CM 4221 vs. CM 4228

[crepehanger]

Since early 2007, I have had a CM 4221 installed on the roof of my house in Harris County. According to Antennaweb, I am 23 miles NW of the Cusseta towers and 13 miles NW of WXTX/WLTZ.

Here is what I typically get as far as reception:

WRBL-70-80%
WTVM-0-75%
WXTX--100%
WLTZ--95-98%

WTVM will fallout quite frequently, especially during the day. It seems to get better at night. I live in an area that sits down in a hollow surrounded by 50-75 foot trees. I tried a CM preamp, but it made no difference in reception for WRBL and WTVM. WTVM fallout has gotten worse since Christmas for some reason.

My question is this. Would a CM 4228 make that big a difference? I hate to put such a big antenna up there. Since the 4228 is an 8 bowtie configuration, does that necessarily mean a huge gain? Also, will the 4221/4228 be able to pick up WTVM's signal once they move the digital to the 9 frequency next year?

[Mike Slade]

I have a friend with a 4228 and he lives about 30 and 40 miles from the towers in ellaville. I think he normally picks them up pretty solid. I think he also has the CM preamp on there but not sure if that helps or hurts. Don't think he's ever tried it without.

As for the 4221/4228 picking up a VHF station, i have the 4221 and I just checked the analog 9 and it gets it ok. It's not the best looking picture but it's not snowy. Who's to say how that translates to digital though.

[crepehanger]

Just checked Antennaweb. According to them, my antenna right now is not strong enough to get WTVM's digital broadcast on UHF 47. However, it should be fine once they go to VHF 9 next year. Your right--who knows until they actually make the change.

[zedsdead]

I have the CM 4228 and I get good reception but I live at the top of summerville road in phenix city. There are plenty of trees in my line of sight but it still work good. All stations come in at 95% and above. For me, it works well with analog signals as well.