Flat Antenna instead of conventional Satellite dish

foxhill

We moved into a new house in a estate mixed of old & new houses. As other previously built houses in street has dishes on front, we installed sky dish too. its freehold houses, still will be run by new MGM company.

then after one week, MGM company rep came and asked to take down the dish and move it to back of the house or threat of taking it down by force. We did not know that we cannot install dish on our house, as next houses to us and all houses have dish installed.
MGM saying, we have signed contracts with them and its in the contracts. hence they have every right to remove the dish from our house!
I asked our solicitor, why he never told us about that, he saying its not his job to tell me that you cannot install sat dish on the house. it was YOU to find out. I was like why I paid you for, if I have to read contracts myself! when I asked send me the contracts where it says no dishes allowed. and he saying he has not got contracts with him as they are with land registry office, can take few months to come back and he has no copies!

Then, I asked my solicitor if I can install fire alarm on our house wall or not and he is not replying me at all!

I can understand if its apartment, I cannot install to the wall as its not owned by me but this wall is within boundary of our freehold. that was one of the main reason we actually bought freehold! if anyone tries to take this down, I think that will be trespassing.

Anyway, I dnt want to fight with anyone. So, I decided to move the dish to the back of house, so called sky engineer to move the dish, but only to find out that next door house is too high(3 storey) and blocking sat signal! engineer asked us to erect a 4/5 meter high pole on roof and put dish on that and sky wont do that! and also, not sure how our next doors will feel about :-:rolleyes:dish hanging in the air!.

I have no problem with UPC, I have UPC broadband which is brilliant, but their tv service has no Asian channels, which we want to watch.

So, finally, thinking of buying this and putting instead of sky dish: Selfsat H30D4 Flat Antenna
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Selfsat-H30D4-Flat-Antenna-4-members-Quad-H-30D-New-/281211376934?hash=item4179811526

these are much smaller than sky dish about an alarm box. does anyone ever installed? will it pass mgm company and city council's no satellite dish on front rules, and above all, do they actually work?!
has anyone knows if dish rules applies on these panels/boxes, these are not really dishes...

anyone pls

Thanks

athtrasna

With my ordinary poster hat on I'll say that it's probably in the planning permission for your development that satellite dishes can't be placed on the front of your house. You should be able to find the planning permission for the estate on your local council's website. If that's the case then the flat antenna would fall foul of that too.

Mod note
Please stick to the questions asked. Off topic posts will be deleted. This is not the place to start an "entitlement to satellite dish" debate for the millionth time.

L1011

They are massively lower gain than actual dish antennas - if the Asian channels you want aren't on 28E / Sky, you're unlikely to get enough signal.

I wouldn't expect it to be OK with the management company either, though.

foxhill

L1011 wrote: »

They are massively lower gain than actual dish antennas - if the Asian channels you want aren't on 28E / Sky, you're unlikely to get enough signal.

I wouldn't expect it to be OK with the management company either, though.

thanks L1011, I would need only channels which were coming on sky dish. I have an old working sky box, which I will use. So idea really is to get freeSat or any other channels engineer could find. I think sky dish pointing is at Astra 2. I asked the engineer, if this flat panel will work, he said yes, only in the front of the house.
Its white in color, same colour of house wall. so I believe it will not look too odd, I will paint the same paint as of the wall on panel, so I hope it will not be very visible. you can see the difference:

foxhill

@athtrasna, yeah, thats the problem, they do not define what dish is!

<snip>
back to dishes, one will say Selfsat rectangle box is not a dish but some will say it is a dish or antenna(which is totally different beast altogether as below):


The Selfsat is no where near big or odd looking as Satellite dish & Antenna, but dish rule will apply because it can receive satellite signals! what if I would like to install alarm box of 50cm x 25cm.
this is what I am trying to figure out what max object is allowed on outside house wall

athtrasna

Again I say you need to find the planning permission for your development. It should be easily found on the appropriate council's website. That will give site specific restrictions.

