How To Ground an Outdoor TV Antenna Per NEC
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 2. 07. 2024
- This video explains the ways to properly ground an outdoor TV antenna according to national electric code. All outdoor antennas should be grounded to avoid static build up which can attract lightning (although still very rare). This video is for informational purposes only. Please contact a professional for specific advice on how and how not to ground your TV antenna. I am not liable for any damage, injury, or death that occurs from not contacting a professional to verify your antenna is properly grounded.
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This video is for informational purposes only. Please do not attempt to set up or ground an antenna if you do not have the skill to do so. Consult with an electrician to ensure you are properly grounding your antenna with how your house is set up. You can order the appropriate parts at the affiliate link below. www.amazon.com/shop/antennaman?listId=1ZFIHBQLCQ88W
@@thegeneraljoe67 I can't give grounding advice due to liability reasons. Consult with a local electrician
your antenna ground should be separate from other grounds I would not use my panel ground for anything but electrical. I know in some states allow the phone and cable to be grounded to the same ground rod as the electrical box and meter box. So also antennas may be included. Also if it's a tower your antenna is mounted on you should ground all three legs for lightning. Consult you local codes and the radio amateur radio hand book. NEC is also a good source.
is it true that, Nothing will save your equipment from a direct strike?
I appreciate all of the advice on here and learned alot. When it comes to grounding the antenna mast, I completely understand without a doubt. I grounded my aluminum mast to my house grounding rod. It never occurred to me though to ground the coaxial cable. So I bought a coaxial ground block to do so, but when ohmed out the inner part of the ground block to the outter part, I had no continuity. So this may sound like a stupid question, but here goes. What then are you actually grounding when you ground the coaxial cable?
I believe then you are only grounding the shielded part inside the cable which was my first thought. Though with an insulated coax cable like that, I don't how often I'm going to worry about that, but will always ground the mast on an aluminum antenna.
I have been considering "cutting the cable" for a few years now, and the price just keeps going up. When I got my latest bill I complained to my wife again and she replied "IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT, JUST DO IT!" So I cancelled our service and replaced the coax going to the old roof top antenna. I feel like I've watched dozen of your helpful videos Tyler, and I must say you are one of the contributing factors to my decision. We have been retired for a couple of years and the additional $160 bucks in our pockets each month will certainly help buy the groceries. Thanks Tyler, and keep up the great informational videos!
His practices are well grounded.
**rim shot**
After that joke, youâre grounded!
I like the fact,
that when Tyler delivers the information to us,
he is solid & "Grounded".
thank you for informing the public on grounding for these antennas. I work for a major tv and internet company and can attest that this is the appropriate way to install grounding. It is important and I have done so on my own tv antenna setup. It makes it easier to ground the antenna when you have a shortcut by way of the grounding on the DSL copper telephone wires running into your house.
Before I retired I worked as an electronic tech where we had lots of facilities where most had antennas attached, in some cases multiple antennas. When the equipment was vacuum tube equipment failures due to lightning strikes were rare, but when the new solid state equipment was installed lightning strike failure was common. The facility antennas rarely took a direct hit, but close was all it took to damage the equipment. After good lightning protection was installed, those failures all but disappeared. Nothing will save your equipment from a direct strike but those near misses can be avoided.
is it true that Nothing will save your equipment from a direct strike? even if your mast is grounded properly and the coax has a serge suppressor on it?
An excellent video on grounding an antenna.
Thanks Tyler. I just ordered one of the antennas you recommended in the email. Reviewed this video to be sure its similar/same as I do for gas piping.
Great stuff, as usual.
All Users, the main Content of the video starts from 2:10.
Thanks, Content provider, Coaxial grounding block was new to me that I learnt.
Thank you.
Very good information, specially the 'star' grounding scheme to avoid induction loops
I am glad I found this video to help me with my antenna
I wasn't thinking about antenna strikes, but since I live in a state with THE highest numbers for lightening strikes, I will look harder at the antenna a previous owner erected. I already turn off my tv during lightening storms, in case of an electrical surge.
I always figured that properly grounding the antenna would result in optimum signal "grab". Thanks for the added precautions.
