# More government regulations for satellite pros



## Floyd (Nov 10, 2004)

In spite of calls for less government regulations, there is movement afoot in Minnesota to regulate satellite installers. Naturally the SBCA is delighted, since training and continuing education are part of the new regulations proposed.
Looks like it might cost an extra $100 at least.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bin/bldbill.php?bill=S2324.2.html&session=ls87


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

Yep. There goes that darned government again, trying to make sure that, when people come to your house and mess with your wiring, they actually know what they're doing and don't burn down the place.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

"Marlin Guy" said:


> Yep. There goes that darned government again, trying to make sure that, when people come to your house and mess with your wiring, they actually know what they're doing and don't burn down the place.


I would think that both DirecTV and DISH would want that, and that government involvement would not be necessary.


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## Wire Nut (Apr 6, 2012)

I think this is a good thing, a little bit of personal accountability in the installation industry will go a long way toward better DBS installers.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Herdfan said:


> I would think that both DirecTV and DISH would want that, and that government involvement would not be necessary.


DirecTV and Dish are both interested in maximizing their profit. It would be great if they did that through excellent customer service but there are daily descriptions of sub-par installations on this board.

I see both sides of this coin. I live in a small town, so small I didn't need a building permit to do a major remodel of my house a few years ago. We kept code because code is there for a good reason but we always knew we could break code if we had a better reason and not suffer any consequences. We never did. Even within this laissez-faire construction situation, the state electrical inspector came by multiple times to make sure the wiring was up to snuff.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

When I was doing home theater and whole house audio installations, I had to have a low voltage licensing permit. There was no training. It was simply a gimmick by the local communities to gain more revenue. The state government of Minnesota, like many states, is so broke that I know they are adding fees to things that were before were free. I've been trying to build a sewer for my small town in Minnesota and the outflow permit for the clean water from our sewage treatment plant into the Mississippi River was no charge a couple of years ago. Today the charge is $8,500. I wonder if this is another case of that and has nothing to do with more government regulation.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Do cable techs need to be licensed? Also, having a licensed installer doesn't mean they'll do a good job. Of course te same goes for electricians, but it doesn't mean we should just get rid of it.


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## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

I didn't see anything in there that would allow you to even work on your own satellite dish at home.
Could you get cited for putting a sat-radio antenna on your deck?


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> Do cable techs need to be licensed? Also, having a licensed installer doesn't mean they'll do a good job. Of course te same goes for electricians, but it doesn't mean we should just get rid of it.


Tell me about it. I went to a new Hardee's to install two 240V ice tea makers. The bare wires were hanging out of the wall. I am not licensed to hook those 4 wires to a wall outlet and push it into the box, so had to wait two days for an electrician to be called to install the outlet.

Drive 30 minutes back to the restaurant two days later and plug my machine in. No power. Measure the wires inside the machine on the power block and I have 240V between L1 and L2 (Red/Black), and discover the electrician wired the Neutral (white) to the GREEN terminal, and the ground wire (green) to the (SILVER) terminal. The computer in the machine runs off 120V and gets it from Neutral and L1....There was no voltage between those.

Had to wait 2 more days for the electrician to come out and reverse those two wires (because I am not licensed to do it).

Go figure eh?


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## Wire Nut (Apr 6, 2012)

Davenlr said:


> The computer in the machine runs off 120V and gets it from Neutral and L1....There was no voltage between those.
> 
> Had to wait 2 more days for the electrician to come out and reverse those two wires (because I am not licensed to do it).
> 
> Go figure eh?


Oh my, if you have no voltage between L1 and ground, it may be time to take a look at the main bonding jumper in the meter main... Ground and neutral, in this case, should be at the same potential to the line when the machine is not in use...
Edit: Point being, the tea maker should have worked, but it's frame could have been above earth potential, safety hazard.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

New building construction here doesnt bond the ground to the neutral (or so I was told). I always do it at my house.


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## Wire Nut (Apr 6, 2012)

Davenlr said:


> New building construction here doesnt bond the ground to the neutral (or so I was told). I always do it at my house.


NEC (national electrical code) dictates that the ground always be bonded to the neutral in general construction- the purpose of a ground is a low impedance path to earth separate from the ungrounded (neutral) conductor. If you come across a service that doesn't have the neutral bonded to the ground, call a professional. This junction happens only once, at the origin of the service. Sub panels need to have separate neutral/ground. There is a reason electricians attend 4-5 years of training, accountability is important when structure fires/involuntary manslaughter are involved.


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