New to OTA need help with setup, Brantford, Ontario

[tjbird19]

On May 21 I will have officially cut the cord with Rogers Cable. I am very excited to be going the OTA route but I will admit that I know bare minimum about the process. I will so greatly appreciate your guys knowledge and help to get me up and running.

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...e1c616918db1cd

I live in Brantford, Ontario on the 6th floor of an apartment building. The farthest east I could get without obstructions would be roughly 130 degrees and farthest west would be 270 degrees. I really want to try and pick up stations from Buffalo which is roughly 75 to 90 miles away depending on the different towers in Buffalo. I would like to pick up stations from the CN Tower in Toronto as well. Also, I will have two TV's that will need to run off the antenna. One TV is in the family room which is going to be roughly 9 feet of coax cable from where the antenna will be, the other TV will be in the bedroom and is 25 feet of Coax cable from the Antenna. Dont know if that means anything but I want to give as much info as possible.

Please help me guys with figuring out what I will need to get this done. What kind of Antenna, do i need a preamp? Thanks so much guys for the input and the more help I can get the better. Thank You.

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Does your apartment have a outside balcony that has unobstructed view , 62 to 126 degree magnetic compass directions??

The balcony is Very Important for the Best Reception.

Those USA Tv Stations are Very Weak Signal Strength.

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The more unobstructed the views are the better the reception will be.

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Or a window that has a unobstructed view , 62 to 126 degree magnetic compass direction??


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Is the building construction concrete and steal??

[tjbird19]

Thanks Teleview for the response.

Yes the balcony has an unobstructed view from 62 to 126 degrees. I used my Iphone 5 compass which may not be completely accurate. My balcony almost faces TruNorth, I have complete unobstructed views from about 130-135 degrees to the East and to the West I can get roughly 270 degrees.

I believe my balcony railing is made of steel, its pretty heavy duty. The building I am in is concrete and steel. Being on the 6th floor I am 50-60 feet off the ground. My balcony is roughly 20 foot long.

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Out on the balcony install a , Antennas Direct , DB8e Antenna aim both panels at about 118 degree magnetic compass direction.

These USA Digital Broadcast Tv Stations/Channels are Very Weak Signal Strength.

WGRZ-DT , Real UHF channel 33 , NBC , Antenna Tv , Weather Nation.

WNLO-DT , Real UHF channel 32 , The CW.

WKBW-DT , Real UHF channel 38 , ABC.

WIVB-DT , Real UHF channel 39 , CBS.

This next USA Tv station is a little stronger signal strength.

WNYB-DT , Real UHF channel 26 , Religion.


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These 2 Canada Digital Broadcast Tv Stations/Channels are Very Weak Signal Strength and will not be received with the DB8e antenna aimed at the USA Tv stations.

CFMT-DT , Real UHF channel 47 , OMNI 1.

CJMT-DT , Real UHF channel 40 , OMNI 2.

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The rest of the Stronger Signal Strength Canada Digital Broadcast Tv Stations/Channels , Will Be Received Ok even though the DB8e antenna ios not aimed at some of them because the signal strengths are stronger.

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Install a , RCA TVPRAMP1R , preamplifier.

The RCA preamp will be operated in the combined single antenna mode.

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For 1 tv connected use No splitter.

For 2 Tv's connected use a , Holland Electronics , HFS-2D , 2 way splitter.

http://www.hollandelectronics.com.

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Here are some places to buy antennas and etc. .

http://www.saveandreplay.com.

http://www.tdlcanada.ca.

http://www.ronard.com.

http://www.hollandelectronics.com.

http://www.3starinc.com.

http://www.antennacraft.net

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A 3 foot tripod antenna mount make a good antenna mount stand for a balcony.

Or can mount the DB8e antenna to the metal railing of the balcony.


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Their is 1 other USA Digital Broadcast Tv Station/Channel that can be Tested for reception and it is also Very Weak Signal Strength.

WBBZ-TV , Real VHF channel 7 , Me-Tv , This Tv , Raycom Sports.

Install a , http://www.antennacraft.net.

Y10-7-13 VHF high band channels 7 thru 13 antenna.

The Y10-7-13 antenna will be installed about 3 feet below the DB8e antenna on the same mast pipe.

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The RCA preamp wil be connected and operated in the separate antenna mode.

Connect the DB8e antenna to the UHF connection of the preamp.

Connect the Y10-7-13 antenna to the VHF connection of the preamp.

