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I guess it's one of those "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" things. Some people don't like amateur radio or TV antennas either. I guess they think that it might reduce the resale value of their home also. I must admit that it suprised me at how prominent my 12 footer looked from my neighbors house.

envy

Dish for me, no dish for you
The Free Lance-Star, Nov 18, 1997

Fredericksburg, VA - It is an all too common complaint heard by owners of satellite dishes. Neighbors don't like looking at them, homeowners associations are hostile towards them, and cable television installers claim to be threatened by their very existence. Yet one researcher believes this is all a facade.

"Dishes are part of the landscape of America, and indeed the world" says Dr. Alexander Thissey, professor of Technological Sociology and head of Satellite Communications Research at the Southern Virginia University. "But it is clear some people don't like them. If we consider for a moment it might be an irrational position to take, one can then start asking the right questions."

Thissey points towards a 1996 Gallup poll which suggested those who do not own dishes are upset by their inability to own a dish. A staggering 64% of non-dish owners said they feel left out by restrictions on their ability to point a dish south, with another 23% citing their own lack of technical prowess. Thissey believes this embarrassment can manifest in people taking out their frustrations on dish owners.

"They think they're better than us, with all those dishes pointing south. I can only point a dish to the north, and slightly east, but there are no satellites there. It's unfair." says poll participant Judy Bournette.

President Clinton recently called on congress to address the issue, noting it is tearing our communities apart and urging lawmakers to find a reasonable solution that grants everyone access to southern facing sky, and technical assistance to those with appropriate sky but a lack of skills needed to install and maintain a dish. He stopped short of calling for an all out ban on satellite dish technology, but hinted it may be necessary if no other solutions are forthcoming.

A spokesman for the nascent satellite television delivery service Dish Network declined comment for this article.

johnnynobody said:

...I guess they think that it might reduce the resale value of their home also....

Click to expand...

The tax assessor doesn't seem to know this.

johnnynobody said:

I must admit that it suprised me at how prominent my 12 footer looked from my neighbors house.

Click to expand...

Yeah boy.

Antenna, is your friend's to outside's access to the outside world dose not matter be or not satellite, Ham Radio's antenna or even CB Radio's antenna!!

Please right to have bear arm antenna's in your own home!!:up

I don't trust cable company at it all.

Well, since you have these large, technical-looking things on your house, you're obviously either spying on your neighbors or are in communication with extraterrestrial beings.

Either that or you're a pervert watching porn all day long...

In any case, nothing good can come from them.

Well, those small dishes are really ugly, they look like poisonous mushrooms. But big dishes are like high-tech art. (of course).The big dishes do make some noise when you move them, though. My neighbor built an illegal 3rd unit in his backyard, and then complained that my dish made too much noise next to his new illegal bedroom window. (Being a nice guy, I agreed to no blind scanning between 3am and 6am).--Gary