Signal Strength App

Want to write your own code to work with a HDHomeRun or work with the HDHomeRun DVR? We are happy to help with concepts, APIs, best practices.
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HopWorks
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Signal Strength App

Post by HopWorks »

Hi All,

I have the 4k version of HDHOMERUN and have a channel that partially works but not good enough. I want to adjust my antenna, but would really benefit from an Android app on my phone that shows signal strength as I adjust the antenna. I get this just fine on my Windows 11 PC using the HDHOMERUN Config GUI app, but would like to have that on my phone while on the ladder. Is there such a thing?

I got all the info to be able to write my own app, but would rather not have to dust off my Android app skills if I do not need to.

Thanks!

signcarver
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by signcarver »

Android you will have to search for an old apk and sideload such signal meter as its been my understanding Google took it down long ago for some reason

iOS one can get signal gh (paid product)

One thing you can do in a pinch is tune the channel on your pc and open the status.json from your phone but such will need to be periodically refreshed and not graphical.

ebo
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by ebo »

The latest version of Hdhomerun Signal Meter (for Android) is 1.25, dated July 6, 2015. It's available from several sources. I recommend Apkpure:
https://apkpure.com/hdhomerun-signal-meter/com.zaren

Phoenixfury
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by Phoenixfury »

ebo wrote: Sun Dec 31, 2023 9:51 am The latest version of Hdhomerun Signal Meter (for Android) is 1.25, dated July 6, 2015. It's available from several sources. I recommend Apkpure:
https://apkpure.com/hdhomerun-signal-meter/com.zaren
Do you have another link that doesn't force you to install a Chrome extension?

ebo
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by ebo »

Phoenixfury wrote: Tue Jan 02, 2024 2:59 pm
ebo wrote: Sun Dec 31, 2023 9:51 am The latest version of Hdhomerun Signal Meter (for Android) is 1.25, dated July 6, 2015. It's available from several sources. I recommend Apkpure:
https://apkpure.com/hdhomerun-signal-meter/com.zaren
Do you have another link that doesn't force you to install a Chrome extension?
I tried downloading from other sites available in the past but succeeded only at APKPure. I do have a Chrome extension on Firefox (userChrome) but it's for changing the appearance of Firefox, not its download ability. I also have Google Chrome but only use it for sites that don't allow Firefox (such as my bank).

shawn_75
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by shawn_75 »

I just use remote desktop on my phone to my Windows PC when adjusting my antenna.

howardc1243
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by howardc1243 »

signcarver wrote: Fri Dec 29, 2023 7:06 pm Android you will have to search for an old apk and sideload such signal meter as its been my understanding Google took it down long ago for some reason

iOS one can get signal gh (paid product)

One thing you can do in a pinch is tune the channel on your pc and open the status.json from your phone but such will need to be periodically refreshed and not graphical.
note: the status.json works best when the phone has a pre-installed compass.

hepcat72
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by hepcat72 »

Is there ANY version of this app either for iOS or macOS? I have to adjust, reload, adjust, reload, adjust, reload, adjust, reload, adjust, reload, adjust, reload, adjust, reload...

It's ridiculous. This was so much easier in EyeTV.

jasonl
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by jasonl »

There is a third-party (paid) app for iOS called Signal GH, https://apps.apple.com/us/app/signal-gh/id289580769 .

heavymcd
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by heavymcd »

I can second (or third) the recommendation of Signal GH. It's $3, and worth every penny. I've been using it for...five or six years now? I take the phone up on the roof with me and can monitor the graph of signal strength and quality across multiple tuners (testing multiple towers) in real time.

Yes, we all prefer a free app. But for a one-time purchase, you are getting the last app for this you'll ever need.

Except that I'm not sure it works with ATSC 3.0, none of my locals use it.

petelombardo
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by petelombardo »

I have Android devices that work in the Android ecosystem, so I have been missing the HDHomeRun Signal app. I vibe coded the following to fill the gap. Run it in docker somewhere on your network and then you can tune from anywhere.

https://github.com/Petelombardo/hdhomer ... /README.md

Image
Last edited by petelombardo on Wed Oct 29, 2025 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

Trip
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by Trip »

petelombardo wrote: Tue Oct 28, 2025 12:05 pm I have Android devices that work in the Android ecosystem, so I have been missing the HDHomeRun Signal app. I vibe coded the following to fill the gap. Run it in docker somewhere on your network and then you can tune from anywhere.

https://github.com/Petelombardo/hdhomer ... /README.md
Never used Docker before, but liking this a lot so far. This is, in fact, exactly the sort of thing I was looking for and initially tried to build before creating my TUI tool instead.

I think I am experiencing a bug. If I go from no station tuned ("stop" pressed) and then tune a channel by putting in the number and pressing enter, the program list doesn't come up. I have to change off the channel and back again using the arrow keys to get the programs to appear.

The "Tune" button changes the channel to the program number.

Can you add support for displaying PLP Info and l1detail (if it's a Dev tuner) for 3.0 signals? Maybe show the dB values next to the percentages if it's a Dev tuner as well?

One other feature that would be nice would be to be able to lock it to a specific device ID.

- Trip

petelombardo
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by petelombardo »

Trip wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 5:16 am
petelombardo wrote: Tue Oct 28, 2025 12:05 pm I have Android devices that work in the Android ecosystem, so I have been missing the HDHomeRun Signal app. I vibe coded the following to fill the gap. Run it in docker somewhere on your network and then you can tune from anywhere.

https://github.com/Petelombardo/hdhomer ... /README.md
Never used Docker before, but liking this a lot so far. This is, in fact, exactly the sort of thing I was looking for and initially tried to build before creating my TUI tool instead.

I think I am experiencing a bug. If I go from no station tuned ("stop" pressed) and then tune a channel by putting in the number and pressing enter, the program list doesn't come up. I have to change off the channel and back again using the arrow keys to get the programs to appear.

The "Tune" button changes the channel to the program number.

Can you add support for displaying PLP Info and l1detail (if it's a Dev tuner) for 3.0 signals? Maybe show the dB values next to the percentages if it's a Dev tuner as well?

One other feature that would be nice would be to be able to lock it to a specific device ID.

- Trip
Thanks for the feedback!

I added some PLP info for the ATSC 3.0 channels and maybe fixed the issue with no info being displayed. I also added the dB info as well. Check the docker container logs if anything looks suspiciously off and let me know. I was not able to consistently reproduce the tuning issue as described. Maybe it was due to longer signal lock times or something, so it should be more robust from that perspective now. Just pull the latest and rebuild the container to see the changes.

Trip
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Re: Signal Strength App

Post by Trip »

petelombardo wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 6:51 am Thanks for the feedback!

I added some PLP info for the ATSC 3.0 channels and maybe fixed the issue with no info being displayed. I was not able to consistently reproduce that one as described. Maybe it was due to longer signal lock times or something, so it should be more robust from that perspective now. Just pull the latest and rebuild the container to see the changes.
Ha, I was impatient and did my own implementation.

https://www.rabbitears.info/dl/hdhomeru ... nal-re.png

https://www.rabbitears.info/dl/hdhomeru ... nal-re.zip

Yours is definitely nicer to look at, but harder to copy+paste in a way usable for analysis.

- Trip

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