And Yes proper grounding does improve the reception.
And Yes proper grounding does give atmospheric electric static build up a path to ground.
And here is a truth , a direct lightning strike will fry the electronics even if the ground is proper.
A proper ground is a 6 to 8 foot copper ground rod driven into the ground.
The ground can be improved by making a trench about a foot and a half around the ground rod , the trench about inch wide and inch deep.
Put Rock Salt in the trench.
Wet the area so that the Rock Salt goes into the dirt , the ground.
An informative factual easy to understand article is in the , August 1967 issue of Popular Electronics , pages 59 thru 62. The title of article is , What Ground?
Nice information. When I installed my antenna I tried it in the attic first as that is MUCH easier to access. Results were impressive, I got all the broadcast stations I expected, so that's where it is to this day. I'm only about 40 miles away from the broadcast towers in my area, those towers are on a hillside, and its a 'straight shot' view to them. Additionally my roof and roof framing are asphalt shingles and wood, no metal film-backed insulation, no fan motors or other stuff in the attic in the vicinity of the antenna, and I was able to mount the antenna away from HVAC ductwork. I did do an after-install of an LTE filter to get rid of a bit of cellphone interference, but other than that its simple and effective.
S.W. Florida lightning has entered the chat.đ€Ł Enjoy watching all you're informative videos , thanks..
Looks like I've got my mast and coax grounded correctly. Thanks!
Now I helped a friend of mine with his indoor antenna he had it setting on top of the old CRT TUBE TV I moved it to the window rescan he got way more channels. He was in a good area too where most signals was still strong! đȘ
Thank you so much!! much easier than expected
It is strongly recommended to use a surge protected grounded block for your coaxial cable ground, such as the famous Tii 215. This in theory will self sacrifice itself rather than allow the lightning or other surge to hit your equipment indoors.
Tidbit of usefull info. Most sattelite companies use a dual coaxial cable with a ground wire built in. Mine was already grounded to the mast and to the grounding block. It worked out that it was in a good location to install my OTA antenna as well.
Clear and to the point. Thanks!
Tyler, you are answering the worlds most perplexing antenna questions ..... keep up your excellent work!!
Hey thanks for the great advise. Found a new winegard 7694 .. Going up on the chimney tomorrow .
I have an antenna out on our place in Nacogdoches, Tx. It was next to a sprinkler control box that got hit by lightning. The control box was blasted off the wall of the house, all the electric actuated valves were shorted. However, the real damage came as the lightning that also hit the antenna rg6 cable and traveled from the antenna to the TV in the house. Lightning blew the connector clean off the antenna and dissolved the copper in the cable leaving it a black spot... in the process YES it destroyed the 42" led TV.. I know, it should have been grounded better. But watching Antenna man I have corrected the situation!!
I had a small AM station years ago that had a "new" solid state transmitter. If there was lightning 40 miles away, the transmitter would get hit. We had surge protectors on the 3-phase power line, and (I thought) a decent lightning rod where the transmitter was grounded. It was only when we were adding copper strap to the building ground system, we discovered the ground rod was only about a foot in the ground. I sunk two new ten foot copper rods a few feet from each other and bonded them together, then ran 8" copper strap inside to the transmitter. Never had another problem.
Yes, a good ground is essential!
I repair commercial high power outdoor transceivers that are used on commercial satellite hubs. Believe me, that if your antenna gets hit by lightening
Or even near a lightning strike, a properly grounded antenna will not save your electronics that are hooked up to it. The grounded antenna will most
Likely help with interference, but your TVs tuners will probably be destroyed. The guy below using 90V gas discharge tubes is a joke to lightning, it destroys
Anything electronic it hits or comes near. Great video on how to properly ground your antenna, and it will definitely help get rid of the static electricity
That is in the air when a severe lightning storm is in your area. I just want everyone to understand that a direct hit will take out your TV for sure and also
Probably catch your house on fire.
What Lobo 176 says about grounding and static discharge is true , however comments about , catch your house on fire , and other alarmest statements that I see on the internet such as and not limited to , explosions , blood and guts , is/are my continuing observations that most if not all humans are not capable of thinking clearly about electrical and lightning.
