They shipped the antenna via UPS and yes, I got hit with the brokerage fees of about $35 CDN. The cost was $60 US plus shipping.

If for whatever reason Canada Customs lets the package through the border without holding it, there will be no brokerage or handling fees. I'd imagine this is rare, but it happens. Just because a package goes through Customs does not mean there will always be brokerage fees. It depends on who handles the clearing. Canada Customs will charge you too, but nothing like a brokerage fee.

From what I understand, UPS itself got into the brokerage business, which is why if a package is sent UPS and held at the border, there will be a brokerage fee.

I don't like UPS much.

That was a little long winded... anyway...

I love the antenna. I don't run an amplifier. I was told that an amplifier will only boost the signal if there is a long cable run, but I'm going to get one anyway, and see what it'll do.

-colin

Sounds like you got the DB4...

I just placed an order with Richard at antennas direct.
I ordered the DB4 and the preamp. (I didn't want to take the chance, and I know this will be the last antenna that I will buy! :-)

They are now shipping via USPS, so we will not have to deal with UPS anymore! Yay!!!! Shipping is a bit steep at $33, but hopefully that will ensure no insane UPS charges afterwards.




If you didn't get nailed by CCRA, your very lucky. I've been nailed twice to ensure that I will NEVER deal with UPS ever.

Depending on who you are dealing with, you can request that the shipper mark the package as "gift" or lower the value of the package to under $20, so that you will not pay for customs/duties/landing fees.



They make a LOT of cash from us...It's not unusual to receive a $75 bill from them for landing costs for a $40US package...it's legalized crime, IMHO.


I'll let you guys know when it comes in. I'm looking forward to it!

Dan

I know that people had issues with NBC, but I wasn't one of them...

When did UPN launch? Maybe that is the issue for me...

Dan

I e-mailed Omni 1&2, asking them for the launch date of their HDTV service transmitting from the CN Tower in Toronto. Here is the reply.

Hi Brent,

Thanks for your email.

I forwarded your question to Mr. Kelly Colasanti, Vice President of
Operations and Engineering for OMNI Television.

His reply: "We do have Digital licenses for both OMNI.1 and 2 for
Toronto. We hope to launch these by Aug 2006."

Please feel free to contact us again if you've any further questions or
need more information about OMNI Television and its programming.

Regards,

Sandy Z.
OMNI Television
Programme Information Coordinator

Hmm, that's more detailed than the response I got from OMNI a week ago - which said "in the near future".

Interesting little tidbits here... after the DTV conversion process is complete (ie. analog transmissions are shut down), here's how the Buffalo station lineup will look:

WGRZ (2/33) will stay on 33.
WIVB (4/39) will stay on 39.
WKBW (7/38) will stay on 38.
WNED (17/43) will stay on 43 (surprising).
WNLO (23/32) will stay on 32.
WUTV (29/14) will switch to 29.
WNYO (49/34) will switch to 49 (not surprising).
WPXJ (51/53) has opted to NOT make a choice yet (probably wants a completely new channel - 14 or 17 seem available?).

Doesn't look like we'll have to worry about any VHF HDTV transmissions.

Thats good news, and it kind of makes sense as psip allows the stations to keep their channel branding. I'm sure it's not lost on the station owners that many people are opting to buy UHF only antennas and prefer the smaller size of those antennas;

I look forward to WNYO switching to 49, but I guess I have to wait a few years for that to happen. right now I get crystal clear analog signal on 49, I'll be happier when that's replaced with a nice DTV signal :-)

Actually, according to the information I have, the rights to any other currently owned numbers are released after their final choice has been confirmed by the FCC, so they may not be able to brand with their old number (for long).

I sent an e-mail off to CityTV Engineering. I let them know that my reception of their HD OTA channel was dismal. Some days it's strong enough to lock and the variance in signal strength is only + - 5 units then other days it's bad with many times the receiver loosing lock with signal strength variances of + - 15-20 units. Here is their reply,

"CityDT is now running at 2000 watts ERP

the power was increased last month following final approval from Industry
Canada"

Not very detailed but to the point I guess. Ive further queried them to find out some information concerning their transmission pattern. I'm not having trouble with Toronto 1 or CBLFT-DT both being transmitted at under 5 kw of power. If their not going to boost their power to something reasonable then I'll have to either rotate my antenna a little further West, mount a smaller second bowtie for just receiving CityDT or not watch City-DT at all.

This message was edited by DeadAir on 02/20/05 15:47 ET.

CityTV HD was down and out today. I was receiving only 8 units signal strength at 12 noon. Even CBLFT-DT and Toronto 1 were much stronger off the CN Tower. They both logged in at 78 units signal strength.

I guess I won't be watching much CityTV HD.

Deadair,

"I find the American channel use of sub channels a little wierd. What's this sub channel thing all about?"

If you are talking about OTA Multichannels which appear as -1,thru -5 than some stations use them wisely. The best example is my local PBS station "UPN" here in Raleigh,NC

Depending on the time of day UPN shows 4-1,4-3,4-4,4-4 or they show 4-1,4-2,4-3

4-1 typically is the same as analog PBS and in 4:3 format.
4-2 is their HD channel and has some real nice HD shows broadcast typically in the evenings in 16:9 mode.
Some times 4-1 will be the same broadcast as 4-2 but not HD.
4-3 is always children shows
4-4 and 4-5 can be talk,cartoons,nature or whatever but are always low res 4:3 and not HD.

