211k OTA tuner issue

[jb0352]

I searched and did not find anything similar to this issue.

Hope fully I explain it properly.

I have a radio shack HD antenna that I bought and hooked up directly to my TV. The antenna is on the roof near the DN sats and picks up a good signal. Connected to this TV I weas able to pick up 25 local SD/HD channels.

Now that I know it works, I connect it directly to my DN 211k HD receiver adn try scanning for locals and I only find 6. ABC, FOX and some other local crap channels.

I know the antenna works fine since it found plenty of channels on using the TV tuner, but what's the deal with the DN receiver???

If this is expected and you know of a DN receiver with a better local tuner, please let me know.

TIA,
Joey

 

[teachsac]

Are you sure all of the channels the TV picks up are digital? Most TVS have both NTSC and ATSC tuners. The 211 only has an ATSC tuner. My 211 picks up all available digital channels.

S~

 

[Jonhern]

if you go to tv fool it will show you the channels you can get in your area. Some did not show up when i did it on my 612 so i just added them in and they work fine now. You just need to know the actual number the channel is on, it is not always the same as the old broadcast number, for instance my local nbc is 10, but the real digital channel is 51, so if you want to add it manually to the tuner you need to input channel 51 in the add channel screen and see if you get a lock.
TV Fool

 

[jb0352]

Are you sure all of the channels the TV picks up are digital? Most TVS have both NTSC and ATSC tuners. The 211 only has an ATSC tuner. My 211 picks up all available digital channels.

S~

Well I'm only interested in the HD ones anwyays. Are those not always digital?
My tv has no receiver. I either connect the antenna or the cable into it. Either way, a simple scan picks up all the channels.

When the cable is connected I get alot more. Base on what your saying it sounds like the TV's atsc tuner is better than the dish receivers?

if you go to tv fool it will show you the channels you can get in your area. Some did not show up when i did it on my 612 so i just added them in and they work fine now. You just need to know the actual number the channel is on, it is not always the same as the old broadcast number, for instance my local nbc is 10, but the real digital channel is 51, so if you want to add it manually to the tuner you need to input channel 51 in the add channel screen and see if you get a lock.
TV Fool

Interesting, so your saying that even though a local channel scan does not bring in those channels, that I can manually add them in and they will work? Shouldn't I see a signal when I choose the channel in that screen?

Thanks for the help guys,
Joey

 

[Jonhern]

Yes I'm sure. My tv has no receiver. I either connect the antenna or the cable into it. Either way, a simple scan picks up all the channels.

When the cable is connected I get alot more. Base on what your saying it sounds like the TV's atsc tuner is better than the dish receivers?




Interesting, so your saying that even though a local channel scan does not bring in those channels, that I can manually add them in and they will work? Shouldn't I see a signal when I choose the channel in that screen?

Thanks for the help guys,
Joey

yes, if you do not see a signal then it is not picking it up, but again you have to put in the real number, not the virtual number, tv fool shows you both. And what the other poster was saying is that if the channel is analog your tv will pick it up but the the dish tuner will not, so you might not be able to add it.

 

[thedamaja]

If you manually key in the actual channel number (not the virtual) you can add them. You should see some signal though.

Most likely your tv has a more robust tuner than the 211k, I know all mine do. Adjusting the antenna a little normally helps.

If all your stations broadcast form the same general area I would find the one with the lowest signal on your TV and tweak the antenna for improved signal. Slight antenna movements improved my 211 reception and brought in all channels.

 

[k4106]

I have a 211 connected to an older tunerless TV and a Samsung TV with a digital tuner. The Samsung tuner is more sensitive than my 211. The signal is evenly split between the Samsung TV and the 211. When both are tuned to the same channel, the 211 will dropout more frequently than the Samsung.

 

[Jonhern]

I have a 211 connected to an older tunerless TV and a Samsung TV with a digital tuner. The Samsung tuner is more sensitive than my 211. The signal is evenly split between the Samsung TV and the 211. When both are tuned to the same channel, the 211 will dropout more frequently than the Samsung.

are you using a diplexer? This used to happen to us, but people on here said to get a dc block and after i installed it the dropouts on both the sat and ota channels stopped. If you have a powered antenna it can cause feedback and screwup the signal on the 211.

 

[larry55]

i have the 722k dvr and the otr tuner.It work just fine but the 612 did not pick all of my locals.

 

[Jonhern]

i have the 722k dvr and the otr tuner.It work just fine but the 612 did not pick all of my locals.

yeah they seem to all work differently, I have two 612s and each picked up different stations, lol.

 

[jb0352]

Last night I tried to add a channel for CBS using the real number given by TV FOOl and there was no signal. I then manually visited each number that was possible to scan. 1-69 and only found the channels the regular scan would pickup.

Let's say that the problem is the receiver has a bad tuner. Do I have any options for purchasing an external tuner for this that would give me similar if not better results?

Thanks,
Joey