The truth is you have better odds of winning lottery then struck by lightning.
Lightning is a normal part of life on this planet.
Thanks for adding the blood and guts statement Gene Sky.
And the other statement about not being able to think clearly, Iâm glad you were able to clarify that for us.
You can add a fuse or surge protector to your coax cable. Should be done if you live in an area that gets lighting strikes but your house should also have lighting rods at their highest points.
@@fernarias - I could use some clarification on the theory behind a fuse for lightning protection. Fuses I normally use are, I think, rated for 240 volts. I think lightning exceeds that.
Hi, Great information, thank you for the images, illustrations and explanation with video excellent ..!!
Good enough.
The grounding at the service ground rod is more about single-point grounding; the installers will think that depicted connection at the meter box (but said as "service box") is close enough, but the connection would not be authored that way. Also, a disconnection of service will only involve the hot leads; not the ground.
Excellent information !
Thanks for sharing !
5â
Mine's connected to the 4 ten foot ground rods that protect my ham radio antennas. So far so good for 15 yrs.
Great video. Very clear. Thanks...
Well done. You also accomplished a safety ground which will protect people in case there is an insulation fault somewhere in the system. An insulation fault happens if one of the 120 volt devices has its hotwire short out to the enclosure.The risk is that a person will touch the enclosure and get that hundred twenty volt shock to ground. It could kill them. An insulation fault also could electrocute somebody if they touch the mast if it was not grounded properly.
A copper-clad ground rod driven next to the mast would be a good choice. Just tie that ground wire to the other ground wire near the AC 120 volt service. Grounding at the mast will drain electric charge that starts to form before a lightning strike when a cumulonimbus cloud is above. That could prevent the 500,000 volt lightning strike. If there is a strike it will take the direct route to the ground rod that you just drove in.
Thank you Tylor excellent video.
Another brilliant video ..wow from: Ft Lauderdale.
Great content. Very informative.
Great video, clear and concise information. Your installation grounds the antenna mast and the coaxial braid but omits the antenna itself which is connected to the center conductor of the coax into your home. You may also need to add a Lightning Arrestor (or Spark Gap) is required. It looks just like your coax ground, but allows the center conductor to short to ground in case of a lightning or static discharge.
I always recommend a 8 foot ground rod. I am a ham radio operator and have designed up many antennas in the years of being a ham. I also redesigned the Hover antenna for the new uhf band for 2020 and works very well.
Most people won't have what they need to drive an 8 foot ground rod!
@@dontcare563 it depends on where you live. a hammer drill might be sufficient. moreover, a single 8-foot grounding rod may not be sufficient.
Where theirs a will
I have a drilled well with a 30 foot well caseing this is a real good ground.
What I did is that some of the RG6 cables comes with a groundcable attached, so I put a groundlug in the mast of the antenna and run it into a groundblock, from the groundblock I installed a green ground cable to the electric meter.
I work in the telecom industry and you always want to ground anything (that requires a ground) to the power company's electrical ground... they will have a ground rod in the ground below your electrical meter, ground to that ground rod if at all possible. Running your own ground rod (say, on the other side of the house from your power meter) and grounding an antenna or other device to that is a fire hazard because it creates a difference in potential between your ground rod and the electrical company's ground. It could literally burn your house down if you got a direct lightning strike. Also, it doesn't matter if your power gets shut off (like he commented in the video), the power company ground will still be in place so everything continues to be grounded. When they cut off power, the just pull out the meter, put plastic blockers over the contacts inside and put the meter back in... it has nothing to do with grounding.
Excellent videos though Tyler... I have watched many and you are a big help!
Perfect. Thank You.
I might sound a little paranoid but I grounded my mast with 6 gauge and didn't put any sharp bends in it. I also screwed a gas discharge tube on my coax grounding block. Because lightning can strike wires inside buildings we soldered in gas discharge tubes in the HVAC building controllers we manufactured and they do work.
As always, clear and specific. Thank you!
