AM21 OTA Tuner question

[Lothar27]

I'm trying to find out if getting an AM21 OTA Tuner is my best option for OTA HD channels.

I live in the bottom floor of a 2 story apartment building. I have about 9 stations that broadcast OTA in my area and they are all about 50 miles away from my location according to antennaweb.org. I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to equipment, had my install done the beginning of August. I have the slimline dish with 3LNB attached to the back upper floor balcony, the only place my landlord would allow the install. Does the AM21 take the signal through the slimline or is it like other OTA antennas I can buy? I would prefer the AM21 so I can use the DVR on my HR23-700 to record the OTA channels.

If any of you need more info I'll help out as well as I can.

Thanks.

 

[jtwex]

The AM-21 pulls it's signal through all the traditional antennas we grew up with & requires a separate coax run into the box (even with any SWM setup). At 50 miles, you are pushing the limits of reception; an outside mast antenna with both a pre-amp & a distribution amp might bring in the signals depending on your line of site from the antenna. I've brought in Chicago signals across Lake Michigan at this range but those were a straight shot across the Lake. The only way to really tell is to install the above setup which would run about $250.00 if you do all the work yourself.

 

[This1]

sometimes those old buildings have antenna on the roof make sure there is nothing up there.
You can try try the clip on the dish terk antenna I have one on mine and I get channels from 40 miles away however sometimes they go in and out.
Terk TERK TV-44 Clip-On Dish-Mount Amplified Antenna

 

[harshness]

The other side of the OTA coin is whether the stations are all in the same compass direction.

Typically, you'll want to get up on the roof with an OTA antenna as the structure itself may block reception otherwise.

 

[TomCat4680]

The AM-21 pulls it's signal through all the traditional antennas we grew up with & requires a separate coax run into the box (even with any SWM setup). At 50 miles, you are pushing the limits of reception; an outside mast antenna with both a pre-amp & a distribution amp might bring in the signals depending on your line of site from the antenna. I've brought in Chicago signals across Lake Michigan at this range but those were a straight shot across the Lake. The only way to really tell is to install the above setup which would run about $250.00 if you do all the work yourself.

He's in a 2nd floor apartment and his landlord barely let him put up the dish. He's not going to let him put up a huge mast mounted antenna.

Anyways, I'd go with a Terk indoor directional.

 

[Lothar27]

Thanks for all the info. Looks like I won't be doing anything for a while due to lack of funds but at least I have some ideas now. So from what I can tell from what you're all saying is that I'll have to run another line to the AM21 and not be able to just hook it to my HR23 with the existing cables already hooked up?

A friend of mine has an older Samsung 56" DLP with an internal tuner and he picks up most of the OTA channels fine. Lives about 5 miles away from me and has a lot more in the way of trees and buildings around him than I do. He doesn't have any kind of antenna hooked to it.

The Terk indoor directional sounds like it will be my best option.

 

[yorktown]

It's kinda hard to believe that a person 50 miles away from the OTA transmitters can be getting any OTA stations without having an antenna connected.

 

[Lothar27]

I'll double check with him to make sure I'm not mistaken, but I know that he doesn't have anything other than his slimline dish from Dish Network mounted on his roof. Have seen the OTA channels he can get and they all look amazingly clear to me.

 

[raoul5788]

Thanks for all the info. Looks like I won't be doing anything for a while due to lack of funds but at least I have some ideas now. So from what I can tell from what you're all saying is that I'll have to run another line to the AM21 and not be able to just hook it to my HR23 with the existing cables already hooked up?

A friend of mine has an older Samsung 56" DLP with an internal tuner and he picks up most of the OTA channels fine. Lives about 5 miles away from me and has a lot more in the way of trees and buildings around him than I do. He doesn't have any kind of antenna hooked to it.

The Terk indoor directional sounds like it will be my best option.

Depending on the stations in your area being UHF or VHF, or both, you may want to check out the Silver Sensor by Zenith. It's probably the best indoor UHF antenna available. Make sure whatever you buy that the store has a generous return policy, since you may not have the best luck getting the ota stations. Make sure to let us know how it goes!

