Contributor
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13 Messages
LCCs not connected message, yet I use an AM21
The past month or so, I keep getting messages off and on that my setup doesn't see the installed Local Channel Connector (LCC) [LCCs not detected] which blocks me from watching OTA stations through my D* setup, however, interestingly, I've never had LCCs installed. Since late 2010, I've had an AM21 installed which has worked fine to this point. I checked to make sure all connections are secure and found no issues. I have my antennas setup so I can watch them directly through my TVs or through my D* equipment so I can record OTA channels on my DVR.
The last update shown on my HR54 is from early Sept. so it doesn't seem like this issue popped up due to a software update. I often need to do a system reboot or sometimes just unplug and plug back in the AM21 for the message to go away. The LCC message shows up intermittently although the AM21 remains plugged in at all times. Anyone else seeing this message?
Other than the OTA setup in the HR54 which does not actually ask about if I have an AM21 or LCCs, I see nothing causing the issue other than possibly a faulty AM21. I did run a system test and everything came back as OK. At that time, the LCC message wasn't popping up. I get the message on either receiver (the HR54 or the C61K) that is connected.
An interesting observation, in the past when I'd turn off my HR54, the blue LEDs on the HR54 and, I believe, the single blue LED on the AM21 would both go off. Now, I notice that the AM21's single blue LED stays on most times. I have the AM21 set up to not get power from the HR54 since the HR54 does not have a supplemental power port to supply power to the AM21. The AM21 has its own power cord which gets plugged in independently of the HR54. I had an HR24 before the HR54, and the HR24, I recall, had a power port where I would plug in the AM21's power to the rear of the HR24. I upgraded to the HR54/C61K (4k) setup about 4 years ago and the AM21 has worked perfectly fine all along until these recurring intermittent messages.
If I call D* to see if they will replace the AM21 with an LCC, will D* remove HD LILs from my account? I recall they were doing this a while back if someone choose to get an LCC. Since I am in b/w my areas' transmission sites, I still need D* LILs to get all of my network HD channels as I can't get most of them OTA.
shannon02
ACE - Expert
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18.6K Messages
2 years ago
AFAIK the LCC is still in beta testing and has not been released to the market yet so you can't get one.
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Juniper
ACE - Expert
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19.3K Messages
2 years ago
The LCC is not an option. It was only in testing and was available for a short time during the prior Nexstar negotiations. Since many did not get one, sounded like they ran out of stock.
At this point it is unknown if they are continuing with the development or have scrapped it all together. With the new co-owner having DirecTV split into more of its own entity again, only time will answer a lot of these questions.
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n3ntj1972
Contributor
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13 Messages
2 years ago
Interestingly, when I search for "AM21 directv", I find this 2021 Directv manual for the AM21. If DirecTV isn't supporting this, why would they use resources to create or revise the AM21 manual?
https://manuals.plus/directv/directv-am21-off-air-tuner-user-guide
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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766 Messages
2 years ago
How did you decide that this manual was updated in 2021?
UPDATE: It appears that you assigned undue significance to the date that "excelsior" posted this manual (with a copyright date of 2010 and using a DIRECTV logo that is more than 5 years old).
(edited)
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n3ntj1972
Contributor
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13 Messages
2 years ago
Yeah, I saw the 2021 date so I was thinking that was a revision date, but I guess it was simply date that someone posted it on their website. I do see the 2010 copyright date down in the manual, though.
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Juniper
ACE - Expert
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19.3K Messages
2 years ago
AM21 was discontinued years ago.
The LCC was only supported for 2nd/3rd generation Genie (HR44/HR54), but not the new (and in my opinion overly restrictive) Genie-2 (HS17). Nothing further heard about development.
DirecTV's website may still archive old information that can be looked up. Doesn't mean they are revising the manual just because it gets copied somewhere.
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n3ntj1972
Contributor
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13 Messages
2 years ago
I have an HR54.
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Juniper
ACE - Expert
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19.3K Messages
2 years ago
Unless design and requirements change, when (or if ever) the LCC is released than the HR54 would be compatible. But don't plan for any good news on that front anytime soon. In the meantime, use a regular antenna on your TV to get anything in range that DirecTV doesn't have available for you.
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n3ntj1972
Contributor
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13 Messages
2 years ago
I ended up replacing a few capacitors that appeared at fault. My unit is now working again, but I notice when I go in to do a full reset of the OTA setup (using my primary and secondary markets), it only shows some of my local OTA stations compared to before when it properly showed all of the OTAs that it should. I reran the set up a few times and the same result. Does the AM21 determine what OTA channels it should show as available after the OTA setup or does the HR54 actually do that (and the AM21 is simply the tuner)?
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shannon02
ACE - Expert
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18.6K Messages
2 years ago
AFAIK the AM21 uses a DTV data base to find the local channels and it was updated when the LCC was in use but unknown if it is still being updated.
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n3ntj1972
Contributor
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13 Messages
2 years ago
So the HR54 knows when the AM21 is connected and will auto-update the OTA database base once it sees the AM21 connected? I had the AM21 disconnected for a short time when I was working on it. Its been reconnected for several days so maybe I should reset everything OTA-related and re-do the setup to see if the OTA channels come back again to show them all like before?
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litzdog911
ACE - Sage
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45K Messages
2 years ago
Right. You need to repeat the Off-Air Antenna Setup on the HR54's Setup Menu.
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n3ntj1972
Contributor
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13 Messages
2 years ago
I have done the full reset of the OTA setup over 20 times and no go..
It doesn't show me all of the OTA stations that it should. Each time I run it, it sometimes adds one (or more) or removes one (or more) but I can't get my full OTA lineup that I previously had. I am in the Lancaster, PA market and have the Philly market set as my 2ndary market. Sometimes, it will show me 8.x (Harrisburg market), 17.x (Philly market), 57.x (Philly market) and that is all. Sometimes, the reset will show me 8.x (Harrisburg market), 3.x (Philly market), 17.x (Philly market), sometimes 10.x (Philly market), 17.x (Philly market), 21.x (Harrisburg market). I've tried using a few different Harrisburg zip codes and different Philly zip codes with similar results.
The stations I had in my set before were: 3.x, 8.x, 10.x, 17.x, 21.x, 27.x, 29.x, 33.x, 43.x, 49.x, 57.x Which is a mixture of Philly and Harrisburg locals. I also tried entering just the Philly zip code (with no secondary) and also got incomplete results for OTA locals.
Any idea why? Is the OTA data that tells the HR54 which OTA stations it should be showing stored in the HR54 or somehow brought over by the AM21? Is only the HR54 doing the OTA setup and simply grabs the signal from the AM21 via USB when it needs to display an OTA signal? Why is the system not showing the full complement of OTA signals like it used to? I presume that D* is still sending the OTA info through the satellite stream since LCCs are still in use in certain places that also need the same OTA info?
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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766 Messages
2 years ago
Perhaps your AM21 is not getting a good enough signal for the channel and thus it is not showing it.
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n3ntj1972
Contributor
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13 Messages
2 years ago
So the AM21 tells the HR54 what stations it should display in the OTA setup? Some of the OTA stations not showing up are the stronger ones that I have no issue receiving. Some of the OTA stations displaying I can't even receive due to their x-mission sites. I don't think the OTA setup of the AM21 involves the AM21 telling the HR54 which stations it can receive at any given moment. I thought it was solely based upon the OTA stations in the markets of the zip codes I enter for the primary and secondary DMAs.
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