I have my tower grounded to the electrical ground and my well casing. I thought it was good enough. With a couple of channels there signal would be all over like interference. I installed a grounding block and it really helped the signals stabilize. I guess the rotor must kept the ground from being complete. I've read the wind causes static on the antenna. One comment thought, regarding your video. If the power company shuts off your power, you won't lose your ground. They don't disconnect the neutral or your earth ground. They disconnect the hot wires only by disconnecting the transformer fuze, or pulling the meter and installing a cover.
Excellent!!
Thank you!
Thanks Tyler.
I live in central Florida, we ground everything!
Tyler, great video about grounding outdoor antennas man. Though you did miss a couple things my man, you didnât mention about antenna poles mounted to concrete pads or actually mounted in the ground. Pad mounted antennas still need all the grounding methods you talked about. Although, poles mounted in the ground I.E. digging a 3ft X 1ft hole and placing the pole into the ground. Additionally, driving the pole down another foot or two then filling the hole using cement for minimum 12-18 inches then topping it off with some of the dirt from the dig.
Please remember, all water pipes, natural gas pipes, antennas, phone or cable service entrance conductors need to be bonded to the homes electrical grounding system. Plus, if your antenna is grounded to the home grounding system, if your power is turned off you do not loose the ground. If the electric company completed the wiring correctly, the incoming neutral terminal is solid and not interrupted by meter removal. Also, the ground rod should be bonded to the neutral terminal inside the meter box prior to all other panels.
Another way of bonding an electrical service is at least bonded inside the panel to the neutral bar of the first means of disconnecting power. The ground rod if accompanied by a ground distribution block outside the panel is used, it makes it easier to bond natural gas pipes & water pipes to the homes electrical grounding system as well. This is so that ALL other panels, cable services, phone services, satellite services, above & in-ground pools and OTA antennas can be grounded to the homes main or sub panel and actually be grounded.
In-ground poles donât need the mast grounded to the homes grounding system as they are already in the ground 3ft-4ft but, it wouldnât hurt to still ground the mast to the home grounding system just to connect the antenna ground to the existing grounding system. Plus the coax does still need to be grounded in all mount cases as you described to protect digital or sensitive equipment in the home that the coax is connected to.
Love your videos Tyler, myself and Iâm sure many others are very grateful for the Over The Air antenna knowledge youâve talked about in previous videos and hopefully many more to come.
Are there any special considerations where a pipe mast touches the actual ground?
I am replacing a pipe mast that rusted out and sank into the ground (dirt) over the course of many years.
Iâm planning on using a flat concrete âpaver stoneâ with a pipe flange mount to hold the bottom of the mast. Maybe a little axle grease in the flange would help if the mast needs to be turned.
Is there a better âstandard wayâ to deal with mast-on-ground installs?
Obviously, I will be electrically grounding the mast as recommended.
A couple of thoughts I like some feedback on are- I like to scrape down to bare metal before using only the exterior type, non corrosive ground clamps. Then I cover connecting and threaded surfaces (the whole clamp) with conductive grease This also helps prevent paint that you know someones going to get on it some day from sticking. What about grounding metal roofing either for lightning protection or establishing a ground plane (for better reception?)? Is a sloped metal roof an appropriate ground plane or does a ground plane have to be parallel to the earth or the antenna elements? I've heard some crazy lightning strike stories over the years. I ran 400' of PVC to a customers house from a new water meter. A few years later lightning struck a big oak about 10' away from the meter. It wiped out a bunch of electronics in my clients house and some of the neighbors as well. I wondered if I had made the first 20' of pipe at the meter be L copper instead of the insulated PVC, if it would have given the electricty a path to ground at the meter rather than (possibly) making it through the water in the pipe to the house. A story (that I have a hard time believing) is that lightning doesn't like to go around sharp bends in the ground wire. This sort of implies that the electricity has mass and it's inertia doesn't like to bend away from a sraight line to Earth. I have to believe this story was generated from a poor connection at the rod or ufer (either of which may have not had a solid connection to Earth). I remember grounding diagrams showing standoffs being used, I still have some but I never use them and never see them used (anymore- really old systems, sometimes). I picture the absolute best ground to be an exterior, plumb wire from the mast to Earth, and bending it and attaching it to things to make it pretty just increases the risk of a fusing ground wire frying part of the building. I always try to get the antenna signal and conrol wires into the structure asap up high for aesthetics, but I feel it's just good practice to keep the ground wire as far away from the building as possible (inside the barge rafter, and then down an outside corner). I feel if I really was going to be anal about it I'd use standoff's, but I I just have to draw the "too ugly to be worth it" line somewhere. Wouldn't it be slightly better to have the coax ground be as close to the antenna as possible? I would think that anything you could do to separate the lightning from the system wiring asap would be a good thing.
