What TV Channels will you get in the Southern Ontario Area with an Over-the-Air Antenna?

Here is the easy way to find what channels you will get with your Over-the-Air (OTA) Antenna.  Go here to find out what channels and TV shows by the hour that you might be able to get to your location using your postal code.  www.ontvtonight.ca/guide/

Keep in mind that all these channels are possible, but that doesn’t mean that you will get them all.  Your reception of the signal for the TV broadcast station will depend on signal strength, line of sight, obstructions, weather, the direction of the broadcast tower(s), and the range of your OTA antenna.

Here are the best areas and locations from your OTA antenna direction that you have to be in order to get OTA TV channels.  In the worst case scenario if you are in a valley or have tall buildings/structures impeding the line of sight to the broadcast signal then your reception will be poor.  Expect to get about 6 OTA channels at the most.  The best news is that the City of Toronto slopes upward and that means better reception because of the line of sight to the broadcasting towers.  If you are close to Lake Ontario and are in a tall building with your OTA antenna aiming at the CN Tower with an 80-mile range then you will get great reception from several signal towers in Canada and the USA (Buffalo, NY).  These situations will give your more than 15 OTA channels.  To get the most channels you need to test the signal from the best possible area closest to a major broadcast tower.  In Southern Ontario, Canada there are 3 major towers.  This area is known as the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario and gives users of OTA the best service in Canada and North Eastern Buffalo.

In the city of Toronto, there is the CN Tower which broadcasts the most channels in Ontario.  You will get CBC (English) on channel 5/20, CTV (CFTO) on channel 9, TVO on channel 19, CBC (French) on channel 25, OMNI 1 on channel 40, Global on channel 41, OMNI 2 on channel 47, and CityTV on channel 57/44.  The next tower is in Hamilton which broadcasts CHCH on channel 11-1, CTV two on channel 35-1 and yesTV HD on channel 36-1.  Then we go across Lake Ontario to North Western Buffalo, NY, USA where there is the Grand Island Tower and the American channels are CBS on channel 4-1, LAFF on channel 4-2, StarRay 15-1, PBS on channel 17-1, PBS thinkbright on channel 17-2, PBS Kids on channel 17-3, The CW on channel 23-1, Bounce on channel 23-2, FOX29 on channel 29-1, TBD on channel 29-2, CHARGE! on channel 29-3.  You can also get more USA channels with a stronger OTA antenna (80-mile range) will get  NBC on 2-1,  ABC on channel 7-1.  Other channels which can be possible are ANTENNA TV on channel 2-2, Justice on channel 2-3, ESCAPE on channel 7-3, GRIT on channel 7-4.  There are a good number of channels which are possible to receive Over the Air.  This doesn’t mean that you will get them all.  The chances are very good that you get at least 15 channels.  The longer range antenna, direct line of sight, higher and unobstructed areas well get more channels.  Channels furthest away will come in and go out depending on atmospheric conditions.

Will an Over the Air TV Antenna Work in your Area?

Where you live will determine how many OTA TV channels you will get.  If you live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and have an 80-mile radius TV antenna you will get about 6 local channels which are broadcasted from a North West location.  The best area to be in for the most OTA TV channels is the southern Ontario near Lake Ontario.  An 80-mile radius TV antenna will get you about 15 TV channels with good weather conditions.  You will be always getting at least 10 channels no matter what the weather is like.  There are 3 major tower areas in Southern Ontario and you have to decide where you target your antenna for maximum reception.  The rule is simple, move the antenna around your apartment or house.  The key things to understand are:

1.  Direct line of site with the broadcast signal.

2.  Antenna equipment/product which allows you to use an extension for a coaxial cable so you can move the antenna anywhere you want to for the best possible signal.

3.  A USB power source that uses 0.5 ma.  Do NOT use a wall USB charger it will put out too much power and can damage the antenna.  The power source would come from your TV or computer USB port.  The better OTA antennas need a small amount of power to get the range you want and you need to make sure that you have this available before you purchase an OTA antenna product.

4.  Consider the closest window to the direction of the signal tower with the best line of sight.  Walls are not the best to put the antenna on as it becomes an obstruction.  With this in mind, setting up the antenna in the basement is not advised.

5.  If you want better reception then get a longer range antenna. An indoor antenna goes up to 120 miles, but an outdoor antenna can go up to 150 miles.  Just something to consider if you want more channels or if you are further away from the signal tower.

