Hiding a dish

PDD

Hi Folks,

As like many people who live in apartments there is an ongoing issue with satellite dishes which I am trying to resolve with a communal dish but in the meatime I am trying to explore the option of putting a dish on my balcony (as I strongly suspect the management company is going to block the communal dish idea). I know about the whole illegality of management companys restricting access to only one provider but I dont have the funds to be able to fight it out in court so theres no point getting into that.

The managements company's biggest objections are putting a dish on the external wall and also the asthetics of the building. If I put the dish on a stand on my balcony it nulls the issue they have with attaching stuff to external walls (does anybody know where I can get a stand with a base plate?)

Also as Im on the 3rd floor Im thinking I can put the dish just at or maybe a little bit below the level of the balcony (coz it will be an at upward angle) so from street level you can only see the top of the dish or perhaps not even at all (depending on the angle your viewing from etc). If I use a transparent dish this reduces the impact even more but Im not sure if they are as good as a normal dish, does anyone have one of these and how do they find them?

Ideally I would like to mount the dish below the level of the balcony so its not visible at all but the wall of the balcony is glass and I assume this will block the signal. I have read about people having no problem using a dish once its behind plastic but I presume this is very thin plastic.

Dave

bushy...

A few ideas for you
http://www.digicams-uk.com/category20_1.htm
http://www.selkirkshire.demon.co.uk/analoguesat/paintingdishes.html
"With regards to hiding a dish I have seen another method used. The dish was mounted on a patio mount and was postitioned in the flower bed in the garden of a listed building. Over the top was placed a green garden refuse sack ! (I like the simplicity of this suggestion)."

PDD

@ Bushy - Cheers for the feeback esp the digicams-uk link as there are a number of smaller dishes there that would be useful. The Digiglobe would be perfec as i would like an extra light on the balcony but again I know the management company will give out. The other link I had found myself and is where I found out about the dish having no problem with plastic (from the guy who put one in his roof).

Does the whole dish have to be unobstructed or does that just affect the signal strength? I was contemplating having plants surrounding it to disguise it, if there are branches in front of the dish will this interfere with it?

Sam Radford

Yes, anything containing moisture will have a bad effect on the signal. Better to cover it with a bin liner - spray it with colours that match its surroundings - and drape imitation (plastic) ivy over it. Or simply a parasol.

Zaphod

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=224642

PDD

@ Zaphod - Cheers for the links, lots of innovative ideas there. I noticed a good few of the links show satellites not pointing in a direction I would think of how is this possible?

@Sam - So just moisture = bad and disguising it with plants is a no go I guess. The sides of my balcony are glass and I presume is toughened saftey glass of some sort so Im guessing this would really block the signal. There is a gap of about 10cm between the glass and the steel bar for the railing of the balcony, if I were to align the dish with this gap would this be enough.

BrianPK

Sam Radford wrote: »

Yes, anything containing moisture will have a bad effect on the signal. Better to cover it with a bin liner - spray it with colours that match its surroundings - and drape imitation (plastic) ivy over it. Or simply a parasol.

Brilliant .Where there's a will.......:D

Zaphod

PDD wrote: »

I noticed a good few of the links show satellites not pointing in a direction I would think of how is this possible?

Offset dishes don't aim where you think they aim.



They can also be mounted on their back (horizontally). Useful for balconies etc - less noticeable.

PDD wrote: »

The sides of my balcony are glass and I presume is toughened saftey glass of some sort so Im guessing this would really block the signal. There is a gap of about 10cm between the glass and the steel bar for the railing of the balcony, if I were to align the dish with this gap would this be enough.

If the glass is metal lined, it will block the signals. Otherwise, if the angle between the glass and the dish isn't too acute, you should have a fair chance.

PDD

Haha thats twice thats happened, Ive come across the same links as you guys are posting :-P The first picture is what I was thinking of with the dish not having to be above the eyeline of the balcony but stil able to get a good signal. Can this technique be used on any standard dish or does it have to be one specifically for use in offset? Is it difficult to setup an offset dish?

Zaphod

PDD wrote: »

Can this technique be used on any standard dish or does it have to be one specifically for use in offset? Is it difficult to setup an offset dish?

Standard dish = offset dish.
http://bytelive.com/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=How+to+align+a+satellite+dish

PDD

Hi Folks,

The guy from Sky came today to put up the dish, unfortunately he didnt have a mini-dish nor did he know what I wanted when I mentioned an offset dish but I got him to put it up anyway and will deal with what comes from the management company. the dish isn't as discreet as I would have wanted but its a damn sight more discreet than some of the other dishes in the complex. I'm now looking to minimize the impact of the dish.

I was wondering if anyone knows where in Ireland stocks a Sky Mini-Dish or a smaller than 60cm satalite dish. Also can anyone recommend an installer who might be willing to put in an off-set dish for a reasonable price?

If either of these options was too expensive I was contemplating buying the dish kit from LIDL thats available next week as it gives me a dish and sat finder to play around with on the cheap. Any feedback on this would be appreciated as I honestly wouldn't know what Im doing.

Dave

Tony

I'm intrigued as to why he did not have a mini dish as thats all sky fit? What dish did he fit, can you post up a photo?

steveon

Depending of where you are living you would be crazy to invest in a dish smaller than 60cm as it will not be sufficient to receiving all the channels and would be seriously affected in the rain and wind.

Dont waste your money on a dish in Lidl they are poorly made, and arent designed for this country in mind.

bk

Anyone actually tried the Digicube?

Does it work with Sky+ (as in support a dual LNB?)

I notice it only has a flat 49cm dish, too small?

coffee to go

Lads,

Was going to post this in a new thread, but here'll do...

I want to mount a dish discreetly behind our garden shed, but want to ensure I give the dish the proper line of sight. Can someone confirm if I've got my maths right here?

Here's a wee sketch:



Assuming that the dish is a 60cm one (i.e. if I want to hide it, then 'H' will also be 60cm), and the elevation here in Newbridge is 21.3 degrees, then the calculation is:

D = H / tan A

D = 60cm / tan 21.3

D = about 155cm

Does that seem right?

Also, with the offset dish, I guess the dish will look like it's pointing right into the shed...

Thanks in advance!

Sam Radford

The maths looks OK to me. The dish arm will be horizontal or even pointing lower than that.