Computers & Electronics

[Merged] HD channels over the air from antenna

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Deal Addict
Jan 11, 2007
1275 posts
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Brampton
[QUOTE]I realize I will need to pick up one of those ATSC tuners as well, so it's a $200 move which may go to waste if I don't get all that many channels.[/QUOTE]

I regret I didn't buy a tv with a built in tuner to play around with this without the investment. But I figured if I was in a bad spot for ota after sinking a few bucks into it, I could probably sell my stuff for what I paid for it, or almost what I paid.

There appears to be a growing interest in this and not a lot of local places to buy the antennas or external hd receivers. If I saw a local ad selling my equipment, I would have bought it for what I paid to save me some travel time and hassles.
Newbie
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Feb 26, 2005
43 posts
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ChaoZ wrote: Just read through the discussion and it really has me interested. I have a HDTV without tuner (just a small one), which kinda limits my exploration options. I was hoping to get HDTV of the major U.S. networks along with CBC/CITY etc.

I live in the north-east end of Scaroborugh with a south facing room on the second floor. Line of sight to Buffalo is possibly blocked by a few appartment buildings to the South-South-East. Mounting an exterior antenna is out of the question and even an attic mount is questionable. Is it possible to use a smaller indoor antenna, but amp the crap out of it to get a signals? I realize I will need to pick up one of those ATSC tuners as well, so it's a $200 move which may go to waste if I don't get all that many channels.

The most I can probably do is a 4221 in the attic, but I doubt the attic has even been opened since I've lived here. God knows what lurks up there. :-0

I take it you don't already have a tv with a built in ATSC tuner?
You could try picking up a cheaper STB off of ebay (I posted a link a few pages back to a "local" ebay seller who often carries them).

Another thing you might consider (this is back what I did when I was in your position) is to pick up an HD tuner card, if your computer can handle it. A lot of them come with the indoor antenna included, and if you buy it from a store you can presumably return it if things don't work out. And if things DO work out, they can make for half decent PVRs.
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Dec 8, 2005
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Well, when I purchased my TV, not very many TVs in the size had the ATSC tuner built in. It was also before I realized I can get HD OTA for free. The core use of the TV was to play consoles as well as play video from the computer (a task which it still does very well).

It looks like I'll have to give some money to J&R, though I suppose it'll hurt somewhat less because of our strong dollar. Customs though... bleh!
Dec 31, 1969
So how many channels do you get exactly? Like do you get any non-HD channels?
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Jul 20, 2004
1052 posts
GTA
so I got my 4221 from Yaamon and stuck it up into my attic, propped up against some beams on the insulated floor. i was planning on placing it near a decorative round window facing south in the attic, but when i crawled up there this week-end, i found i had no access to that portion of the roof. :( and no way was i gonna take a hack saw to cut through the roofing in that area to get to it.

These are my initial results using a Samsung DTB-H260F receiver:

5.1 - CBLT-DT (CBC) - 10 bars
7.1 - WKBW-HD - ABC - 4 bars
7.2 - WNGS - 4 bars
9.1 - CFTO-HD (CTV) - 7 bars
23.1 - WNLO-HD - 7 bars
25.1 - CBLFT (CBC French) - 7 bars
43.1 - WNED-HD - 4 bars
43.2 - WNED-SD - 4 bars
43.3 - WNED-Th - 4 bars
57.1 - CITYHD (CityTV) - 4 bars
66.3 - ??? (SunTV) - 4 bars

7.1 and 7.2 only showed up when i placed the antenna in the attic and with a little bit of fiddling. all the rest came in even when i had the antenna in the bedroom. last night i went up to the attic again to play with it but at first i thought i made the signal worse. but as the sun set, i found signal strength increasing and got the remaining stations to scan in, although Fox would skip in and out a lot.

2.1 WGRZ-HD NBC
2.2 WGRZ-SD NBC
4.1 WIVB-HD CBS
29.1 WUTV-HD FOX
29.2 WUTV-SD FOX

checked again this morning and it seems that these channels started to drop out, Fox being the first to go, the others would drop in and out. but at least it's promising that if i do a outdoor install, i should get most if not all the channels available.

btw, does anyone know what this antenna is? there's three houses down one street that have these on their roofs in my neighborhood and curious on what it's for. i'm guessing they're not OTA antenna's but for subscription based signals?

