[techieradio]

I recently got a denial on my mounting my CM 4 Bay on my roof. I own the roof and meet all the requirements. I didn't ask for anything outrageous, 5 ft mount on roof facing to DC transmitters.


I included the FCC Q&A for the Telecom Act that allowed us to mount DTV antennas. Have any of you got an ongoing battle or got any extra ammo that got your antenna approved?


They want me to put it in my attic. I simply don't want to loss in signal strength and quality.


Any help is appreciated. I live in Centreville, London Towne HOA. Sequoia Management is the HOA management company.


The funny thing is that they approved my 3-LNB Directv antenna for roof mount, high enough (meaning roof line like my neighbors on each side) to get over the trees.


Thanks for listening....


Techieradio

 

[arxaw]

Quote:

Originally posted by techieradio ... they approved my 3-LNB Directv antenna for roof mount...

If it's your roof on your own house, they can't do anything about it.
http://ftp.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/consumerdish.html

 

[jckessler]

Put it up, and tell them to take their denial and shove it. They cannot legally restrict you from installing the antenna. The law is on your side. You don't need to ask for or receive their approval, so why waste time asking for permission?

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html


There are a number of good posts by sasha_j on this forum discussing this very issue. The bottom line is that every time an HOA has tried to restrict a homeowner from installing a TV antenna, they've lost.


If you put it up on your roof, it puts them in the position where they have to force you take it down (a battle they will lose). Of course they can say "no" all day long if it's not up already.

 

[Scooper]

Get the damn thing up and quit whining about the HOA's illegal restriction. Even if they get a favorable ruling at the FCC (not likely), you still have 30 days after the ruling comes out. Just keep it under a line that's 12 feet above your roofline.

 

[Mac The Knife]

IANAL, But if I was in this position, I would have made sure I had told them that I had already tried an attic mount and could not get 'reliable' reception. IIRC, the law says they only have to make a "reasonable accomodation", so if an attic mount is 'unreliable', it is not a 'reasonable' request. Basically, I'm saying you should CYA since pissing off an HOA can lead to a lean on your property, which can be a royal PITA to deal with even if you are eventually found to be legally correct.

 

[Scooper]

Wrong answer - the HOA is NOT recognized as a technical authority for the placement of antennas. As pointed out in this forum MANY TIMES - put the antenna up and make the HOA get the ruling from the FCC that their restriction is legal (there are a few circumstances where they are).


Besides, that's "lien" not "lean". And HOA's arbitrarily slapping liens is NOT looked too favorbly, especially if it is in retaliation for something like this.

 

[kenglish]

Hopefully, Mr. Edward B. Joy of the Georgia Institute of Technology will not mind a quote from his chapter "TV Receiving Antennas" in the "Antenna Engineering Handbook" 3rd Edition (McGraw Hill):

"Outdoor antenna systems can provide up to a 15-dB increase in antenna gain (including transmission line loss), typically 15- to 20-dB greater rejection of ghost signals, and greater immunity to electrical interference over indoor antenna systems. This advantage, combined with a typical signal-strength increase due to antenna height of 14 dB....plus the removal of a typical 11 dB building attenuation, could result in an overall signal increase at the TV receiver of up to 40 dB"


Your tax dollars paid for this research already (an FCC grant), so it's already a proven fact that you will have far, far less satisfactory results indoors.


BTW, this is a great book.

 

[vurbano]

Mount the antenna!!!!

 

[techieradio]

Thanks all for your help! Its going up!


Techieradio

 

[sregener]

Your first mistake was asking first. Now that they have denied your request, they may have legal recourse to keep the antenna from being errected until after the FCC rules. See the story about the guy from a Chicago suburb that waited nearly 2 years for a declaratory ruling in his favor.

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_publi...-03-2971A1.pdf


The HOA has to prove that your attic will provide reliable reception. IOW, the burden of proof is on them to demonstrate that your desired location (the roof) is not superior to their preferred location (the attic.) Any restriction which delays installation by requiring approval is not a legal restriction.


As I said, your mistake was asking first. After the antenna was up, they would have had to wait for the FCC to rule. Since you made the request before the antenna went up, you may need to wait to keep your legal bases covered. IOW, erecting an antenna after a request is denied and before the FCC declares in your favor may lead to more court time for you.

 

[sasha_j]

In America, if you own your own roof and don't live in a historic district, you can, if you want place OTARD approved antenna(s) onto it without permits or applications of any kind. It is that simple. As many folks have pointed out, many HOAs design covenants are out of date as OTARD rulings clearly supersede them.


There needs to be stickies for this post and for this one.