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Old 28-Dec-2010, 11:18 PM   #16
vms
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 6
Help With Grounding

I've read the HDTV Primer about grounding and I've been researching a lot the last few days about how to properly ground your mast, as you say. There seems to be a lot of possible scenarios that not all are discussed.

This is kind of a long post but it's hard to explain it all clearly without going into details.

My situation is that I'll likely have to install a new antenna on the back part of the house. I live in a manufactured home park and not sure yet where and how large an antenna I can erect. I was thinking that I would put it at the peak of the roof at the back. We have 3 satellite dishes that were here when we moved in a few months ago which none seem to be grounded. The entry point of the coaxial is on the side of the house. I was thinking of using that entry point in my antenna system, though I'd consider a new one if need be. I realize that the ground wire should be as straight as possible and as short as possible but I've been wrestling about what to do in my situation.

I was thinking that I would run one ground wire from the mast, under the eve(with as little bending as possible) and along the wall down toward the corner of the house and to a ground rod that will be buried there near the corner. Does this sound good so far? Along that same back wall and going around the corner would be coax which would eventually go into the house at about 17ft from the corner, which is where the grounding block would be installed.

Roughly out 10 feet from the grounding block is my electrical meter, which is on a post, which I assume there is a ground rod below it that I could attach my new ground rod(the one near the corner of house) via a grounding wire. Since all this will be outdoors, it sounds reasonable to me that that grouding wire would go underground between rods. Is that a right way to do it? If so, how deep should the ground wire be?

Back to the mast and the grounding block, I think I'm supposed to run another ground wire from the mast to the grouding block, with the coax cable, right? From the grounding block, from what I read, a ground wire is connected to the new ground rod. In my case, it would be going away from the electrical meter(at a 90-degree angle) and also back from where it came from except to a lower level. It would be actually closer and in a more linear direction(actually a 90-degree right turn) to continue through the grounding block and to the electrical meter(assuming it has a ground rod which I think it would, right?) But, I'm not sure that would be a correct way to route it. From what I read, you should run that ground wire to the new ground rod and then to the electrical meter ground rod(I guess that rod that is called the house ground).

I hope I've explained it clearly enough. So, that is what I've come up with so far and have questions about. Would there be a better way to configure all this?

Thanks
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