The many pictures/drawings of placement of grounding hardware and correct grounding practices are not shown to scale.
The reason is so is easier to understand what is being done and is required to be done.
Got a $4.00 grounding block at my local electronics store and setup a CM Stealth Antenna with a AD VHF Retrofit Kit on the peak of my roof eve about 50ft high. Your spot on about the difference about an indoor and outdoor setup. I'm now pulling in 84 channels all with crystal clear reception from both the Chicago and South Bend markets. There isn't a channel on the spectrum that I shouldn't be receiving. I'm in a sweet location right on the South Shore of Lake Michigan with the towers just 40 miles in each direction.
The side of my house with the service ground so happened to be a bad location for the antenna so I had to mount it on a 25' mast at the rear of the house. I drove a ground rod near the mast and bonded the mast and antenna surge protector to that ground then bonded that ground to the main service ground rod using #8 solid copper wire which was buried.
The above method is ideal for protection, but If you add a separate ground rod for the antenna then connect this added ground rod to the electrical utility service ground with a section of the AWG 10 gauge wire, and then ground the antenna to the wire that connects the two grounds. This will minimize any possibility of creating a ground loop. Ground loops occur whenever there are two or more independent electrical paths of unequal impedance and can cause unwanted electrical noise.
What if the service ground is 70' away from the mast/ant. 2nd ground rod or just run to the service G directly. Have to run the 70' either way don't I? Thanks.
Thank you
The first week after I cut the cable and installed an outdoor antenna on my roof there was a rain storm. I watch this video and decided that I might as well ground it. I never even knew that I had to do that. I drove a ground rod into the ground by my house. Then I connected the 10 gauge wire to the antenna mast and the rods. I really didn't think that this was necessary. But what the hell I'll do it. A couple nights later during a storm, my whole room lit up like it was daytime. I could hear the crackling of the lightning as I assumed it was striking my new antenna. This lasted about 15 seconds or so. Then a there was a second strike. Same instant daylight. In the morning I wondered what my antenna looked like. When I got up on the roof I was surprised to see that the antenna was fine. No scorching at all. I know that the odds are small that lightning will hit a tv antenna. But I learned very early that it definitely can. And grounding your antenna is a MUST! Thank for your videos. They were very helpful and gave me the confidence to finally cut the cord. It has been a couple years now since I did it.
I have to admit since those first lightning strikes, when there is a storm in my area I take my antenna off the roof and set it up on a three foot mast on the ground. I still run a ground wire to it. I only lose about 20% of my stations and signal. I hope that this makes it less of a target during a storm. Does it?
Is there a follow up to this with a diagram for if you're using a power inserter and pre-amplifier? I would guess with the coaxial grounded while using a power inserter + pre-amplifier that you'd basically be making a dead short?
The power service meter and the homes safety ground is required to be grounded at all times. The utility doesn't disconnect the ground, but they do disconnect the 2 phase wires coming from the grid feed, usually by removing the meter from its plug or turning off the service entrance switch at the meter if there is one. Then they put on a anti-tamper tag. If they removed the houses ground connection, then they are legally responsible for any lightning damage caused by ungrounding your house wiring! This includes being electrocted while taking a shower due to a lightning strike to your house...
great advice! how far apart does the coax ground wire need to be from the mast ground wire or that doesn't matter?
Thanks for the info, antenna man.
I have the clearstream 4 max antenna, mounted on my roof using a short pvc pipe mast. So in my case all I need to do is ground the coaxial cable, correct?
Excellent advice! I use an 8ft copper rod pounded in the ground behind my back deck where my Sweet spot is... And a Good Ground Block. which I replace every year.