[IMG]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/4246 ... ch9.th.jpg[/IMG]
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Apr 30, 2003
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xb0xb0y wrote: so I got my 4221 from Yaamon
How much did Yaamon charge you for the 4221? What other stuff do u need?
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Jul 20, 2004
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robattoronto wrote: How much did Yaamon charge you for the 4221? What other stuff do u need?
$65. bare minimum would be antenna, cable and tuner. that's what i got for now. ;)
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Jul 16, 2006
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Oakville
crsm0085 wrote: Mine is a Samsung SIR-TS160, I picked it up off of ebay (approx 1 yr ago). The seller was ELDIRECT, http://stores.ebay.ca/ELDIRECT, and I see they have some newer boxes up for sale ranging around $40-$50. Not a steal like mine, but not bad either, especially since they are selling locally and offer local pickup. I haven't been in the market for one of these since I picked mine up, but at the time I was looking into them there were not many retailers outside of the US that sold them.

My TS160 is an older model, and has DVI output as well as component and S-video. For audio, it has Optical and Coax digital audio out. It has a hideous on-screen interface, and an only-semi-functional guide, but for the money I paid it gets the job done. From what I hear, newer generation models not only have better Guides and HDMI, they also do a better job tuning in weak signals.
Picked up DTB-H260F at $70 (handling fee+Tax included) from ELDIRECT. It seems better reception than my old PC USB receiver which has Philips chipset, and I liked its UI, EPG and the fact that I don't need to turn on my computer to watch HD OTA anymore. :cheesygri
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Dec 16, 2006
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STERCUS ACCIDIT :cheesygri
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Jan 11, 2007
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Brampton
Nice pictures. I would have liked to install mine outside like yours but I'm concerned over lightning protection. Did you run a ground wire into a grounding rod or is attaching the rg6 cable to the water pipe sufficient?

I'm also wondering how much bad weather will affect my signal from an install in the attic and whether boosting the signal will cause too much gain for some channels. Right now, the only channel that drops out sometimes is 49-1. The cm 7777 amp I have does not have an adjustable gain so I'm wondering what will happen if I install it.

Also, i notice some HD channels display the shows with the black bars on the sides of the picture, while others are full screen and sometimes a mixture of both widescreen and regular format. Does anyone know how to force the full screen all the time on a samsung hd receiver?
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Dec 16, 2006
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venice_it wrote: Nice pictures. I would have liked to install mine outside like yours but I'm concerned over lightning protection. Did you run a ground wire into a grounding rod or is attaching the rg6 cable to the water pipe sufficient?

I'm also wondering how much bad weather will affect my signal from an install in the attic and whether boosting the signal will cause too much gain for some channels. Right now, the only channel that drops out sometimes is 49-1. The cm 7777 amp I have does not have an adjustable gain so I'm wondering what will happen if I install it.

Also, i notice some HD channels display the shows with the black bars on the sides of the picture, while others are full screen and sometimes a mixture of both widescreen and regular format. Does anyone know how to force the full screen all the time on a samsung hd receiver?
Never had problems with lightning (cross my fingers) but I do have the system grounded using a 4 ft copper ground rod. As for the black bars, it all depends on the signals sent out by the stations. I think (dont quote me on this), if they are broadcasting at 1080 you get a full screen, anything lower & you get the bars.
STERCUS ACCIDIT :cheesygri
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Jun 28, 2007
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zzzzoooo wrote: Picked up DTB-H260F at $70 (handling fee+Tax included) from ELDIRECT. It seems better reception than my old PC USB receiver which has Philips chipset, and I liked its UI, EPG and the fact that I don't need to turn on my computer to watch HD OTA anymore. :cheesygri
Can you to me is there a web site for eldirect.
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Jul 20, 2004
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zzzzoooo wrote: Picked up DTB-H260F at $70 (handling fee+Tax included) from ELDIRECT. It seems better reception than my old PC USB receiver which has Philips chipset, and I liked its UI, EPG and the fact that I don't need to turn on my computer to watch HD OTA anymore. :cheesygri
wow, that's a great price. was it missing any accessories? like the remote? most auctions for the 260 on ebay don't go for less than $80-90US unless it's missing accessories.

mine purchased locally on ebay ended up being about $117, after currency conversion, shipping and taxes.
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Jul 20, 2004
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Thanx tataynik for the pics! i appreciate you answering my request.

