I now want to talk about grounding. There are three areas that overlap concerning grounding:
1. The NEC requires outdoor antennas to be grounded.
2. Grounding affects the performance of your equipment.
3. Grounding protects you from shock.
NEC REQUIREMENTS
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I don't know about the grounding blocks.
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The NEC requires the antenna coax (two in your case) to be grounded using a grounding block, which they call an ADU, Antenna Discharge Unit.
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp...grounding-lugs
The grounding block should be connected to the house electrical system ground with 10 gauge copper wire.
The antenna mast should also be grounded with another 10 gauge copper wire connected to the house electrical system ground.
This is to drain any static buildup which, in theory, would reduce the chances of a direct lightning strike, and protect you from electrical shock. See attachments 1 and 2.
See these threads:
General Technical & Safety Information
http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=901
Grounding Antenna and Dish
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/25-hdt...enna-dish.html
EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE
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Your question about the AC operated equipment having 2 wire power cords or 3 wire cords I need some clarification on because I'm not sure what you are asking.
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Equipment that has a 2 wire power cord is not grounded by the cord; equipment that has a 3 wire power is grounded by that cord. If a piece of equipment with a 2 wire power cord is connected by a wire with a grounding shield to a piece of equipment with a 3 wire power cord, then the equipment with the 2 wire power cord is indirectly grounded.
Equipment like a tuner, a TV or an AC7 is expected to be grounded when in use to protect it from RF interference.
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Are you using power strips that have provision for coax grounding? If so, are you using that feature? It's not always a good idea to do that. Yes I have this surge protector in use in the attic (but am unsure about any coax grounding provision):
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Your power strip does not have that provision.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
But this one does:
http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-TLP...SR8VY9F6CDQD8J
You can see the two coax connectors at the center of the strip. Using those connectors for your antenna coax might expose it to interference from the other equipment connected to the strip and there might be internal surge protection between the center conductor of the coax and the shield that can degrade the signal.
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
When I was calibrating an Apex DT502 converter box for a friend, I received a mild shock when I touched the equipment and the metal strip on the front edge of the counter. The strip was grounded because it touched the metal stove top.
All AC operated equipment has leakage current. Just because you can't feel it doesn't mean that it isn't there. All these pieces of equipment were connected together by a 4-way splitter, and were operating normally in that their individual leakage currents were within safe limits. But, since they were connected together their leakage currents added together, and that's why I felt a mild shock. The setup was using a temporary outside antenna that was not grounded. When I grounded the splitter, the leakage current went to zero.
Having three close calls with electrical shock, I consider the grounding block essential in any antenna system.
Voltage/shock issue
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/25-hdt...ock-issue.html
Getting A/C voltage on converter box's antenna input !
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...postcount=1022
Equipment Leakage Current
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...postcount=1025
Proper grounding can protect you from leakage current shocks
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...postcount=1099