TV Fool  

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 21-Aug-2014, 7:05 AM   #21
GroundUrMast
Moderator
 
GroundUrMast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
You're on the right track. A corrosion resistant grounding clamp sized to match your mast, some #10 AWG copper and an appropriate clamp to make the connection at the electrical service takes care of the mast ground. But you will also want to be sure to ground the coax shield... See http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=901, post #20
__________________
If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

(Please direct account activation inquiries to 'admin')
GroundUrMast is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-Aug-2014, 1:08 PM   #22
Geezer64
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 26
Thanks again GroundUrMast.
Geezer64 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 22-Aug-2014, 8:42 PM   #23
Geezer64
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 26
Back to my grounding questions..................

On the side of the house closest to the antenna, there is an old ground rod that's been there for years. On the other side of the house closest to where the RG6 goes through the wall, that is where the Service Entrance is.

Can the antenna be grounded to the rod and the grounding block for the coax to the service entrance? That would be two grounding locations quite a distance apart. What's the problem by doing this if any?

Last edited by Geezer64; 22-Aug-2014 at 8:45 PM.
Geezer64 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-Aug-2014, 2:42 AM   #24
GroundUrMast
Moderator
 
GroundUrMast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
If the ground rod near the antenna is not bonded to the rest of the electrical service grounding system via #6 AWG copper (or heavier), I would not trust it to provided a reliable low resistance connection to the grounding system in your house. A reliable low resistance connection is vital if you want to avoid undesirable or even dangerous voltage differences between items that connect to the grounding system.

If the rod is bonded correctly, it can serve as the mast ground.

The ideal situation is to connect at a common point. This reduces resistance between different sub systems to nearly zero. I think the term grounding tends to make people think that a connection to earth is some sort of 'be all and end all'. The most important thing you are trying to achieve is not a connection to earth, but rather, a low resistance between each 'grounded' object. A connection to earth is an important, but secondary goal.
__________________
If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

(Please direct account activation inquiries to 'admin')
GroundUrMast is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-Aug-2014, 1:40 PM   #25
Geezer64
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 26
Thank you GroundUrMast, your replies have been most helpful.

So, i guess i should run two seperate ground wires to the service entrance. One for the mast and one for the coax.
Geezer64 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 23-Aug-2014, 5:15 PM   #26
GroundUrMast
Moderator
 
GroundUrMast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Posts: 4,773
That's the ideal method. First, for the superior ability to avoid unintended voltage differences and secondly, both runs can be done using #10 AWG copper, which is much less expensive than #6 AWG. (Ideally, the #10 link from the coax ground block to the electrical service ground would be no more than ten feet long.)
__________________
If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

(Please direct account activation inquiries to 'admin')
GroundUrMast is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Go Back   TV Fool > Over The Air Services > Help With Reception


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off




All times are GMT. The time now is 3:53 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright © TV Fool, LLC