Also an alarm box is an exempt device.

foxhill

@athtrasna, I am in Dublin. and cant see their planning rules. however, its not objection raised by city council yet. I believe when they will come they will take down every dish.
the issue is MGM company now. friends living in last phase houses, saying, MGM company will sing these songs until they have to sell houses there. once all houses r sold, they will go away and never come back regarding dishes, as same happened with them.

athtrasna

foxhill wrote: »

@athtrasna, I am in Dublin. and cant see their planning rules. however, its not objection raised by city council yet. I believe when they will come they will take down every dish.
the issue is MGM company now. friends living in last phase houses, saying, MGM company will sing these songs until they have to sell houses there. once all houses r sold, they will go away and never come back regarding dishes, as same happened with them.

Every development has to have planning permission, you are not looking for rules, you need the specific permission for your development. The one that says they can build X houses but with listed conditions.

If you own the house you are a member of the management company, get involved. Find out when the next AGM is on, that's the best time and place to force questions to be answered.

Marcusm

Are you sure you have a freehold? It doesn't sound like it as it is very difficult to enforce covenants such as this on free olds. Furthermore, the mgt company is not the planning enforcement agency and has no authority to REQUIRE the removal of anything on planning grounds. Either they are wrong or you misunderstand what you have purchased. Irrespective, a satellite dish on the front of the house needs planning permission, only a dish attached to the side or rear (and below the level of the top of the roof) is exempted development.

The mgt company may have authority to force you to remove it if they have an enforceable covenant from you; otherwise it is up to the planning authority.

foxhill

Marcusm wrote: »

Are you sure you have a freehold? It doesn't sound like it as it is very difficult to enforce covenants such as this on free olds. Furthermore, the mgt company is not the planning enforcement agency and has no authority to REQUIRE the removal of anything on planning grounds. Either they are wrong or you misunderstand what you have purchased. Irrespective, a satellite dish on the front of the house needs planning permission, only a dish attached to the side or rear (and below the level of the top of the roof) is exempted development.

The mgt company may have authority to force you to remove it if they have an enforceable covenant from you; otherwise it is up to the planning authority.

Hi Marcusm, yes, it is freehold.we never read full contract. Solicitor said everything is ok. So we believe on him. Not sure who reads 100 pages documents sitting in solicitor office. That's why we pay them. So we do not know what we signed and cannot check as contracts r with land reg.

loyatemu

it's against planning regulations to put a dish on the front of your house everywhere in Ireland. It's not widely enforced though.

STB.

You do not require planning permission for a dish ONCE it is not on the front of the house.

A satellite dish can be placed on a side/back wall. It does not have to be 20 foot off the ground.

The Flat dishes are rubbish.

Paulw

foxhill wrote: »

we never read full contract. Solicitor said everything is ok. So we believe on him. Not sure who reads 100 pages documents sitting in solicitor office. That's why we pay them. So we do not know what we signed and cannot check as contracts r with land reg.

What??? :eek: I made damn sure I read the full contract and also took my own copy for reference. You pay the solicitor to make sure everything is above board, but these contracts include clauses that you need to be aware of, and some even have clauses that state that the erection of a satellite dish is prohibited. Now, to a solicitor, that is within the norm, so "everything is ok". But, that doesn't then mean you can go mount a dish, just because you didn't read the contracts. :eek:

Your solicitor, and the management company should hold copies of the contracts signed, and you should really have your own copy. You may have to pay a fee now to get a copy of those though.

sKeith

If you have a garden, put the dish down the back of your garden. You dont need to attach a dish to a house for it to work, as long as it has a clear view to the south, (or 28 degrees east of south) then you are good.

Marcusm

foxhill wrote: »

Hi Marcusm, yes, it is freehold.we never read full contract. Solicitor said everything is ok. So we believe on him. Not sure who reads 100 pages documents sitting in solicitor office. That's why we pay them. So we do not know what we signed and cannot check as contracts r with land reg.

