HDHomeRun Connect Quattro reception problems

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

I’m posting this here because I think I’ve found the solution to a long running problems with reception. Recently these problems became so severe as to make it almost impossible to watch or record anything which prompted me to pursue resolving it with more gusto.

A bit of background. Our place is in Inner London with a direct line of sight to what I think is one of the biggest transmitters in London that’s about 2 miles away. From where the aerial is, you can clearly see the mast so I was a bit confused as to what the problem was.

Due to the problems I had attached the HDHomeRun to a smart power point that powered down every night for half an hour. That seemed to help with what I thought was an overheating issue.

I’d originally got in touch with SiliconDust about a year ago and turned on diagnostics but then hadn’t followed up. With this recent deterioration, I got in touch with them again.

They said that the diagnostics showed the signal arriving at the HDHomeRun box was TOO strong and thought I must have an amplifier connected (I don’t). For reference, the signal strength was reported as 100% but the quality was typically less than 50%.

The HDHomeRun has an amplifier inside and if the incoming signal is too strong, the amplifier gets overloaded which is what appeared to be happening for me.

I asked SiliconDust to advise what I could do to resolve this. Whilst I awaited a response, I ordered a few bits an pieces such as an attenuator, a 4G / 5G filter. They then responded advising to get something called a “high pass filter” and provided a couple of links. I ordered one as well.

This evening all of the kit arrived at the same time. Naturally, I thought I’d try the recommended device first and so far, the result is incredible. Not a hint of a reception glitch so far. On every channel I’ve tested, the signal strength and quality are always both at 100%.

These are the links they sent:
https://www.kcb.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d70.html (top item)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ancable-Filter-Coupler-Adapter-54-1000MHZ/dp/B07CNQ6PKX/

If anyone else is suffering from similar problem, I recommend giving it a go.

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#2

Thank you for sharing your experiences. One thing I think many people are unaware of is that HDHomeRun tuners are very bad at handling a too-strong broadcast signal. Their UI will only indicate 100%, but in reality it could be 130% or more.

From my experience, adding splitters or an attenuator between the antenna and the tuner until the signal drops below 100% is the best way to ensure a stable signal.

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#3

I already had a splitter. I wish the HDHomeRun had a pass-through within it that skipped / turned off the amplifier if the signal was already plenty strong enough.

Going to test for a few days and if I don't need the attenuator and other filter then I'll send them back. Right now, this high-pass filter is working like magic but maybe I'll be attaching the attenuator as well if it starts flaking out again!