I was looking over the FCC's information about OTARD, which is basically the "Bill of Rights" for DBS for apartments/condos etc. Unfortunately the rules seem rather confusing. For example, early it says:
"The rule prohibits most restrictions that: (1) unreasonably delay or prevent installation, maintenance or use; (2) unreasonably increase the cost of installation, maintenance or use; or (3) preclude reception of an acceptable quality signal."
Then later it mentions:
"The rule applies to antenna users who live in a multiple dwelling unit building, such as a condominium or apartment building, if the antenna user has an exclusive use area in which to install the antenna. "Exclusive use" means an area of the property that only you, and persons you permit, may enter and use to the exclusion of other residents. For example, your condominium or apartment may include a balcony, terrace, deck or patio that only you can use, and the rule applies to these areas. The rule does not apply to common areas, such as the roof, the hallways, the walkways or the exterior walls of a condominium or apartment building."
And then to top it off, from a Q&A:
Q: I live in a condominium with a balcony, but I cannot receive a signal from the satellite because my balcony faces north. Can I use the roof?
A: No. The roof of a condominium is generally a common area, not an area reserved for an individual's exclusive use. If the roof is a common area, you may not use it unless the condominium association gives you permission. The condominium is not obligated to provide a place for you to install an antenna if you do not have an exclusive use area.
Like most things that the FCC mandates, these rules don't seem to make any sense. For one, I plan on living in an apartment, and I doubt it'll have a balcony available, and even so, that may prove futile if I don't get a good shot of the southern sky.
So lets say that happens, so therefore the only place that would make sense is the roof. According to these rules, you can't "force" a dish to be installed on the roof. However, if installing it on the "exclusive" area severely degrades my reception, THEN what do I do? I can't put it on the exclusive area because of bad reception, but I can't put it on the roof where I could potentially get better reception.
I feel like I'm in a catch-22 almost. On one hand, I don't want to get into fights with landlords of potential apartments about putting my dish on the roof when, technically they don't have to, but I don't want to have to restrict my hunting to places that A: Have a balcony, AND B: are facing the southern sky. Also, the 5lnbs can't be mounted on the side (except apparently on brick, because I saw a bunch of those when I was in Queens a while back), so that would be another restriction I'd face.
Am I overreacting about all of this? In case you can't tell I've never lived in an apartment before (or at least, not when I had D*), so I don't know how they generally are about dishes, especially the new breed of "beast" dishes. Do you see this thing as a real pain in the neck in terms of finding a place to live, or is this usually a minor inconvenience at best? I mean I've seen numerous 3lnb sized dishes on the roof of apartments/multifamilies, but VERY rarely do I see a 5lnb on those.
"The rule prohibits most restrictions that: (1) unreasonably delay or prevent installation, maintenance or use; (2) unreasonably increase the cost of installation, maintenance or use; or (3) preclude reception of an acceptable quality signal."
Then later it mentions:
"The rule applies to antenna users who live in a multiple dwelling unit building, such as a condominium or apartment building, if the antenna user has an exclusive use area in which to install the antenna. "Exclusive use" means an area of the property that only you, and persons you permit, may enter and use to the exclusion of other residents. For example, your condominium or apartment may include a balcony, terrace, deck or patio that only you can use, and the rule applies to these areas. The rule does not apply to common areas, such as the roof, the hallways, the walkways or the exterior walls of a condominium or apartment building."
And then to top it off, from a Q&A:
Q: I live in a condominium with a balcony, but I cannot receive a signal from the satellite because my balcony faces north. Can I use the roof?
A: No. The roof of a condominium is generally a common area, not an area reserved for an individual's exclusive use. If the roof is a common area, you may not use it unless the condominium association gives you permission. The condominium is not obligated to provide a place for you to install an antenna if you do not have an exclusive use area.
Like most things that the FCC mandates, these rules don't seem to make any sense. For one, I plan on living in an apartment, and I doubt it'll have a balcony available, and even so, that may prove futile if I don't get a good shot of the southern sky.
So lets say that happens, so therefore the only place that would make sense is the roof. According to these rules, you can't "force" a dish to be installed on the roof. However, if installing it on the "exclusive" area severely degrades my reception, THEN what do I do? I can't put it on the exclusive area because of bad reception, but I can't put it on the roof where I could potentially get better reception.
I feel like I'm in a catch-22 almost. On one hand, I don't want to get into fights with landlords of potential apartments about putting my dish on the roof when, technically they don't have to, but I don't want to have to restrict my hunting to places that A: Have a balcony, AND B: are facing the southern sky. Also, the 5lnbs can't be mounted on the side (except apparently on brick, because I saw a bunch of those when I was in Queens a while back), so that would be another restriction I'd face.
Am I overreacting about all of this? In case you can't tell I've never lived in an apartment before (or at least, not when I had D*), so I don't know how they generally are about dishes, especially the new breed of "beast" dishes. Do you see this thing as a real pain in the neck in terms of finding a place to live, or is this usually a minor inconvenience at best? I mean I've seen numerous 3lnb sized dishes on the roof of apartments/multifamilies, but VERY rarely do I see a 5lnb on those.