Just last night the 4-1 was busy raising money and 4-2 was showing a good HD show about Snowflake a white Gorrilla. Not all of it was in HD but most of it was.

If you switched to analog PBS all you would get is the raisng money broadcast. Of course I know that is what keeps them on the air !!!

I caught PAX for the first time over the weekend.
47-1 PAX same as Analog Pax
47-2 PAXWEST
47-3 Worship
47-4 Faith.

I don't think any of the PAX line up at the time I watched it was true HD.

Most of the major networks such as ABC,CBS,NBC, and Fox use channel -1 for HD 16:9, and Channel -2 for 4:3 version, -3 for local weather.

As long as they keep broadcasting HD 16:9 I kind of like the Simulcast channels. I just wish that the major networks would see fit to rebroadcast 4:3 CNN,History,AMC, or some other popular cable network. But not sure if they could ever get the revenue figured out.

Usually I find that the 4:3 in a stretched mode looks pretty good. I realise that simulcast channels rob bandwidth from the overall 16:9 HD widescreen experience, But so far I have not been dissapointed. Maybe someone else has or maybe someone else has found that the surround sound is lacking. I can speak to surround sound.

-Don B

CityHD coming in reliable as usual for me, along with all the other Toronto (and Buffalo) channels. this Despite my antenna pointing directly south, and the CN tower being some 45k to the west of me. 90 degrees off in fact (I can see the CN tower when stood on my roof on a clear day)

I could be wrong but think Toronto1 is broadcasting from First Canadian Place (BMO Tower) - I seem to remember reading that somewhere, but I could be wrong.

I sent off a new e-mail to CITYTV Engineering concerning my reception problem with their HD broadcast.

Here is their most recent reply,

The power level from our transmitter remains constant.

You may be experiencing an apparent change in signal strength due to
multipath. This occurs when the receiver receives signals from two or more
different directions and is often caused by reflections off buildings or
other structures.

Multipath can affect one channel, while not affecting others. It depends on
the location of the antenna.

The various DTV power levels are related to the power level and coverage
area of the parent analog channel. Citytv analog (57) operates at a lower
level then other Toronto UHF stations and the coverage area is substantially
less than that of CBLT channel 5.

Current power levels are for the "transition phase" we are currently in.

Power level on Citytv and other DTV channels will increase with the
cessation of analog service. The DTV channels may also change at that time
as well.

Thanks for your e-mail

Ontariocraig,

It sounds like your in a great spot!

There's a big American Elm between me and the tower. Maybe its causing signal loss. It doesn't seem to be causing any problem on the other signals. I think your right concerning Toronto 1. For me that wouldn't realy make any directional difference.

Could well be that elm, sounds like it may be some kind of multipath issue anyways.

As far as the different locations between First Canadian Place and CN Tower - you're right, it essentially makes no difference, unless you're really really close to either of these locations.

Of course CBC, Toronto1 and City are broadcasting on different frequencies at different power levels, so the results are going different despite their transmission towers being "colocated" (well not literally colocated, but pretty close)

You only need to take a look at analog reception to get some idea of the potential problems : Toronto1 on analogUHF15 , CityTV on analogUHF57, Global on analogUHF41 (I think) - if point my antenna one way or another, one might come in fine, the others may come in, but with multipath or other artifacts. but at least with analog you can actually SEE the interference, even in a strong signal,

With a digital signal using the same UHF frequencies you cannot so easily see these kind of reception problems, even with a stong signal, these multipath or interference problems may and do exist, and will cause havoc with the digital signal, but the end result is: Instead of seeing snow / multipath / noise - as you would see on an analog signal - with digital it can be enough to corrupt the datastream and therefore no reliable data for your reciever to decode. so you may get an intermitent picture/sound, or nothing at all.

I suppose all we can do is wait unitil these services are gradually ramped up and the analog services phased out - as this happens we should hopefully see stronger signals and increasing reliability even in some areas that are currently intermittent in nature. maybe future generations of reciever hardware will have more sophisticated meters that give some indication of noise levels, multipath etc.. that will help us diagnose problems, but I guess that's just my wishful thinking which doesnt really help us right now.

Right now, I guess I'm lucky to get such reliable reception where my house/antenna is. who knows, I may find that if I move my antenna 3 feet in any direction it'll stop working. - well, if it aint broke dont fix it :-)

I feel your frustration though, as for me, and others who have posted here it's fairly hard NOT to recieve citydt. usually its the Buffalo channels that are the problem to recieve.

Good luck, hopefully you'll get better reception as they increase their power levels and devote more resources to digital transmission over the coming months and years.


This message was edited by ontariocraig on 02/24/05 17:23 ET.

Just an update on my issues with catching all the stations...

I got my DB4 antenna and preamp yesterday, and mounted it on the mast...I got all of the channels, including WGRZ which I had major issues getting. However, I only got this far, because there was another problem that I stumbled onto yesterday.

I found out that my main issues were heat based, as I
had my xbox on top of the HDTV receiver, and even though I had great signal, the signal meter would fluctuate like crazy, and I'd continue to get glitching on the screen!

Anyway, I let the receiver cool down, and once it was fired back up, I got everything back in, clean and clear as day. :-)

Just wanted to let you all know...the DB4 does work very well, and is a bit pricey. The Preamp gave me some margin on the signal though, but your mileage may vary.

Daniel