 

[raoul5788]

I'll double check with him to make sure I'm not mistaken, but I know that he doesn't have anything other than his slimline dish from Dish Network mounted on his roof. Have seen the OTA channels he can get and they all look amazingly clear to me.

They are likely coming from Dish, not ota. Are local channels available to you from Directv?

 

[Lothar27]

They are likely coming from Dish, not ota. Are local channels available to you from Directv?

I get locals yes. My friend is picking up about 5 different PBS feeds and a couple different ones from the local NBC feed including their 24 hour weather feed. He changes to his tuner input on his tv from HDMI so I don't believe they're coming from Dish but I could be mistaken.

All I have are what's available through D*.

 

[raoul5788]

I get locals yes. My friend is picking up about 5 different PBS feeds and a couple different ones from the local NBC feed including their 24 hour weather feed. He changes to his tuner input on his tv from HDMI so I don't believe they're coming from Dish but I could be mistaken.

All I have are what's available through D*.

If he is getting all of those PBS channels, it's ota. Are you trying to get the subchannels that are available ota? I ask because you are already getting the locals in hd from Directv, yes?

 

[Lothar27]

If he is getting all of those PBS channels, it's ota. Are you trying to get the subchannels that are available ota? I ask because you are already getting the locals in hd from Directv, yes?

Yes, the subchannels. That's what I'm looking for. Didn't know exactly how to put it. I've been looking at indoor antenna's for a while now and was just curious on which one I might have the best success with. Thought the AM21 would be a good deal but I wasn't aware that I'd have to run another line since the installer drilled through the outside brick wall of my apartment building to run the lines from the slimline to the receiver. I'll check out the Zenith you mentioned, and I also found a small one on monoprice.com that has some great reviews from people who live about as far away from the towers as I do.

HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

 

[raoul5788]

Yes, the subchannels. That's what I'm looking for. Didn't know exactly how to put it. I've been looking at indoor antenna's for a while now and was just curious on which one I might have the best success with. Thought the AM21 would be a good deal but I wasn't aware that I'd have to run another line since the installer drilled through the outside brick wall of my apartment building to run the lines from the slimline to the receiver. I'll check out the Zenith you mentioned, and I also found a small one on monoprice.com that has some great reviews from people who live about as far away from the towers as I do.

HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

I'm not familiar with that antenna, but monoprice is an excellent place to buy from. Low prices and very good customer service.

 

[Lothar27]

It's kinda hard to believe that a person 50 miles away from the OTA transmitters can be getting any OTA stations without having an antenna connected.

Just got confirmation from my friend that he does not have any kind of antenna connected. I guess the signals are still fairly strong this far out.

 

[raoul5788]

Just got confirmation from my friend that he does not have any kind of antenna connected. I guess the signals are still fairly strong this far out.

It doesn't seem possible that he could get stations from 50 miles away without an antenna of some kind.

 

[Lothar27]

I'm not familiar with that antenna, but monoprice is an excellent place to buy from. Low prices and very good customer service.

I've been very happy using them in the past. Have bought all my HDMI cables plus a couple of digital coax sound cables and a usb cable for my printer through their website. Good quality merchandise with prices to match.

 

[Lothar27]

It doesn't seem possible that he could get stations from 50 miles away without an antenna of some kind.

I'm wondering if it has anything to do with elevation. We live just outside the Ohio Valley and have to climb a huge hill to get to where we live. Most of the towers are at a lower elevation than we are. Just a guess.

 

[dod1450]

Who contols the TV guide that is display via the menu guide? There seems to be some missing digital sub channels that are visible with a built in atsc tuner.

 

[harshness]

Who contols the TV guide that is display via the menu guide? There seems to be some missing digital sub channels that are visible with a built in atsc tuner.

DIRECTV declares what channels your tuner can tune with their equipment whether you have an H(R)20 or an AM21.