Doing an apartment install--best way to avoid drilling/cutting?

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NGeorge

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
May 23, 2004
174
20
Olympia, WA
Hey All;

I've moved into a new apartment, and they seem fairly satellite dish friendly--I've already brought the DirecTV, and would eventually like to pull out the FTA gear again.

The issue is that in the lease in order to install the dishes you are forbidden to cut/drill or do any damage whatsoever to the building (along with hiding wires, which is no problem).

I am planning to put the dish on the balcony--but have a VERY airtight sliding glass door, with thick double-paned glass. I don't think I have enough room to stick anything in or around it--so I'm worried about the flat-RG-6 approach. I *really* like the idea of the Toshiba GlassLink box--it sticks to each side of the glass and passes the signal through induction--and they are $5 on Ebay. The problem is that they have "for single pane glass only!" stuck all over the box, and were discontinued around 2000. You'd think if these worked as good as they claimed, they would be available just about everywhere by now and we wouldn't be having this discussion.


Anyways, I would like an opinion on this--if you are an installer, what do you do when you are confronted by this situation? I know that dishes can be installed here--there are 5 of that I know of in the complex. I am trying to not call a DirecTV installer since I had such a horrible experience last time--and have installed enough dishes that I can do it with one hand behind my back--I just haven't had to be this creative with the cables before.

Any advice you can give would be most appreciated. The last thing I want to do is be stuck with Comcast and their absolutely terrible excuse for a DVR.

Thanks!
--Nat
 
It's the units way of trying to forbid you from having sat. It won't work. If you are able to mount the dish in a room, put it on one of those metal tool stands. When we live in Illinois, our condo fee included cable. I still had a waiver from Fox 5 out of New York. I mounted the dish on a metal tool stand (like a saw horse) and moved it out into the driveway every Sunday to watch the Giants. It was great!
 
Well a couple of neighbors have dishes on their balcony... I'm thinking about seeing how they've done it.

--Nat
 
Do you have a wall mount air conditioner? Much like a window mount unit but in a box in the wall. Usually you can fish wires through the gap between the a/c unit and the mounting box. (The a/c unit just slides into the mount, sleeved system.) Looks ghetto running the wires that way but avoids drilling.
 
Know that the dish will work through clear glass. If you have a clear line of sight you can put the whole rig inside. Go to dishpointer.com and enter your address. They will give you a sat pic of your building with a line to the DTV sats.

Joe
 
Inside is not an option--the apartment faces east so any line of sight I could get would be too far east since it would hit the balcony otherwise (to hit anything west of 90* it has to be on the balcony)--even if I could, that would put the dish in the dining room or right where the couch will be.

No window mounted air conditioner either (they forbid those)--but do allow the internal ones as long as the vent is *small* and out the window--but that won't happen for a couple months.

I think I'm going to have to go the flat cable route--make some very small slices in the plastic at the sliding door and try and fill them (maybe keep the cutouts and then get creative with the super glue lol) when it's time to move out. Does anyone know of the FLATTEST RG-6 I can buy? I've seen some from Eagle Aspen that are 3/32"--any ones out there even flatter?

I really, really, REALLY wish there was an induction-type unit similar to the GlassLink that would work with double-paned glass--I'd even be willing to pay a couple hundred bucks (since I could come in handy again someday) for a commercial-grade unit or something.

--Nat
 
well man, the opening for the flat wire will need to be as big as the male connection on the end...you gotta slide it through somehow...

...here's what you do...

go in between the middle of the sliding glass door...the opposite side from the handle.

it's a pain to get it started, but it works...there is at least a half inch of space in between the slider and the stationary glass in a slider system. thats what you want to take advantage of. "U" the flat wire around the stationary piece of glass (behind the screen if you have one). You need to run the cable(s) along the length of the stationary glass on both sides in order to let the doors open all the way (screen and glass). this should let you close the door all the way, or really close to all the way.

Otherwise, use the flatwire in the regular opening and dont close the slider all the way...the gap wont be that big. could probably close it with weatherstripping on the slider...and peel it off when you move.
 
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