, install a coaxial cable splitter on each incoming cable, and run one cable from EACH splitter to the areas where you want TV in the house. You will now have 2 cables at each TV set. Install an RF A/B switch at each TV set, then run the output of the A/B switch to the antenna connector on each digital tuner that you have. Scan for stations, and all of the stations should appear on the A side of the splitter, the rescan for the B side of the splitter. All of your stations should pop-in without an issue.

Don't expect an omni-directional antenna to work on your VHF stations: (6.9.13)

bigred78 6-Sep-2011 2:42 AM

Thanks you Tigerbangs!

bigred78 6-Sep-2011 3:20 AM

Oh, what about a pre-amplifier? No need due to the distance?

GroundUrMast 6-Sep-2011 5:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigred78 (Post 11393)
Oh, what about a pre-amplifier? No need due to the distance?

Correct... but more specifically, there is plenty of signal power in the air at your location. In your situation, a preamplifier would be at risk of overload which would result in less, not more usable signals.


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