Recording local channels not carried by DirecTV

If you have an HR20 you already have the ability to record those channels using the HR20's built-in off air tuners.  You'll need to connect a good external over-the-air antenna.  Check out http://www.tvfool.com or http://www.antennaweb.org to see what sort of antenna you'll need at your location.  

and best of all, there is no monthly cost!

If you don't have an HR-20, you need a DirecTV AM21 Off-Air USB Tuner and of course a good external antenna.  The AM21 works with models HR21 and above.  I think it sells for $99.95 at DirecTV.  I got mine for $69.99 (new) at Abt Electronics (abt.com).  Set up is fairly easy and it works great.

Keep in mind that the Directv guide must contain the channel you want to record and they do include many of the local sub channels.  However as of late, Directv has slowed or stopped adding new subs due to the extensive amount of guide data required for all these "new" channels so not every single sub channel is available to record.

Oops...  AM21 cost from DirecTV is $50.00.

Not sure to which RTN you're referring, but Antenna TV is sceduled to go live in your area 26 Dec, 2011. It's not listed in the listings for OTA (Over The Air) reception using DirecTV equipment. As has been said, it may or may not be added to their guide. I've been waiting for 6 months for one of mine to be added so I can record using my AM21.

As an alternative, if you have a television manufactured since March 1, 2007, it should have a digital over the air tuner which, when connected to an adequate antenna, will receive some of the OTA stations in your area not rebroadcast over DirecTV. (You won't be able to record to your DirecTV DVR using this method though. ) If not, you can purchase an OTA tuner for a reasonable cost and connect it to an antenna. I own the Channel Master CM7000 with a high-gain outdoor antenna/rotor, (50 miles+ from most stations) but there are others out there. One feature you should look for, if you require an outdoor antenna with a rotor, is the ability to rescan or add new/changed channels without wiping out your current list. It would appear however from looking at your general location, (Couldn't find info for ZIP/45825...) you'll be able to receive Antenna TV using the ol fashioned set of rabbit ears! Your RTN, however, may or may not require that outdoor antenna/rotor addition.... Good luck!

You can obtain more info on OTA TV at: www.dtv.gov

Glad to hear about the AM21 USB tuner, but you make the point the you must also have DTV programing for them. Question - how do we know if the channels we want will have that programming info before we lay out the dollars to get the tuner for the AM21? None of the sub-channels show up now and I thought that was because I don't get them. Looks like I'm in a "chicken and the egg" circle.

Steve Henderson

If you'll provide your ZIP and a few of the channels in which  you're interested, I'll list what OTA channels you could expect your guide to populate with using the AM21.

The AM21 has the ability to receive OTA channels from two (2) distinct DMA's. For example, if you live half-way between Terre Haute and Indianapolis, IN, you could enter ZIP 47808 (Terre Haute Market) for the primary market in your AM21 config, and ZIP 46231 (Indianapolis Market) for the secondary market. Depending on your antenna/rotor setup, you could receive local channels from both markets....handy during storms, etc.

detroit_fan:

As of 12/21/2011, these are the local channels which should be available with an AM21 (now AM21N), using ZIP 48161, (Monroe,MI), and 43601 (Toledo,OH), using both DMA's in your AM21 (AM21N). This is of course dependent on several factors which you can help pin down by going to www.tvfool.com and input the requested info. Depending on your OTA antenna, etc, you might be able to receive all or only a few of these listed. ME-TV doesn't appear to be available in your area, nor is there any guarantee DirecTV will ever add that to the AM21N listings. All listings are subject to change at any time.

WJBKDT 2.1 FOX
WJBKDT2 2.2 FOX
WMYDDT 20.1 MYNETWORK TV
WMYDDT2 20.2 COOL TV
WPXDDT 31.1 iON TV
WPXDDT2 31.2 QUBO
WPXDDT3 31.3 iON LIFE
WPXDDT4 31.4 WPXDDT4
WADLDT 38.1 INDEPENDENT
WADLDT2 38.2 ANTENNA TV
WDIVDT 4.1 NBC
WDIVDT2 4.2 THIS TV
WKBDDT 50.1 OTA
WTVSDT 56.1 PBS
WTVSDT2 56.2 PBS PLUS
WTVSDT3 56.3 CREATE
WWJDT 62.1 CBS
WXYZDT 7.1 ABC
WXYZDT2 7.2 LIVE WELL
WXYZDT3 7.3 WX RADAR
WTOLDT 11.1 CBS
WTOLDT2 11.2 WTOLDT2
WTOLDT3 11.3 WTOLDT3
WTVGDT 13.1 ABC
WTVGDT2 13.2 LIVE WELL
WTVGDT3 13.3 WTVGDT3
WNWODT 24.1 NBC
WNWODT2 24.2 RETRO TV
WGTEDT 30.1 PBS
WGTEDT2 30.2 PBS
WGTEDT3 30.3 CREATE
WUPWDT 36.1 FOX
WUPWDT2 36.2 COOL TV
WLMBDT 40.1 INDEPENDENT

Thank you very much for the reply mrphil. Since antenna tv and retro tv  look like they may be available I will do some more reading on the subject. Thanks!

I'd say that mrphil went the extra mile in order to assist a fellow user.  Kudos to you mrphil. 

By he way, when using the quote system you can highlight and delete any portion of the post you are quoting in order to reduce the amount of extraneous information in a thread.  Of course you can leave it all in as well, if you wish.

I agree, all forums could use a lot more members like mrphil