6.  Signal strength within your home will diminish if you split the signal to 2 or more TVs.  Therefore the OTA antenna will not work.  There are ways around this so don’t worry.  Most households now have at least 2 TVs.  You will need a signal amplifier/cable splitter and you are good to go.  These devices are plug and play type of equipment so make sure you have the power outlet and extra coaxial cable to make all the connections to the TVs.

7.  To find where your signal towers are you just need to go to these sights and it will tell you what channels are possible and where the towers are.  All TV channels in Canada and the United States are over the air as well as on cable.  https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps , http://tvfool.com/ , http://overtheair.saveandreplay.com/over_the_air_channels_by_city_Canada.asp .

8.  The million dollar question!  What channels will I get in Toronto, Ontario, Canada close to Lake Ontario with a direct line of sight to the CN Tower?  To put this question in perspective.  I live in Toronto and have a 50 mile OTA TV antenna.  I aim it at the CN Tower.  These are the channels I get.  CBC English and French, CTV-CFTO, PBS, WNED, PBS Kids, TVO, Bounce, CW, Fox 29-WUTV, TBD, Charge, OMNI 1, OMNI 2, CityTV (cuts out in bad weather).  If I had a more powerful antenna I would get more channels from the United States as there are several signal antennas across Lake Ontario in Buffalo.  The antennas will require an 80-mile range for channels like ABC.

9.  Why would you even consider cutting your cable?  Now there is the new 120 mile OTA antenna will cost you around $30.00 and basic cable is about $25.00 per month.  The antenna is a onetime payment but the cable bill is monthly and $30.00 one time or $300.00 plus tax per year it’s really easy to figure out.

10.  No moving parts and long lasting use.  Just consider the saving is the years to come.  2 years $600.00 plus or 3 years $900.00 plus.  I am so happy to have one less bill to pay.  I cut my cable.

The new Indoor Over the Air TV Antenna now has a range of 120 miles (193 Km).  This will allow you to get the most of what is available from TV broadcast towers in the area around Lake Ontario.

Below are links to the best products for the project to get Over the Air FREE TV.  There are 2 antennas.  The outdoor antenna has a 150 mile (241 Km) range.

There is NO Adjustable Outdoor Antenna Mount Pole - Attic Antenna Mount in the Outdoor TV Antenna Package for $50.00 CDN (above).

How to Cut your Cable with Over the Air TV and Save Money

Most households have not idea about Over the Air (OTA) TV.  It has been around for a long time.  Remember the rabbit years before cable?  Well, there was a time where TV was OTA.  Cable TV came in (1948 in the USA and 1952 in Canada) and satellite TV started many years after being adopted in the 1990s.  The large companies who own cable and satellite broadcasting services are now controlling (by packaging and content) and delivering all of our TV channels to us.  This is what most people believe, right?  The fact is we still have Over the Air TV all over North America (and the world)!

The US (FCC) and Canadian (CRTC) have mandated that Over the Air TV must be maintained.  Thus, all TV channels are on OTA.  Cable and Satellite companies don’t like that fact.  It gets better, there has been a move from analog signals to digital.  (The reason was to make room for more analog emergency and authority broadcast systems to be available on OTA.)  This means that OTA TV signals went digital as well (although you can still get OTA analog broadcast channels).

Now, that it has been established that there is Over the Air TV and you don’t need cable or satellite to watch it.  This means that you don’t have to pay a monthly bill for access to TV channels.  That means,

 IT’S FREE!!

Ask yourself, … why did you not know about this or maybe you did but you might not know how many HD TV channels you can get Over the Air.

The OTA channels you can get depends on 7 things which are:

1.        Your location with respect to broadcasting towers.
2.        The signal strength of the broadcast.
3.        The number of broadcasting towers in your area.
4.        The range of your OTA TV antenna.
5.        Obstructions from a direct line of sight to the broadcast tower (buildings, hills, and trees).
6.        The number of channels the broadcast towers provide.
7.        The weather (bad weather means you might lose some channels for that time as OTA signals get impediments and fluctuations from moving debris and trees).

If you are thinking about how much you are paying for cable TV and that you might want to cut your cable and go with HD TV Over the Air then you need to come back to for all the reasons you should or should not cut your cable for HD Over the Air TV.

The new Indoor Over the Air TV Antenna now has a range of 120 miles (193 Km).  This will allow you to get the most of what is available from TV broadcast towers in the area around Lake Ontario.

Below are links to the best products for the project to get Over the Air FREE TV.  There are 2 antennas.  The outdoor antenna has a 150 mile (241 Km) range.

There is NO Adjustable Outdoor Antenna Mount Pole - Attic Antenna Mount in the Outdoor TV Antenna Package for $50.00 CDN (above).