Genie and am21 scanning again??

[twizt3dsist3r]

So this is more of an observation than a statement... but.. my home setup includes 1 hr44.700 and 3 hr24.100s with 4 am21n and a gs2200 amplified antenna. (SL5 with swm16 not that that matters)

My Genie was running ce from last week.. (downloading current now) and I'm not sure if this is related or not... but the guide on my Genie found stations 43.1 and 43.2 and they are not on any of my 24s. The guide data is not correct and I haven't been able to figure out exactly what these channels are yet either. But the guide data for 43.2 matches 16.2 in my market.

The question is... is my Genie scanning a channel my antenna picks up that is not in my zip code from the database?

I think it's time for people with genies and am21s to start repeating setup just to see what happens.


Side note... as many members here know I do work for directv. In all honesty I have no idea what's happening here so this is not an announcement or leak of any information. I'm just sharing what I've found. Pictures will follow in a few minutes.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

The hr44

A hr24

 

[ejb1980]

What is on 43 on your TV tuner? Where I used to live, there was a channel 47 which was a LP and not in the database. In the neighboring market, where was a channel 47 ion affiliate on the far side of the market. The ion stations guide data showed in my guide but when I tuned to it, it was the LP.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

I think it's this http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WPMT

I'd need to hook it up to my tv to see. I can scan the line with my antenna meter to see if I get signal on rf 47.. or try adding a York zip code as a secondary...

What's wierd is the guide data for 16.2 is showing for 43.2 and both are listed as antennatv... but they have different programming on each channel when I view them. I'll need to do more testing tomorrow but I'm open to ideas if anyone would like me to try to adjust anything.

 

[ejb1980]

Have tried a rescan on the HR24? Do you "force" any zip codes?

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

Just my local zip as a primary which I will only state is scranton Wilkes barre dma to protect my identity as a tech. I'm also further from York than what I believe my antenna can pick up

And yes I've redone the setup on the hr24s... they all still miss this channel. I'm missing 43.3 lol not that I should be getting it. I wonder what else I can pick up. Antennaweb.org doesn't even list 43 as a channel I should get.

 

[coconut10]

This is the "secondary zip code" that works to attain channels not in a specific database. For example: WB/S has METV broadcast on 38.2 RF31, not in D* database. By running Memphis TN (37501) as a secondary zip it will give you 38.2 METV with the correct guide. Since Memphis carries METV on 30.2 RF31, the .2 RF31 matches. It will put WLMT as 38.2 in your DVR with the Memphis guide (METV) for that channel. That is, if your antenna receive's 38.2. There might be other stations in the WB/S area that you can get, but I would have to check. You have to match either the channel number, in this case 38.2. Or you can match the subchannel number with the RF, in this case .2 RF31. Then you look for another zip code that has a 38.2 or a .2 RF31 channel in D* database. In this case Memphis and Greensboro NC match and they both carry METV. You look for a match that carries the same station as your local channel so the guides match. Because you get the guide from the channel of the city you use the secondary zip for, in this case Memphis. The explanation for the channel 43 addition is this: your antenna probably picks up channel 43 on an irregular basis. When the Genie rebooted your antenna just happen to have a strong enough signal for that channel for the AM21 to pick it up. When you tried it on the other AM21s the signal was not being picked up, and since the AM21 only puts channels in the DVR that are being picked up at the time of the scan it wouldn't put 43 in the DVR.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

I'm aware of how scanning works.. but it was confirmed that dtv took scanning out of the genie firmware. The question. Is is it back.. or is it because I'm on ce... also could you link the dtv ota database and where your cross referencing these channels from?

 

[Mr Tony]

normally when it scanned if the station wasnt in the database it would show "digital service", not programming.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

Hmmm I wonder what's going on then... I'm gonna try to add some different second zip codes to see what I can get. I'm still supprised I'm getting a fox affiliate that's over 2hrs away.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

The explanation for the channel 43 addition is this: your antenna probably picks up channel 43 on an irregular basis. When the Genie rebooted your antenna just happen to have a strong enough signal for that channel for the AM21 to pick it up. When you tried it on the other AM21s the signal was not being picked up, and since the AM21 only puts channels in the DVR that are being picked up at the time of the scan it wouldn't put 43 in the DVR.

That explains why it would work but that channel is pretty far from me... I have an rf meter so I'll have to check on some things. Maybe the antenna isn't pointed properly.

 

[ejb1980]

That explains why it would work but that channel is pretty far from me... I have an rf meter so I'll have to check on some things. Maybe the antenna isn't pointed properly.

Having used the AM21 for a while with HR24 HR34 and HR44, it is my experience that the HR44 is much more forgiving with scanning. Much weaker signals are consistently grabbed with the HR44.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

Having used the AM21 for a while with HR24 HR34 and HR44, it is my experience that the HR44 is much more forgiving with scanning. Much weaker signals are consistently grabbed with the HR44.

I'll have to throw my meter on the antenna feed to read the rf to get a better idea of what's going on.

 

[firemantom26]

I wish the scanning feature was back.


Sent from my iPad Air 2 using Tapatalk

 

[ejb1980]

It does scan, it just doesn't display channels that don't show up in the database.

 

[firemantom26]

It does scan, it just doesn't display channels that don't show up in the database.

Yes, you are right but it used to pick up channels that were not in the data base.



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[ejb1980]

Yes, you are right but it used to pick up channels that were not in the data base.



Sent from my iPad Air 2 using Tapatalk

Yes, and you can usually fill in missing channels with subchannels from different zip codes. I am missing 5-3 MeTV from Burlington/Plattsburgh. I put a zip in Texas and it added 5-3 to my guide, and it's another MeTV.

 

[edisonprime]

Yes, and you can usually fill in missing channels with subchannels from different zip codes. I am missing 5-3 MeTV from Burlington/Plattsburgh. I put a zip in Texas and it added 5-3 to my guide, and it's another MeTV.

That would get MOST of them, not all of them. I did that and am still missing channels 18.99, 58.6, & 58.7 in my area. 58.5 showed up but doesn't work being that audio-only OTA channels don't work with DirecTV.

 

[edisonprime]

I checked mine, and unless I am missing something, mine doesn't scan.

 

[ejb1980]

There is nothing on the screen that says that it is. My guess that when it's searching for the market, that's when it happens. Why else would it take so long. The software for the AM21 is in the receiver, and the Genie and HR24 probably have slight variances. The AM21 tuner technically doesn't scan because it's not standalone unit, but it has to be in the receiver somewhere. How else would it know what it's receiving?