Forgive me if this is elsewhere addressed. I scanned through some posts from the search function that mentioned this phenomenon, which seem to indicate that 'both' is the case, but I'm hoping to ping people for what they've seen more of in their treks.
Crappy, very abandoned houses with satellite dishes attached. Abandoned? Inhabited? Digs for the modern undead spirit who wishes to remain abreast current events or at least the reality television trends of the living?
I passed a farmstead today, drove back into it to investigate at least a little with a plan to return with a friend and a camera. Totally nonfunctional looking outbuildings, looked like part of the house roof was caving in, trees grown up in front of the garage door, some of the windows boarded... Dish on the roof of the rear of the house.
Then there was this place: (my photo from this summer)
So, UER, in your more-experience-than-mine, what are the odds of the residential status of these places? Some of them have looked disused beyond belief, and I'd like to have a peak inside. And half my brain keeps saying... if I were inclined to steal something from a place like this, as many people are, wouldn't that be the first damn thing to go? I've never had satellite TV, but I guess I always assumed it was likely that the equipment remained the property of the provider, too. Wouldn't they come get it?
eta: forum markup tags work better when you finish them, self.
Posted by 99HeadHunter99 Maybe they're trying to fool people into thinking its not abandoned? Most likely an attempt to keep people out.
i am 99% certain it is not that, and is never that.
satellite tv in rural areas is not uncommon. satellite tv has been around since the 80's. the presence of a satellite tv dish at an abandoned structure is just a sign that at one point they had satellite tv, because they live in rural nowhere and get bored.
Freedom breeds war; and Peace, slavery. So it shall be forevermore: Men who love freedom buy it with their lives, and lovers of peace with their freedom.
This is what New Hampshire is like, it's such a pain in the ass because they usually ARE inhabited! I just make note of a place and make it part of a routine to drive by a few times here and there. Usually there's a car there eventually or a light on in some room at night.
Just spy on them. It's a very uncomfortable misfortune to realize you're standing in someone's yard and feel the urge to flee. http://www.flickr....irdlingphotography
Posted by Weirdling Just spy on them. It's a very uncomfortable misfortune to realize you're standing in someone's yard and feel the urge to flee.
This is precisely what I'm trying to avoid. So far all my explorations have gone off completely without confrontation (or... notice, really, spare a couple of old dudes pointing us onward to more stuff to look at or telling us history of the area, which is acceptable). I realize that, if I keep this up, it won't last forever, but I'm still trying to reduce the human contact aspect. There are reasons my hobbies involve A: sitting in my house by myself and B: going to places where the specific absence of people is a feature. Hiss.
And yeah, I'm totally aware that the presence of a dish is not at all uncommon. It was just my assumption that if a place were actually unattended and had been for some time, and it's visible from the road, someone before me would have noticed it and taken that shit to make a profit.
Anyway, thanks all <3 and to Weirdling, I will stalk the place that I ran across today as it's close to town. The others have been further out and don't really easily bear repeated drive-bys.
Re: Satellite dishes? <Reply # 7 on 2/12/2013 12:53 AM >
Good luck, remember you can check power meters to see if there's any electricity being used. Just follow to where the powerlines meet the place. http://www.flickr....irdlingphotography
Re: Satellite dishes? <Reply # 8 on 2/12/2013 3:15 AM >
I live in an area where cable doesn't run. Everyone has Sat dishes. When you move, you leave the dish. The dish companies actually ask you to leave the dish and just take the box banking on new owners of that address ( or tenants ) using the company of the dish that is already there. They mean nothing and are not something to judge if a home is occupied or not.
Re: Satellite dishes? <Reply # 9 on 2/12/2013 5:47 AM >
Posted by Weirdling Good luck, remember you can check power meters to see if there's any electricity being used. Just follow to where the powerlines meet the place.
... genius. This is SO going in my repertoire.
Posted by jeepdave This has been rural resources 101.
I guess I'm just shocked that they don't get stolen faster than you can slap your mamma (Please do not actually strike your mother). It's not that I disbelieve, having asked, but... dang.
Hey, whatever. More dead houses for me, dawg. Word. input: bacon | output: fiction
Therrin This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: North of Chicago, IL Gender: Male
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Re: Satellite dishes? <Reply # 10 on 2/12/2013 6:27 AM >
Posted by crows
I guess I'm just shocked that they don't get stolen faster than you can slap your mamma (Please do not actually strike your mother). It's not that I disbelieve, having asked, but... dang.
Hey, whatever. More dead houses for me, dawg. Word.
Please don't ever repeat that last sentence on here again. kkthx.
What would anyone do with a stolen satellite dish???
The only satellite dish I ever stole was one of those old ones, the BIIIG ones. And I used it for a roof for a shed I built. Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =)
Location: Chesterfield County, South Carolina Gender: Male
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Re: Satellite dishes? <Reply # 11 on 2/12/2013 8:15 AM >
The aluminum in your average satellite dish can be worth up to $15 at a scrap yard, and a "professional" scrapper will usually have the means to melt it down to an unrecognizable blob.
In the late 90's, as Cable was growing in popularity, I had many friends switch from Satellite and we melted down each of their dishes (larger back then) and netted a tidy profit of $20 each, even after paying them $10 for the dish itself. So, seeing something that blatantly accessible is admittedly a bit odd for me. Before I discovered UE, I would have happily taken it myself, if I knew the place was abandoned. [last edit 2/12/2013 8:15 AM by Totentag - edited 1 times]
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shut yer whore mouth, thief! No one asked you!~ Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =)
Posted by crows I've never had satellite TV, but I guess I always assumed it was likely that the equipment remained the property of the provider, too. Wouldn't they come get it?
Please don't ever repeat that last sentence on here again. kkthx.
I make very few promises.
What would anyone do with a stolen satellite dish???
I will admit that I don't have a real firm idea of the going rates of raw materials at the moment, but it just sounds... easier to me than ripping wiring out of the walls. Also like a dumb thing teenagers would do, in the vein of HUR DUR I found a bottle of lighter fluid and that's hilarious OH SHIT SHIT IS ON FIRE (I wasn't there for that one, but I know people who have been). Like I said, it was just a surprise to me which is very likely due to my own ignorant eyes rather than the actual shockingness of the event (though it sounds like I'm not totally alone, both from this thread and others I've read). Anyway, 's why I asked input: bacon | output: fiction