If you never read it, how are you sure it's freehold?

STB.

Managed estates... a great idea in theory, but a nightmare in reality.

I presume MGM are the management agent, employed by yourself and other members of the management company.

If the development is a mix of both old and new scattered together, it sounds like an impossible scenario to implement for a management company.

Anyhow. Satellite position 9E has Asian Channels (CCTV channels spring to mind). Its direction is to the right of where 28.2 would normally point. 9E is just as strong as 28.2.

There are also light globes (digiglobe/Camglobe) that you can stick in your garden that are infact satellite dishes, but again they are appx 45" - which like the flat panel squish dishes is on the margin for getting good reception.

Try dishpointer to see where you could position the dish. Is there not a chimney that you could use ?

Alternatively as you have UPC for broadband, get a Linux/Android box and stream IPTV.

air

I used one of the Selfsat dishes for a few years in Limerick. It worked fine but gain was marginal so there was occasional breakup on some channels in heavy rain. If you're in the East of the country it should work a little better.
I have another NIB, if you're interested send me a PM.

foxhill

STB. wrote: »

Managed estates... a great idea in theory, but a nightmare in reality.

I presume MGM are the management agent, employed by yourself and other members of the management company.

If the development is a mix of both old and new scattered together, it sounds like an impossible scenario to implement for a management company.

Anyhow. Satellite position 9E has Asian Channels (CCTV channels spring to mind). Its direction is to the right of where 28.2 would normally point. 9E is just as strong as 28.2.

There are also light globes (digiglobe/Camglobe) that you can stick in your garden that are infact satellite dishes, but again they are appx 45" - which like the flat panel squish dishes is on the margin for getting good reception.

Try dishpointer to see where you could position the dish. Is there not a chimney that you could use ?

Alternatively as you have UPC for broadband, get a Linux/Android box and stream IPTV.

unfortunately, I do not have luxury of having satellite signal in our garden . thanks to next door 3 storeys house and we cannot do anything about it and neither on chimney as there is none.

my friend told me about some ip box, when I asked are they legal, he was smiling!

air wrote: »

I used one of the Selfsat dishes for a few years in Limerick. It worked fine but gain was marginal so there was occasional breakup on some channels in heavy rain. If you're in the East of the country it should work a little better.
I have another NIB, if you're interested send me a PM.

Hi air, thanks, sorry but,I am not very good at technical words. what is this NIB?

sKeith wrote: »

If you have a garden, put the dish down the back of your garden. You dont need to attach a dish to a house for it to work, as long as it has a clear view to the south, (or 28 degrees east of south) then you are good.

I think you did not read my post, I have no problem moving dish to back of house. but the problem is there is no signal cos next door house is too high. an Engineer can confirm that.

Thanks guys for your posts, as I have said already, I have no problem moving dish back to the house, if an issue can be solved by me spending 150 euro etc, I have no problem spending it and therefore, I called an engineer to move the dish to back, but he said there is no signal in house in the back, unless I erect 4/5 feet pole on roof to bypass next door building.So, final option I can think is, instead of dish, I must go for flat panel box about 50cm width etc to front of the house. some can argue, if they did not ban them, it should not be taken as if they allowed it.

All I see about about planning rules/MGM rules etc are banning a satellite dish but an alternative to satellite dishes.
Yes who r thinking, is the house is freehold?, solicitor confirmed it and I have maps copies, which describes whats are the boundaries of our freehold, I can see same on land registry website too, its a house, not a duplex or townhouse, condo or an apartment.

STB.

foxhill wrote: »

unfortunately, I do not have luxury of having satellite signal in our garden . thanks to next door 3 storeys house and we cannot do anything about it and neither on chimney as there is none.

my friend told me about some ip box, when I asked are they legal, he was smiling!

You have some strange house set up. No chimney, management agents.

I presume u are talking about your back garden. I was talking about positioning at the front.

The digiglobes look like an outdoor light and also function like one. The whole thing about sat dishes is asthethics.