New satellite TV dish isn’t a dish at all
- June 10th, 2008
- 2 Comments
I live in a building that has a contract with Comcast and refuses to allow its residents to use satellite dishes, which I guess is fine. I think they’re ugly, and the industry has done little to disguise them. In fact, during a recent Best Buy trip I noticed one carrier is now branding its customers’ dishes. Gauche.
But one company is trying to improve the looks of the dish with a new antenna called the Squish. It’s a flat panel reflector that sits flush with the side of your house, with the actual receiver hidden by something else like plants.
It’s still not perfect but it definitely beats having a birdbath and microphone pointing up in the air contraption bolted next to your bathroom window. Just sayin’.
JarOfSonicMen (Who am I?)
5 months ago
“which I guess is fine.”
Actually it might be a violation of FCC regulations. Or it might not. Apartments probably have different rules than houses.
But the Homeowners Association certainly cannot keep you from having the dish at a house. I’m ditching DirecTV…and keeping the dish to irritate the neighbors.
Michael (Who am I?)
5 months ago
FYI: Assuming that you live in the USA, the FCC has regulations related to Over-the-Air reception devices (including satellite dishes). These regulations state that landlords, HOAs, and local ordinances cannot prevent you from installing an antenna that is 1 meter (roughly a yard) in size or less as long as the antenna is in an exclusive-use area (such as your porch or balcony).
Of course, the fact that preventing the installation of a satellite dish is a violation of FCC regulations doesn’t mean that landlords, HOAs, or local governments will not try to prevent you from installing one. It all comes down to how “reasonable” they if presented with the FCC regulations and how much the resident cares to enter that battle. :)