Don't get me wrong, you've done a great install, but I don't think I could live with such an obviously out of place object stuck to the side of my house. I want to install my antenna outdoors to get better reception, but darn it, call me vein, i don't think i could get myself to do it. and even if i did, i don't think my wife would! :P

so i'm left with either leaving it in the attic or installing it on the roof, which i wanted to avoid since i don't want to be drilling holes up there, or if i ever need the house shingles re-roofed. i guess i'll have to just leave it in the attic, try adding a pre-amp and be done with whatever performance i get.

btw tataynik, you said you grounded it, but i only see one cable leading from the antenna down. also, i guess you're not using a pre-amp either. how long is your cable run?
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Dec 16, 2006
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xb0xb0y wrote: Thanx tataynik for the pics! i appreciate you answering my request.

Don't get me wrong, you've done a great install, but I don't think I could live with such an obviously out of place object stuck to the side of my house. I want to install my antenna outdoors to get better reception, but darn it, call me vein, i don't think i could get myself to do it. and even if i did, i don't think my wife would! :P

so i'm left with either leaving it in the attic or installing it on the roof, which i wanted to avoid since i don't want to be drilling holes up there, or if i ever need the house shingles re-roofed. i guess i'll have to just leave it in the attic, try adding a pre-amp and be done with whatever performance i get.

btw tataynik, you said you grounded it, but i only see one cable leading from the antenna down. also, i guess you're not using a pre-amp either. how long is your cable run?
u'r welcome. I am thinking of moving the antenna to that triangular peak w/ the fake window to get more elevation. I really dont mind how it looks, if you look at the pics taken from a distance, you hardly notice it. My neighbors are too busy looking at my brown grass, they don't look up and notice the antenna. :D I do want them to notice it so that they will get curious and ask me about the antenna and hopefully I can convert someone to OTA HD.

The grounding wire is actually attached to the RG6 (came w/ the kit) thats why you dont notice it.
STERCUS ACCIDIT :cheesygri
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Jul 16, 2006
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Oakville
Bytown wrote: Can you to me is there a web site for eldirect.
No, I don't believe so. You should bid on their eBay site.
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Jul 16, 2006
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Oakville
xb0xb0y wrote: wow, that's a great price. was it missing any accessories? like the remote? most auctions for the 260 on ebay don't go for less than $80-90US unless it's missing accessories.

mine purchased locally on ebay ended up being about $117, after currency conversion, shipping and taxes.
Everything included.

Small tips (even though I am a novice on eBay). There are approx. 6-7 ebay store selling DTB-H260F at the same plaza located at Concord, Toronto. 1000goods, ad_bargins, ELDIRECT, FinestDeal, OCEANSNO.1 and some more. If you monitor the biding history for the deals from ad_bargins and ELDIRECT, you will be able to notice that not many people were biding on the receiver from these two store because of as-is condition and no gurantee against DOA. Usually it ended up with less than $65 USD, and I was pretty much convinced that it is okay to bid on them from many happy feedbacks by people who bought unit from them in the past. And now I am the happy one too.

I also received CM7777 from rwantennasat (another eBay seller) today. It took more than 15 days to be delieved (maybe held on the custom?) but he was kind enough to indicate the package as gift and valued at $40. Total came up $73 CAD (No Duty, No Tax, No brokage fee and strong CAD). :cheesygri
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Jul 16, 2006
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Oakville
Great! Thank you for posting your setup, tataynik.
I've been planning to do exactly the same setup like yours and I am pretty much ready by now. I will shop 10' galvanized pipe from home depot tomorrow so that I can put everything up in this weekend.

CM4221($68), CM7777($73), CM9036 & copper grounding ($61), DTB-H260F ($70), DSS self install kit ($10), 10' pipe ($13).
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May 29, 2005
2255 posts
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This could end up being the biggest ever thread on here :D Glad to see some more people showing interest in this, and joining the club ;) I keep geting people stopping everytime in front of my house, to ask about my setup on page 1 of this thread, they want to know what it does, since I have a dish attached to the tower as well for FTA.

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