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TV Reception
Many people around the lake pay for a satellite TV service to get the TV reception and channel package(s) they want.
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However, for those who don’t need all the sports, news and other specialty channels, there is an excellent and cheaper alternative: go the "old-fashioned" way and put a regular antenna on the roof and pick up the local over-the-air (OTA) TV stations (CBC, CTV, Global, TVO, etc.).
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This may sound like going back in time, but the opposite is true. In fact, both in the U.S.A. and Canada there is a revival of the traditional TV antenna. This is driven not only by ever-increasing cable- and satellite TV subscription costs, but also due to the change in 2012 from the old analogue TV signal to a superior digital one.
Digital over-the-air TV reception offers two major advantages. You either have no picture or a perfect one; there is nothing in between, no snow, no double ghosting, no nothing. Secondly, as opposed to cable and satellite TV, signal compression is much less with over-the-air transmission, resulting in a noticeably sharper picture.
Over-the-air TV however comes with a possible downside: a minimum signal level is needed for the TV to process it into that super clear picture. This is where antenna location in relation to the TV transmission tower comes into play. We face issues like blockage (trees, buildings), antenna height, etc. So, let’s have a look at the actual situation around Mississippi Lake.
This map shows the two TV towers that we have in the Ottawa area: one in Camp Fortune, the other close to Manotick. This overview shows which tower transmits what stations.
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Obviously, the best antenna locations are those with a clear line of sight of the transmission tower. The whole northwest-side of the lake (from Dowdall Shore all the way down to Squaw Point Road) won’t have any problem picking up all the stations. Also, the southwestern part of the Big Lake (Grasshopper Point to Flintoff Bay) won’t have any issues. Most other locations probably face blockages of various degrees, but with a good quality antenna, mounted as high as possible (at least 24 feet from the ground) most of these stations can be received.
You notice the directional angle between the two TV towers, which is approx. 50 degrees. This angle decides what type of antenna you need, depending on your location. You may even end up needing two antennas.
Hardware
Our lake is not too far away from these two TV towers. To give you an idea: Flintoff Bay is 62 km away from the Camp Fortune tower and Innisville South is only 56 km away from the Manotick one. Despite these relative short distances it is nevertheless imperative to use good quality hardware, especially when encountering blockages, to minimize any signal loss. We need:
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A high-gain antenna that covers both the high VHF and UHF bands. Any (existing) antenna will do as long as it is designed for picking up TV stations from +70 km away on both these bands. Pretty much all high-gain new TV antennas - advertised as "digital TV antennas" - will do.
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One coax cable that runs directly from the antenna to the TV. Existing (type RG57) cable will do, however type RG6 (originally designed for satellite TV dishes) is the one to go for these days.
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If more than one TV in the house: a 4-way splitter/amplifier. This little box needs to be installed indoors, usually in the basement and from there cables run to the TVs. Those little 3-way splitters are to be avoided as these cause considerable signal loss.
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Mounting hardware for the antenna. The exact requirements vary per situation, but obviously the higher the antenna the better.
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More information
The following websites provide ample information about over-the-air TV reception as well as advertisements for the required hardware:
https://otacanada.weebly.com/
http://www.remotecentral.com/hdtv/ottawa_hdtv.htm
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