Hello Everyone!
I am new here, so I wanted to tell everyone hello first before I got to my situation and questions.
Once upon a time many moons ago (don't try and count that many moons you will never make it) the wife and I did use OTA TV. It was in another home and the system was not grounded period. Due toi location or signals the snow was like blizzard conditions just about all the time, Not happy campers trying to watch TV through a blizzard.
Years later we moved and was introduced to the wonders of cable tv. Holy Poo! So this was what watching tv could be like! It was cheap! We were excited and fell into the trap. After a few years came bundling and service contracts. Deeper and deeper we went as the price started edging higher and higher. We finally jumped ship to go to supposedly cheaper satellite tv. To my dismay that also started rising higher and higher in price. NOT what they stated over the phone. Turns out that Satellite providers lie like dogs just like cable providers.
I have had enough. Though the wife is bemoaning the coming loss of the ID channel I simply refuse to pay $100+ a month just to watch a few channels out of almost 200 (which most are garbage).
Sorry for rambling but I am getting a bit closer to the meat of the matter. Please stand by for a little current back story before I get there.
To try and make things a bit easier on the wife to help wean her away from satellite TV I have taken a few steps. Got a Roku3 and with it activated accounts with Netflix streaming, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. Plus on the PC side I got Plex and PlayOn. That way I can record shows with PlayOn and then stream to the Roku with Plex.
That still did not solve getting the local channels for news and alerts. So I also got a Roamio to record OTA shows. (heaven forbid if she can't record General Hospital to watch when she gets home from work)
Getting closer peeps I promise.
I bought I used Mohu Sky (we are out in the boonies) for old fashioned OTA signals. THANK YOU TV FOOL that I stumbled upon in a Google search allowing me to get station signal and direction info!
Anyhow, I put the Mohu Sky up the side of our double wide mobile home on four 5' sections of antenna mast. Our home has one of those newer style red metal roofs also. I did a temp test set up to find best location and ran RG-6 quad shielded coax. Ran it to the Roamio which is in the temporary spot in our sons room so the coax comes in a window and can be connected and disconnected during testing. (when done setting up it will be in the main room) Did the set up stuff and channel scan on the Roamio then tuned to live TV. I must say my jaw dropped! Where was the dreaded blizzard? Where was the double peoples? Where was the rolling? HOLY POO! I see a picture just as clear as cable ever was! Needless to say I was bowled over!
Now I will be replacing the antenna though. I HAVE to. For some odd reason the Mohu is not picking up Channel 6.1 very well. It will pixelate every few minutes. Why is that a problem? That is the channel that General Hospital comes on and if it is not solved my wife will put my head on a pike once we go total OTA end of next month.
So I have ordered an HD Stacker antenna. With a metal roof I did not want an antenna the size of a baseball field right over it. I am now broke and wife is pissed with the amount of money I have spent so far. (oh, I have gotten an 8' grounding rod)
Back story is done, sorry if I have bored all to tears. If so this will make good reading right before you go to bed.
My problem is grounding.
At great risk of my age and shoulder rebuilding I drove the 8' grounding rod to a depth of 7' a few feet from where the antenna mast will be concreted into the ground when all is said and done.
My problem is that the grounding rod for the service panel is located on the exact opposite side of our home. I have read that you have got to ground the rod that I just drove to the ground rod at the service entrance with #6 copper wire with no sharp bends. So that leaves out making a run around to the backside of the house.
So does that mean that I have to drill through the concrete block both front and back and run the ground wire under the home to make this connection?
Oh, another question. When I get the money do I need to buy enough #8 copper wire to run all the way up the 18' mast and ground it where the antenna connects to the mast? Or can I just use a grounding strap and attach the grounding wire to the base of the mast to hook to the ground rod I just drove that is a few feet away?
Another question involves the coax. I have bought a grounding block for it and the coax will be entering the home through one of those air vents used to help circulate air under a mobile home. I will have a drip loop made before it does this. The grounding block will also be able to be grounded to the grounding rod I just drove.
Well, that is my story. Got a lot done, but need help/advice to be able to finish the job. Running out of time and money and need to keep the lady happy and safe.
Oh, I know the obvious answer is to just put the Antenna on the backside of the home. Unfortunately, with the next door peoples property trees and home this is not an option. That was one of my test areas and got almost no signal on all channels.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...ec2f0027565776
Thank You