The breaking point came in July 2012. Our Comcast bill for Internet, television, and phone hit $184 a month. And that was without premium channels like HBO. Add cell phones, and our total telecommunications bill was $244.
By last month, we had chopped that to $97 a month - a savings of $1,764 a year.
But before explaining how we did it, a caution: If you are a diehard Red Sox fan, this may not work for you. That said, our telecommunications diet plan is based on four precepts:
Pay only for what you use.
Buy your own equipment.
Mine the Internet for all its riches.
Comparison shop (yes, that takes time, but if you're a cheap geek like me, it's part of the fun.)
The cited article includes the following paragraph:
| But it came to the point where Comcast would no longer budge. | We couldn't switch providers because our condo building was | wired by Comcast, and Verizon FIOS didn't reach into | Brookline. Satellite TV was out because we're not allowed | to mount an outside dish.
But the article doesn't specify the authority that prohibits outside dishes.
FCC rules generally prohibit restrictions on the installation satellite antennas imposed by local governments, building owners, or homeowners associations. Exceptions apply only in specific circumstances such as safety, permanent damage to the building, or preservation of the appearance of historic buildings. In such cases the burden of proof lies with the entity that imposes the restrictions.
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Of course a satellite antenna only works if it has a clear view of the desired satellite.
Neal McLain
***** Moderator's Note *****
Good points. While we're on this subject, would someone please explain Fresnel zones and how they affect "visibility" of a satellite from the ground?
"In the case of condominiums, cooperatives and rental properties, the rules apply to 'exclusive use' areas, like terraces, balconies or patios. 'Exclusive use' refers to an area of the property that only the renter and people allowed by the renter may enter and use. If the area is shared with others or accessible without the renter's permission, it is not considered to be an exclusive use area."
So unless they have a balcony with view of the satellite, they're screwed. They can't put a dish on the roof or the outside walls without the condo association's permission.
I do recall seeing an interesting setup in Houston, Texas a long time ago. The satellite dish went on top of the guys *car*, which was parked in a parking space assigned to him. I believe he bought a junker car for the purpose, or else used a car he was going to trade in. However, it was a functional car, and he could drive it around the block a few times with the dish on it to prove it didn't meet the condo association's definition of "junk car", which banned inoperable and partly-assembled cars. He also had it registered and insured, and it passed state inspections (with the dish still in it).
For the first year or so, there was a cable between the car and the condo. Apparently he did a good job of hiding it. Later, he replaced it with some kind of very short-range retransmitter that could be received on his balcony with a small, unobtrusive receiver. I'm not sure whether it used radio waves or infrared.
Other interesting workarounds I have heard of include a back-yard garden shed made entirely out of plastic (so it didn't interfere with the signal much) whose purpose was to conceal the satellite dish, the portable dish installed in a backpack worn by someone who would walk outside, cable trailing behind him, get into position, and stand there while the family watched TV (It was unclear *who* did this, and if they got paid), and the satellite dish installed
25 feet above a bird bath.
***** Moderator's Note *****
Those are bush league. ;-)
I once helped to construct a multi-homed earth feedlink which had the feedhorn on a track that also supported a decoy (literally!) duck which moved to whatever bird (pun intended) was needed.
I've built satellite dish feed horns concealed in the back of the head of a religious statue, with the reflector, positioned behind the head, painted to resemble a halo.
I've seen a three meter dish used as the oyster part of a sculture featuring a female figure just emerging from the shell. Three meters: I measured it! No complaints in seven years!
That's the problem with people these days: no imagination!
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