Hi fellow OTA HDTVers. I'm getting a chance to doing something I have always wanted to do: put a Channel Master CM7777 preamp onto my homemade HDTV antenna that is used for viewing the Canadian channels here on Grand Island NY.
Before we start, here is a little history.. I live in an apartment complex that does not allow outside, rooftop, or attic antennas. Nothing can be permanently attached to their building. Our choices for TV are Time Warner cable, satellite (dishes are mounted on poles that are sunk into the ground), or TV-top antenna. TV top antenna reception is decent with 17 and 29 coming in good, but 2, 4, 7, and 23 can be "hit or miss" depending on antenna choice/location. Also, we're too far away from Toronto to get any of the Canadian channels using a TV top antenna. You would think our reception would be a little better for the American stations considering our TV fool chart:
[Link: tvfool.com]The homemade antenna is a Hoverman mounted on a 2x4 that is 36" long. I prop this antenna onto a north facing window ledge (depicted in one of the photos below) and use it to watch the channel 5 Hockey Night in Canada HDTV feed and have been getting great results. I also used it to watch the Olympics on channel 9 with "mixed" results. By "mixed" I mean sometimes the channel was there, sometimes it wasn't. I guess the combination of the antenna, 20' of RG-6 cable, and the TV's RF receiver, must put me right at the "cliff" for channel 9 reception. I wanted to improve that, and also see what else can be pulled in from our brother to the north. Here are several antenna pictures in no particular order; some even with a tape measure showing antenna measurements/dimensions in case you wish to build one of these...
[Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com][Link: flickr.com]On to the comparison. Here is a chart showing what can be picked up from my location using the above antenna when the antenna faces Toronto with NO preamp:
5.1 - digital, 3 out of 4 bars signal strength, solid picture!
9 - analog, almost unwatchable with lots of snow
9.1 - 1 bar strength, picture comes and goes due to "cliff" effect
11.1 - 2 bars, sometime breaking up for a second or 2 but quickly comes back
13 - almost unwatchable with lots of snow
15 - watchable
17.1,.2,.3 - 3 bars
19 - strong analog signal!
25 - slight to moderate snow
25.1 - not there 95% of time, way over the cliff..
26.1,.2,.3 - 1 bar
28 - too much snow to see what's going on
29.1,.2 - 3 bars
36 - decent picture, some snow but watchable
41 - decent picture, some snow but watchable
47 - decent picture, some snow but watchable
48 - lots of snow
55 - lots of snow but can watch
61 lots of snow, can barely watch
The preamp is in transit as I create this post. Its arrival is expected in the next day or two. After it arrives, I'll connect it to the Hoverman, take data while the antenna is aimed at Toronto, and post the results on this thread. It is my sincere wish that this information proves useful to anyone that may be considering an an OTA antenna setup, whether it be home-made or professionally installed.. .
