Tracking Satellite Dishes / Dish Installation Deposit

Our condo association is beginning the process to tighten up our approval process for owners who wish to install satellite dishes and also at the same time removing unused/abandoned dishes. We think we have come up with a decent method for the approval portion; however keeping track of unapproved dishes will be an issue due to the size of our community. Does anyone have a way that they would care to share that you are able to determine if a new dish has been approved for installation? I am currently thinking of issuing an asset tag with a unique number that an owner could affix to the back of the dish so that we would be able to keep track of which dish belonged to which unit/owner. We experimented with permanent marker however that didn’t last more than a couple of months on several of the dishes before fading.

Also have any communities required a deposit for dish installation? The deposit would be fully refunded when the resident left or removed the dish and the ground was returned the post install condition (i.e. no hole, etc.). The logic is that the deposit would pay for the removal cost if the dish were simply abandoned when an owner sold their unit and moved.

Any feedback on that or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Chris,

I am of the expectation that you are aware that if the dishes are being installed on the common area (roof of a condo, wall, etc. - something the Condo Association is responsible for) then the condo may certainly regulate. However, if the dishes are installed on private property the Association has very little if any say based on the 1992 FCC regulations.

You might consider having the condo Association install two dishes (one from each service - dish network and direct tv) and have a central place the Homeowner can wire into the switch. The homeowner would still need to coordinate with the satellite service provider to have programming, etc..

However, it may be too late for that type of idea. If it is, your idea of of a refundable fee for installation and removal of the dish sounds like it could work. Note: typically no provider or homeowner would remove the cables. There will always be holes for the mounting hardware and cable runs. Depending on the location of the Dishes, filling and re-drilling may weaken the structure. This is one reason why most providers recommend that the dish mounts stay in place. However, it is possible to remove the dish from the pole with zero issues.

If the dishes are installed in a central location, allow one mount per unit and mark where that mount will be (coordinate with the two services to make sure there is a line of sight to the satellite as each service uses different ones).

Hope this helps.

Tim

MATV Tutorial
http://www.clipsal.com/trade/__data/page/81/D0000027.pdf

this applies to satellite as well but replace passive splitter with active multiswitches and you use the aforementioned duplexer to send the MATV signal down the same coax as the SMATV signal to each residence.

you would have enough multiplexers to send a vertical/horizontal/OTA TV signals to each residence each provider would have a multi switch and a pair of dishes and would tap into the common ota antenna.

if the resident wants more than one receiver they can purchase their own multi switch to tap into the pair going to the residence and add as many receivers as they like without adding more to the outside of building.

so you would have up to four dishes and a single ota antenna per a system. if building are close together a single system may be able to serve more than one building.

We are sadly way past the point of installing one dish per company per building as that would be the ideal solution. We have had one company make a proposal to us for providing this type of service although the agreement would essentially make them the exclusive provider for our association or we would face large monetary penalties. Have any other associations that aren't contained in one building installed central dishes after residents have already had a chance to install their own dishes?

We are aware that we wouldn't be able to regulate installation in exclusive use areas. Of our 200+ condos there are probably less than 20 that would actually be able to install without hanging over or utilizing the common elements of the property and still have a clear view of the southern sky. We will not allow users to drill through any of the exterior walls or roof since those are all common elements. We end up with a lot of pole mounted dishes around the property. Since the ground is a common element we feel pretty confident that we can regulate installation without running afoul of the OTARD rules.

For those who are on condo boards here are a couple of Q&As from the OTARD rules that you may find of interest.

Q: If I live in a condominium or an apartment building, does this rule apply to me?

A: 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. Restrictions on antennas installed in these common areas are not covered by the Commission's rule. For example, the rule would not apply to restrictions that prevent drilling through the exterior wall of a condominium or rental unit and thus restrictions may prohibit installation that requires such drilling.

Q: Does the rule apply to condominiums or apartment buildings if the antenna is installed so that it hangs over or protrudes beyond the balcony railing or patio wall?

A: No. The rule does not prohibit restrictions on antennas installed beyond the balcony or patio of a condominium or apartment unit if such installation is in, on, or over a common area. An antenna that extends out beyond the balcony or patio is usually considered to be in a common area that is not within the scope of the rule. Therefore, the rule does not apply to a condominium or rental apartment unit unless the antenna is installed wholly within the exclusive use area, such as the balcony or patio.