Fair disclosure in case someone does something stupid - Satelliteguys, Myself, and DirecTV assume no liability if you mess with your equipment and cause damage, anything you do after reading this post is at your own risk.
The AM21 has long been annoying as it is much larger than it needs to be, and much larger than today's Genies. Sitting under an HR44 - it just looks odd.
Why not a smaller size box?
I found a failed H25 (or perhaps a lease box that was never returned) on eBay for $20. (That's about the most I was willing to invest in this project). Today it came in the mail, and I quickly opened it (four slot on the bottom corners, flathead screwdriver releases the tabs and the cover lifts off).
I removed the access card, heat sink, and H25 board. The case has two lifted screw holes that were a problem and had to be removed. This wasn't pretty as I didn't have great tools - but there is a plastic cover that attaches to the bottom that covered the ugly work.
I added some heavy duty mounting tape to hold the board, since the screw holes don't line up, and to prevent metal from touching the bottom of the AM21 board. I had to modify the back plate to allow for the power and USB ports to be exposed. The antenna port lined up with an existing round port from the RCA video output.
Some electrical tape to ensure no metal touches the USB cable, and to cover the rough edges.
The AM21 board was about 1/16" too large for the H25 box. I knew it would be a tight fit but that was disappointing. I decided to remove the front bezel from the H25 cover. and to just use the plastic strip that had the DirecTV logo on it. With using just the strip (that is on the plastic bezel with adhesive), I can make the receiver still look somewhat natural. As the strip is smaller than the plastic bezel I opted not to use, I had to use more electrical tape on the front to hold the bezel and cover the air gaps.
In the end it didn't look as good as I thought it would, the AM21 board was just ever so slightly too big to fit the H25 enclosure.
That said, it works, and from a distance looks natural. Up close you can tell the electrical tape is pretty prevalent. Either way, I'll keep it this way, now my AM25 instead of the AM21.
Off to reward a job well done with a cold beer.
The AM21 has long been annoying as it is much larger than it needs to be, and much larger than today's Genies. Sitting under an HR44 - it just looks odd.
Why not a smaller size box?
I found a failed H25 (or perhaps a lease box that was never returned) on eBay for $20. (That's about the most I was willing to invest in this project). Today it came in the mail, and I quickly opened it (four slot on the bottom corners, flathead screwdriver releases the tabs and the cover lifts off).
I removed the access card, heat sink, and H25 board. The case has two lifted screw holes that were a problem and had to be removed. This wasn't pretty as I didn't have great tools - but there is a plastic cover that attaches to the bottom that covered the ugly work.
I added some heavy duty mounting tape to hold the board, since the screw holes don't line up, and to prevent metal from touching the bottom of the AM21 board. I had to modify the back plate to allow for the power and USB ports to be exposed. The antenna port lined up with an existing round port from the RCA video output.
Some electrical tape to ensure no metal touches the USB cable, and to cover the rough edges.
The AM21 board was about 1/16" too large for the H25 box. I knew it would be a tight fit but that was disappointing. I decided to remove the front bezel from the H25 cover. and to just use the plastic strip that had the DirecTV logo on it. With using just the strip (that is on the plastic bezel with adhesive), I can make the receiver still look somewhat natural. As the strip is smaller than the plastic bezel I opted not to use, I had to use more electrical tape on the front to hold the bezel and cover the air gaps.
In the end it didn't look as good as I thought it would, the AM21 board was just ever so slightly too big to fit the H25 enclosure.
That said, it works, and from a distance looks natural. Up close you can tell the electrical tape is pretty prevalent. Either way, I'll keep it this way, now my AM25 instead of the AM21.
Off to reward a job well done with a cold beer.