[tjbird19]

Thank You so much Teleview the info that you gave me is very much appreciated. I am very excited to start getting things ready to go cable free!

I am assuming that the Y10-7-13 antenna will be pointed in the same direction as the DB8e Antenna? I have read also that the cable from the two antennas to the preamp need to be the same length, is that true? I dont have to worry about Ghosting with the two antennas as long as their 3 feet apart?

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Aim the , Y10-7-13 antenna at about 126 degree magnetic compass direction.

The aim of the DB8e and Y10-7-13 antennas can be adjusted for best reception.

Most Digital Tv's have a Signal Strength Meter and some Digital Tv's also have a Signal Quality Meter.

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The coaxes are the same length when combining 2 Identical Antennas to increase reception.

You are not combining 2 identical antennas so the coaxes do not need to be the same length.

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To reduce antenna interaction , separate antennas by 3 feet or more on the same antenna mast pipe.

Install the , Y10-7-13 below the DB8e.

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Please know that the USA Tv stations are Very Weak Signal Strength , have Edge Path Obstructions =Hills /Mountains and are long distance away.

Reliable reception of USA Tv stations is a Test.

[tjbird19]

is there an alternate antenna I can use other than the Y10-7-13 antenna? The only reason why I ask is because of the size of the antenna at 120 inches. I think that is going to be way to big for my balcony it will take up half the balcony. any suggestions on a smaller more compact VHF antenna that will give me relatively close results to the Y10-7-13 antenna?

Thanks again for your help, I would be very lost without your knowledge.

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In place of the , Y10-7-13 antenna.

Can Test reception with a.

http://www.antennasdirect.com.

Clear Stream 5 antenna.

[tonyp063]

You're up against the laws of physics. Frequency response for the hi-vhf band simply requires larger elements & longer antennas.

That said, you could try a Y5-7-13
It's about 1/2 as long (60"). The trade-off is that you'll lose 3Db in gain. which means 1/2 as much gain.

[tjbird19]

Is there a big difference between the Antennas Direct DB8e and DB8? The only reason why I ask is because the price can almost be $100 dollars different. I want to get the best I can but at the same point I dont want to over pay. They seem pretty similiar but there could be a big difference that I am not seeing. Thanks again guys

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The DB8e has 2 reception panels that can be aimed any direction.

Because some of the , USA and Canada Tv stations are Very Weak Signal Strength and the , Very Weak Signal Strength USA and Canada Tv stations are different directions.

The 2 panels that can be aimed , will most likely need to be aim adjusted for best reception of the , USA and Canada Very Weak Signal Strength Tv Stations.

The antennas I am recommending are Maximum Reception antennas for reception of the the , USA and Canada Very Weak Signal Strength Tv Stations.

Look at the tvfool radar map , your reception location is in the middle of the map.

See the directions of the , USA and Canada Tv stations.

The tvfool radar map and and channel list shows the , Real Channels that are transmitted and received.

Tv antennas receive Real Channels.

The channel list also shows the , (virt) virtual numbers , virtual numbers are Not real channels , even if the virtual number is the same as the Real Channel.

The DB8e receives Real UHF channels 14 thru 51.

The , Y10-7-13 or Y5-7-13 or CS5 , antennas are used to receive Real VHF high band channels 7 thru 13.

[tjbird19]

I totally understand all of that teleview my only question was if there was a big difference between the Antennas Direct DB8 and the DB8e? Are they very similiar or basically the same model just a new version? The reason I ask is because of the great price difference between the two.

I can get the DB8 for $95 dollars while i have found the DB8e by me from between $180-205 dollars.

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The DB8e is designed for maximum reception ability and flexibility of use.

The DB8 has less reception ability and does not have the flexibility of use that the DB8e has.

I am doing my best to recommended antennas that will reliably receive the weak signal strength Tv stations.

You will make choice/s to install any antenna that your research and other people recommend.

[tjbird19]

Once again, Thanks for your expert advice that you gave me Teleview I am so very grateful. I will be buying the DB8e and I cant wait to get this setup bc in a few days the cable will be cut and I am not turning back. Sick and tired of the cable companies telling me what I have to have on my cable package and then charging me rediculous prices!

Hope a lot more people start waking up and switching to OTA. Its time to change TV and put the control in the peoples hands and let the cable company know their time is running short.

Thanks again everyone and I will be on updating you how things are going with my setup.