I also hammered in an 8 ft copper rod into the ground for someone prior to knowing about the corner clamps.
I would not use them cheap ground clamps they use for cable TV. You can get good ones that won't rust and corrode, the splitters also have a ground connection. The mast should.also be connected to the ground. Good grounds also help the reflector do its job picking up signals.
@@AntennaMan - Tyler, because I need to mount my outdoor antenna on a pole---starting from the ground with the base of the pole about 1 foot in the ground---and mounted to the opposite side of my house from the electric meter, I guess I will have to drive an 8 foot ground rod for my application. I don't think it would be prudent---or practical---to run a 10 ga. grounding wire all the way to the other side of my house where the electric meter ground rod is. Tyler, or anyone else, if you can think of a better way for me to do this, I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.
@@locutusofborg7122 if you have an outdoor faucet nearby take an extension cord and use a multimeter and insert the red lead into the hot lead on the extension cord and touch the faucet with the black lead. If you get around 121 volts you can use it as your ground
@@MaynardFreek : John, thanks for attempting to answer my question. The problem with the solution you proposed is that lightning follows water to ground. I am on a well system, and my home is plumbed with copper pipe, exactly as you assumed. Though I'm sure your solution would work, I wouldn't want to take the chance of lightning striking the outdoor antenna, and going directly to my home's plumbing --- blowing it up --- then blowing up my well pump and metal well tank, possibly setting my home on fire, etc.
I do not have a nearby outdoor faucet anyway, so an 8' copper-clad ground rod at the antenna seems to be my only real solution.
I used to install satellite TV systems professionally. Here's the process we followed when mounting a reflector dish:
On our mast footing, whether pole or roof mounted, we had a grounding screw. Bonded to the side of the RG-6 feed from the dish was a thin "messenger" wire. We'd bond that to the mast footing and then bond the other end to the ground block in the cable demarcation box. This ground block was then bonded to the universal ground with the number 10 grounding wire, which is substantially thicker than the "messenger" on the coax segment from the satellite mast.
Would the same setup with the same coax+messenger cable work here, rather than using 10 grounding wire for the entire run? It seems the me the major mechanism of lightning protection here is to drain built-up charge from the metallic antenna/mount down to the grounding system, rather than to carry the full might of a direct strike. I think 10 ground wire would just vaporize with a direct hit.
Great video, Man. This is very helpful. Do you have a video on converting a dish setup into a satellite setup? I see more and more people doing this after they cut service with Dish or DirectTV.
No video, but I do offer a setup guidance service where I am able to guide you on the steps of how to convert a satellite dish to an antenna. It has to be done a very specific way or it will mess up your reception. antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
Its best to ground at the service panel via the intersystem bonding termination bar instead of running a separate ground rod.
Hi! About the ground block for the coaxial cable... Q1) Doesnât the addition of this block reduce the signal? My next question is more general. Q2) Can I use a combo ground clamp that clamps onto the mast which has a coax female part for the in and for the out, and therefore only use one AWG 10 wire to go to the ground rod?
Thanks
GREAT presenter and topic. I'll join as time permits...Thx for your help and experience.
Thanks.
Since my ground rod for my Electric Service Meter is on the oppozite end of my house/garage I installed a second ground rod for the antenna. Can't have too many rods right! I discovered a total of four.
I have a steel mast that is set in concrete and is about two feet into the soil. Do I need to ground the mast to the home's ground rod? Also, can't I just attach the coaxial grounding block to the steel mast? (BTW, the mast extends into the soil about 6 inches further than the concrete I set it in. In this way, the mast makes direct contact with the soil.) Thanks a Million!
Hi There Tyler - Nice videos (very helpful). I'm an older retired Licensed Electrical Inspector looking for a coax grounding block made for specifically the mast (just like a mast grounding clamp) except that this will be a clam shell clamp - any such item? Thank You!
Tyler: "Have they been struck by lightning? No" A more appropriate answer would be, "NOT YET".
Exactly.
Actually, âHow would I know.â
Most likely never.
