Does not have built-in wifi. Can only connect via ethernet. Also needs to be directly connected to antenna. Your house’s router is in the basement, terrible place for an antenna.

Connect it to a device to make a wifi bridge so it can be placed anywhere?

To get IP address:

cat /private/var/db/dhcpd_leases

{
    name=HDHR-1096506C
    ip_address=192.168.3.2
    hw_address=1,0:18:dd:9:65:6
    identifier=1,0:18:dd:9:65:6
    lease=0x676c58e4
}

To forward ports:

#!/bin/bash
# bit-torrent port forwarding with mac os x
killall -9 natd
sleep 5
# The following will forward 6881 to 6999 port to desktop computer located at 192.168.2.2
# 192.168.1.100 => airport IP
# 192.168.2.2 => Desktop client ip
#  natd provides a Network Address Translation facility for use with divert(4) sockets under FreeBSD.
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/usr/sbin/natd -alias_address 192.168.1.100 -interface en1 -use_sockets -same_ports -unregistered_only -dynamic -clamp_mss -enable_natportmap -natportmap_interface en0 -redirect_port tcp 192.168.2.2:6881-6999 6881-6999 -l

via: https://www.reddit.com/r/HDHR/comments/o4tuls/hd_homerun_to_plex/

There are four ports open on the HD Homerun: 80, 554, 5004, and 8888. You should be able to use remote port forwarding to expose these ports from the remote system on a client in your Plex server's subnet to make this work.

Change in Strategy

Evidently, the data emitted by the device is to heavy to go over normal wifi — it is not compressed or not very compressed. So trying to forward its ports is not productive as a means of making a wifi bridge.

However, by connecting it to a computer running Plex server, where the Plex server is connected to the household network over wifi and the device is connected to the Plex server over ethernet, the Plex server can both receive the uncompressed data from the device, and compress it and stream it over wifi.

This works! However you are still struggling to get consistent reception, at least for channel 25 (Fox) where Super Bowl will be broadcast.

Your house has some vestigial coaxial cabling outside on the west side of the house. You are wondering if an outdoor antenna pointed north could be attached to that cabling?

You were looking at this antenna

This $100 indoor/outdoor one was CR’s top Pick

This $25 indoor antenna is the wirecutter’s pick (it was CR’s third).

You got your antenna in 2016. Would a new antenna just be more of the same?

You are going to try setting it up in Simon’s room (2nd floor, NW corner). Many articles state to just try moving around arbitrarily.

![[Pasted image 20241226114241.png]]

Although you couldn’t get both ABC and main PBS (channel 2) you found a spot on Simon’s west wall where you could get NBC, ABC, CBS and Channel 25 (Fox), mostly hidden by his bunk bed. Moving inches up and down changed whether ABC or PBS was received. North wall had better PBS, but no Fox (I believe). Ideally you would get some small computer (~$250) as Plex server but for now you are using 2014 iMac as Plex server physically connected to HDHomerun Connect.

Watched entire football game on ABC. Experienced 1-minute glitch coincident with large flock of geese (!) but otherwise fine. Not as crisp as YouTube TV or as uncompressed single direct-to-TV OTA signal but acceptable.

Using power for antenna may be unnecessary? Might help get more channels, but the four we care about seem OK without it?