Radio Road Which tuner to get and getting the most from it. Thank God, for the radio!

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Re: Grounding Antenna

Posted by Dave Kingsland on January 24, 2007 at 12:07:12

In Reply to: Grounding Antenna posted by jcmusic on January 24, 2007 at 10:22:23:

First, be aware that there are NEC rules that need to be followed when installing an antenna. The literature which came with your antenna should include some notes and an illustration showing a typical installation. But if you're not sure, it's best to consult the NEC or talk to an electrical inspector in your town.

Do you know whether the ground rod was necessary in your case? If you can run the antenna feed such that it enters the house close to your existing electrical/cable/phone service entrance, then it is simpler and safer to ground everything there rather than to a separate ground rod. A new ground rod should only be necessary if you're bringing the antenna feed into the house a long way away from a suitable grounding point (I forget the distance limit but it's something like 30 feet).

Anyway, you need to install a coax cable grounding block at the point where the cable enters the house. Assuming the ground rod is necessary, it should be installed as close as possible to the grounding block. Then the ground wire from the mast and the ground wire from the grounding block should meet at the ground rod. The minimum wire sizes depend on the length of the runs; #8 or #10 for a typical rooftop to ground run. Last but not least, it is _critically_ important that you run another #6 or larger ground wire connecting the new ground rod to a suitable ground bonding point in the existing electrical system. Without this, ground potential differences due to a nearby lightning strike or ground fault may drive large currents through your tuner and house wiring.

When grounding the antenna mast, make sure the antenna boom, tripod and any additional bracketry (if applicable) are all grounded. In my case, this meant running an additional ground strap from the mast below the rotor to the mast above it. Finally, if you live in a lightning prone area, you may also want to consider running the antenna feed through a lightning arrestor.

Hope this helps,

Dave

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