Hi antenna man thank you for all your tips. I was confused there was no video on how to setup with televes preamp through your link. But I got it except for the ground. where do you put ground when you use a preamp. I do have 2 25ft coaxal maybe between them. Then I just need ti get piece to go to ground rod.
Thank you
You would need a grounding block to put on the coax cable between the preamp up at the antenna and the white power inserter inside your house.
If the electric meter is removed you still have the ground rod thatâs connected to the meter base and to the neutral wire that goes into you house and out thru the triplex .
I have seen on many sources, that refer to NEC, that the ground wires for the mast and coax can not exceed 20 feet. This can really be hard to achieve, even on a one story house. There is an exception that discusses a 2nd ground Rod, but even with a 2nd, meeting the 20 foot specification may be impossible. it's also interesting, that most manufactures don't include the 20 foot max requirement in their discussions. They include everything else (i.e path, AWG etc etc) but never mention the 20 foot max..... Am I missing something? Is there a 20 foot max for TV antennas? Perhaps I have misinterpreted NEC .......thanks for the videos, they have been perfect!!!
In regards to coax ... assuming you have a ground block, a surge protector, and a pre amp ... would the order look like antenna to ground block to surge protector to pre-am to TV?
Thanks for the grounding video.
Question, what diy antenna do you think is better, the Gray Hoverman or the 4 bay whiskers? Also, do you think it's an added benifit to add a reflector?
Maybe my questions would be good content for future videos?
Thanks!
Both will pick up UHF frequencies about the same but they do not have any VHF elements on that design so you would likely have problems picking up certain stations. I don't understand where the rumor came from that all digital TV stations are on UHF.
My question is a simple one... can the ground wire extend from the antenna mast to the coax grounding block on the way to the grounding rod or should they be separate wires?
Thanks Tyler. How do tou know of someone who install knows what they are doing? Will this mounting an antennae raise house insurance?
Off topic bought antenna you said is junk on amazon, after a bit of work and of adjusting it worked perfect 30 miles away from big city have all channels
It depends on line of site and towers.
I put my ground block on the mast itself. The wire goes into the house right next to the mast. I used 8 awg ground wire. It was too big to get into the hole on the ground block. I had to put half the strands on the hole and wrap half around the screw. Not the most beautiful but who will know? Then I ran my wire down the valley on the roof down to the ground and into the clamp on the ground rod. I was going to ground it to my box but it would not have been the shortest and quickest way to the ground.
How do connect the antenna to the coax cable? What is the 75 ohm barrel do? Are there better ones than others? It looks like there are some antennas that have a assembly directly on the antenna that you feed the coax cable into.
My electric box has two grounding rods directly connected to it.
So would I be able to ground to any electric light switch or outlet box ground wire in the house? Or does it need to be connected to the grounding rod line outside of the house?
Grounding your system head end is always an essential part of keeping your tv safe from lightning strikes.
Have a question, when I ground the coax. Using the grounding device you show I go from 38 channels to 18. Do you have any suggestions on what I should do?
I'd like to see how one is to ground their antenna in an apartment complex. I live in a newer apartment with underground wiring, Elec. meters are not outside the bldg they are some where inside the bldg. There is no way to ground to their elec. grounding. What do suggest for grounding in this scenario?
I need a grounding block for my WiFi LTE router (MoFi 4500) w a Yagi antenna. They have SMA connectors which are smaller than the regular coax connectors. Any idea where I can find one? Also Iâm using a fiberglass antenna mast. Do I just attach the ground wire to it w a clamp at the base then to the ground rod Or do I attach the ground wires to the antenna and directly to the ground Rod?
My Winegard antenna guide said to keep the coax ground and mast ground five feet minimum from eachother. Not sure if thatâs from the respective connection points?
I was ready to cut the cord and literally had the Clearstream 4max antenna in my shopping cart but now I have second thoughts. I live in rural Texas in a mobile home where the grounding and box are next to the trailer on a pole. Unfortunately with all the trees the best place to put the antenna is a large storage room roof about 40 feet away from the grounding system. I would have to go around trees and the trailer to run wiresâŠ..guess Iâll stick with my cableđ€Ź
So you're grounding both coax and antenna?
