To be or not to be-TV Antennas installed outside
 

This article was taken from the POA January Bulletin
Questions & Answers November's 2014 Forum.

>3) I had heard that there was a small group
of individuals who had received permission to
install external TV antennas on their homes in
order to receive ‘free’ television viewing.
Have you heard anything about this? A)

We are not aware of this situation which would
likely involve the resident’s deed restrictions,
but we will contact District Staff for a response.
District Staff responded that, "…
television antennas fall under the same guidelines
as the satellite antennas. The Federal
Communication Act supersedes any deed restrictions
which states the communication device
may be placed in the location where a
signal may be reached. I am 'assuming' the
question refers to the 'old' type antennas
which is 'free' television, but you are only receiving
your 'local' station…there certainly
would not be any HBO, ESPN, etc…. The installation
of an antenna does not require ARC
approval. Many residents call and ask where
the antenna can be installed. We give the suggested
guidelines and inform them that if they
want to attach it to the side of a home or roof
that they may want to check with the home
warranty department to make sure that it will
not violate the warranty on their home. But
yes…the 'old' type of television antennas may be installed."<

So,what do y'all think about the quote"The Federal
Communication Act supersedes any deed restrictions
which states the communication device
may be placed in the location where a
signal may be reached????

Welcome to the forum. What is your point?

Sometimes people move here not used to deed restrictions of any kind and they feel, well, restricted.. You will find that deed restrictions are your friend. They keep unusual and not so lovely things from springing up in neighborhood yards and protect the overall value of your property. I very much like the deed restrictions here and it is one of the reasons we chose to live here.

I have seen several articles, that state the HOA's, etc, can NOT stop a person from installing an outdoor antenna to receive over the air TV signals, feel free to Google this for yourself. If I can find it, I know I copied and saved one of the articles.

Not worth the trouble.
 

There are lots of federal laws that preempt state and local laws and, as in this case, Home Owner's Association rules.

To simplify the issue, it is permitted to install an external antenna in order to receive over-the-air commercial television broadcasts. There are some restrictions and limitations on size for reception dishes, and other minor compromises on aesthetics.

The more cogent question is why would you want to do this? Since television signals are now digital and since The Villages is a considerable distance from over-the-air stations, the likelihood of success is low. Further, at most you might receive three major stations.

If you can't afford basic cable, listen to the radio and read the newspaper for news. Go to the town squares for entertainment. Read a good book. Visit with friends and neighbors.

This antenna thing is a non-issue.

An attic mounted antenna has a good chance of pulling in all of the Orlando stations. I am on the south side and I pull in 50 stations.

Yes the FCC says you can mount an OTA antenna outside of your home and no HOA can govern against that ruling.

I've installed over 100 antennas in The Villages with excellent results. You need a very large Ultra Long Range UHF antenna mounted up high if you want any success.

With that said I Will NOT mount an OTA antenna outside. I install them in the attic. I live in The Villages and I don't want to see them, I'm sure your neighbors don't want to seem them either. They are not attractive.

How do you handle homes with no attics?

Before the advent of cable TV or satellite, does anyone remember seeing neighborhoods displayed in magazines, in the movies, on TV showing every homes with OTA antennas stuck up in the air? With all the beauty that we see when we enter The Villages, is that something you want to see? For me, it's a resounding "HELL NO". NO. OTA. TV. ANTENNAS.

You are receiving 50 stations with an antenna mounted in your attic area? That is great. I am assuming all major networks are included, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX etc. how is the reception. Don't know anything about this but would expect no HD? correct?

Yes, 50 stations in HiDef from an attic mounted antenna. We mostly watch the major stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX). There are a bunch of religious and spanish channels also. Tom at TheVillagesAV.com installed it for us. I believe this is the model Tom installed:

https://www.antennasdirect.com/store...v-antenna.html

We also stream a lot of stuff off the internet with Roku boxes.

Tom is the "go to guy" for anything audio and video.

Yes, that's what I was gonna say. :wave:

Wow. So if I can't afford basic cable, I should just forget about watching anything off air? Sorry, but your comment seemed harsh to the many folks that can't afford cable.

This forum can be very harsh at times. You raise a very good question. The problem is we have too many people here that are willing to bend over and grab their ankles whenever the cable or satellite providers ask them to. Keep posting as you will get some good information.

Lovely analogy.

I would think that anyone who has read Carl in Tampa long enough would know that he is reasonable in his posts. Very few who live in The Villages go without enhanced TV. We can bring in all sorts of red herrings but it seems that the point the OP is trying to make is the federal guidelines trump the deed restrictions.

Most of us like the deed restrictions.