O/T: Legal Help Required Aprops Conservation Areas

O/T: Legal Help Required Aprops Conservation Areas

Author
Discussion

GregE240

Original Poster:

10,857 posts

273 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
Lads and lasses,

I have the pleasure of living in such an area, and until precisely 7am yesterday morning, my digital television needs were met by ITV Digital. Alas, an investment of which I would have been proud has led to their untimely demise.

This is not good, as I spent most of last night "channel hopping" around the free channels that are still being broadcast. My sanity at present is being preserved by E4, otherwise I would have gone quite mad.

It is my belief that because our property is in such an area, it precludes us from lining Mr Murdoch's pockets as we are not allowed to erect dishes to the outside of the house.

Cable will arrive in about 2070, by my reckoning, about the same time that our local BT exchange is upgraded to broadband ("Sorry, but there is no identified demand for such a service in your area" "Yes there is ! Me !! ). Satellite broadband is a no-no as it requires a dish

So what can I do ? Is there a way round it ? Am I forced to watch all this free crap until some tit buys up the DTT licence recently vacated ?

ap_smith

1,997 posts

272 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
Fit a skylight in your roof, and then get one of the satellite dishes that can site behind a pane of glass?


M@H

11,297 posts

278 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
quote:

-snip-
This is not good, as I spent most of last night "channel hopping" around the free channels that are still being broadcast.




..welcome to the real world again....

CarZee

13,382 posts

273 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
quote:
Fit a skylight in your roof, and then get one of the satellite dishes that can site behind a pane of glass?
A splendid bit of lateral thinking

FWIW Greg, I'm unable to get broadband either and if you're slated to get it in 2070, then you'll still get it before me ..

Fatboy

8,064 posts

278 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
You could possibly bung a satellite dish hidden behind a fence - as long as there's a path to the satellite it doesn't neccesarily need to be high up? Or is there a tall tree in your garden you could bung it on?

Not sure how feasible these ideas are, but just chucking them out as you appear to be a bit F*cked?

MEMSDesign

1,100 posts

276 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
I'm pretty sure that moderately thin plastic is transparent to satellite signals. I'm sure that I read something in Newscientist about people is strict Islamic countries setting up satellite dishes hidden inside water butts (obviously empty).

Perhaps you could do something similar?

shoggoth1

815 posts

271 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
I have seen dishes in gardens before (well one). It was mounted on a frame that was bolted to a large paving slab. All you need is a clear line of sight to the satellite. Bit of a problem if you live in a wood though.

Cheers.

mel

10,168 posts

281 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
You can actually often get a signal using a loft dish these are normally quite large as they collect more signal to focus into the bit in the middle (nice techie term) I used to live in a similar conservation area and a neighbour had one in his loft which seemed to work ok but I think cost him several hundred quid for the dish alone

JohnLow

1,763 posts

271 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
You should be able to put the satellite dish in the attic even without a skylight.

Alternatively stop watching TV and go and drive your car .

John.

yum

529 posts

279 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
this may be an unpopular thought, but how about skipping the dish? The summer will be much beter seen from the driving seat of your Porsche, and you can worry about the TV in the autumn....

Most major sporting fixtures are shown in the pubs, which are much better places to watch big games anyway

I'll just get my tin hat and find a quiet place to hide.

R

PS I live in a fiercely enforced conservation area, and my neighbour has put up a dish which no-one seems to have complained about. It's one of those small black mesh-type ones which are very discreet. It all seems to be aout positioning.

>> Edited by yum on Thursday 2nd May 11:27

Don

28,377 posts

290 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
How about some sort of post in your back garden below fence height and bolting the dish to that - as mentioned earlier? Skylight in the roof sounds *expensive*.

These modern dishes (the digital ones) really are quite small - it depends on whether the neighbours are going to complain miserably about it or not...and, of course, whether you think it looks sh**e on the outside of your beautiful house etc etc

My dish is black. I wonder if you can get a clear(ish) one or suitably brick coloured...

>> Edited by Don on Thursday 2nd May 11:42

CarZee

13,382 posts

273 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
Problem is that the satellite which delivers Sky Digital is very low in the sky - you practically point at the horizon, not up into the sky, so putting it significantly below an obstruction like a fence might not yield a result..

To settle that argument, get a bloke with a dish and a signal meter to come and do a quick survey - see what he comes up with..

Failing that, have you considered moving to a council estate? Coverage always seems to be just perfect in these areas

Fatboy

8,064 posts

278 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
After careful deliberation (just made a cup of tea) I have found the solution attach a satellite dish to a blimp, and tether it pointing towards the satellite, about 50m above your back garden. This should give you great signal without breaking the ordiance about no satellite dishes

On second thoughts, perhaps I put toilet duck in my tea instead of milk

GregE240

Original Poster:

10,857 posts

273 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
Thanks chaps. Further info:

1) We live in a terraced townhouse. We DO have a skylight on the second floor though. Bit small though, but could be a go-er.

2) Council estate is out of the question (but thanks for the contribution though CarZee)

3) AFAIK, I simply CANNOT erect a dish on the outside of the house, no matter how small or innocuous it is. It will only take one whinging bastard to clock it, grass me to the Council, then I'm back to square one.

4) Can you really get a dish in your loft to pick up a satellite ? My loft doesn't have skylights or anything like that, so it would be beaming through slate. Mel, if you know anything more about this, can you elaborate ?

5) Broadband - yes, major downer this, although the price one pays for living out in the sticks with a bunch of farmers, boaters etc. I'll keep pestering BT.

Thanks all. The loft dish sounds the best bet at present as I don't use the loft, nor do I intend to convert it to another couple of rooms (bad enough climbing 2 flights of stairs when you've had a few sherberts)

>> Edited by GregE240 on Thursday 2nd May 12:38

JohnLow

1,763 posts

271 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
I'm absolutely certain you can put a conventional aerial in the attic cos that's what I've done and it works fine.

I'm fairly sure that a satellite dish also works in the attic. You might need a bigger than standard - ie more sensitive - dish though .

John.

>> Edited by JohnLow on Thursday 2nd May 12:45

GregE240

Original Poster:

10,857 posts

273 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
Thanks John, the terrestrial bit is fine, just need to get my digital channels back.
I blame the Simpsons and Futurama.

Fatboy

8,064 posts

278 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
Could you replace some of the slate over the key area with som sort or microwave (or whatever frequency satellite TV uses) transparent roofing cover?

zertec

499 posts

289 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all

Inmarsat (marine satcom) has the SES (ship earth station) dish mounted in a GRP raydome. It would appear therefore that GRP is relatively transparent to these radio frequencies. The answer seems to be to take moulds off your existing roof slates/tiles, produce a thin fibreglass copy of your roof tiles (in the same colour) and replaced an area of about 1 m by 1 m with the new radio transparent panel, position the satellite dish so it points through the GRP panel and you now have satellite TV...
Zertec Ltd
innovative solutions

M@H

11,297 posts

278 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
Zertec.. is that your tagline: Innovative Solutions..??

Cheers,
Matt
Innovative Software Ltd.

rossc

683 posts

290 months

Thursday 2nd May 2002
quotequote all
Love your thinking Clive !!

Greg, my last house was exactly the same, terrace in conservation area. One guy put a dish on the side of his chimney I think, no one said anything against it. Two months later the road looked like it had been hit by a sat dish version of measles and they're all still there two years later. Depends really on how anal your neighbours/council are but personally I'd put one up anyway & see what happens, got to be cheaper than rebuilding half your roof hey Clive ....!