But do we use all the same grounding protections on an attic antenna as we do the outdoor antennas?
Um. Your electricity getting turned off does not interrupt grounding. The chassis of the service panel (if it's up to code anyway) will be attached to a grounding rod directly outsider your house via a grounding lug on the inside of the panel.
And don't forget that if you install a separate ground rod for your mast or antenna, you must use a bonding wire to connect the new ground rod to the utility panel safety ground rod in order to comply with the NEC.
NEC 2011 250.94. You need a bonding bridge to ensure that all grounding systems are connected at one point. Previous to this you were able to get away with two seperate grounds for high voltage and low voltage. This however is a poor choice to have two seperate grounds because of the voltage potential difference. The least concern is ground loops and the biggest concern is incorrect paths to ground and electric shock.
Having everything ground at one point is a great way to eliminate annoying ground loops.
What about when an old building that had knob and tube that was converted over and only has a hot and neutral, would you run a ground to a water or gas line?
@@jp4yu let me say this first: Never ever eVeR EVER connect an electrical ground to a gas line!
Now, with that out of the way. In theory, the neutral bus should have been bonded to a safety ground at the service panel when it was upgraded even if there is no ground wire available at the outlets in your house. If there is, then the same rules would apply--ground rod under the antenna, bond wire to the electrical safety ground.
Naturally, theory and practice aren't always the same thing... If there is in fact no safety ground, then your house is "floating" anyway, so has no ground potential to equalize with. Just a ground rod under the antenna and don't worry about bonding (though you really should upgrade your house wiring to provide grounding--but most of us aren't made of money, so I get it).
I would never bring any part of the grounding system for an antenna into the house to ground to a pipe or anything else--that's an invitation for lightning and static discharge to come on inside and ping-pong around your house wiring and anything plugged into it (or even just nearby it) since there's no clear path to ground back through the service panel.
Something I didn't mention in my original comment is that you should also be grounding the shield of your coaxial cable both at the mast base and the entry point to your house. If that takes more than one ground rod, you must bond all of the rods together to be within code.
That mast looks painted, does it have continuity?
A direct lightning strike is very powerful. Your grounding system should be grounded to your electric system ground, but I would make these improvements. First, a #10 wire is a minimum, if possible up that to a #8 or larger. Second, run this wire in as direct a line as possible to an eight foot ground rod driven in moist earth. Lightning does not like sharp bends and they should be avoided! Third, install a bonding jumper from your antenna ground rod to the electric service ground. This keeps them at the same potential and is a code requirement. This method will greatly reduce the chance of damage to your electric service as most of the energy from a strike will go to the first ground rod.
Lightning strikes to the house are so costly nowadays. My tree got hit, cost $800 to remove the tree, and $6k worth of gear sautĂ©ed. It even boofooâd the garage door opener.
What about a PME system and earthing amateur radio antennas where there needs to be an RF earth
My old antenna is mounted right on the chimney. Is it already grounded? But how do I hook it up to my TV??
The real purpose of grounding antenna masts and coax is to keep the voltage on these parts from getting too high to damage your equipment when nearby strikes occur. If you get a direct strike all bets are off, there WILL be a lot of damage to any connected equipment, coax, ground wires, and possibly the whole house if a fire starts regardless of any grounding system. The current is enormous created by the enormous voltage. And electricity takes the pathS of least resistance, of which there may be many. Also ungrounded masts and coax do not attract lightning, they actually repel it because any charge buildup will be negative from all the electrons flying around in the wind and the lightning is discharging the negative charge buildup in the clouds and air. But ground your stuff to offer some protection from nearby strikes.
Is the ground block an isolation transformer?
Good video, thanks
One question though does grounding an antenna effect the reception at all?
No it wonât make any difference
Can you insert the coaxial grounding block up by the mast and connect to the same ground wire as the mast, or should you do this lower using a separate ground wire to the rod? In my case I might want to take the coaxial cable into the attic up by where the antenna is mounted and not even have it coming down the side of the house.
Also, where the antenna/mast is connected to the house with screws, bolts; should that be insulated with a thickness of rubber or insulating material, although it would be more involved to insulate the screws/bolts?