Any of those three would be suitable. Note that the first one is an add-on item. Watch the shipping costs. I ordered an item listed on Amazon, but not sold directly by them. The seller said free shipping in the listing, but it wasn't free and he refused to refund shipping costs. I told Amazon I considered that a breach of contract so Amazon made up the difference by giving me a credit on my next item if sold by Amazon, which they did.
A talented handyman could do it if you show him the diagrams I posted, otherwise you need an electrician. The biggest problem is the connection to the house electrical system ground. He must not disconnect the house ground to connect your grounding block and mast ground wires, even for a moment. He should use a split bolt which makes it possible to connect your ground wires to the house electrical system ground.
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Originally Posted by rabbit73
I reviewed the NEC antenna grounding rules. It requires two grounding connections for an outdoor antenna. The mast must be connected to the house electrical system ground with a 10 gauge copper, 8 gauge aluminum, or 17 gauge copper coated steel conductor. The coax shield must be grounded using a grounding block that is also connected to the house electrical system ground. The NEC calls the grounding block an ADU (antenna discharge unit). The purpose of the grounding is not to withstand a lightning strike, but to prevent a buildup of a static charge on the antenna system which, in theory, reduces the chance of a strike, and for electrical safety. You can see a diagram of this on page 2 in the AntennasDirect link that GroundUrMast gave you in his General Technical & Safety Information thread:
https://www.antennasdirect.com/cmss_...structions.pdf
If you use a separate ground rod for an antenna mast ground, then that ground rod must be connected (bonded) to the house electrical system ground with a 6 gauge copper wire. This is to prevent a voltage differential between the two grounds.
You can see a diagram of the separate ground rod version in the link that GroundUrMast gave you:
Antenna basics
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/basics.html
scroll down to The NEC requirement
If you plan on doing the grounding work youself, be sure not to disconnect the grounding connection for the house ground even for a second when adding your grounding wires. Use split bolts that allow you to add your wires to the house ground. There is a device mentioned by GroundURMast called an Intersystem Bonding Termination that allows you to connect your grounds without disturbing the house ground because it has a lay-in connection for the house ground conductor. I saw it being used on a recent This Old House show:
http://www.erico.com/public/library/fep/LT1476.pdf
I don't know about the regulations in your area for an antenna installation. Some towns require an electrical inspector to give an OK for an installation; others don't seem to care. I would hesitate about asking your inspector about your installation until you find out what kind of person he is. Ask a local electrician about the inspector when he helps you with your ground connections to your electrical system. |
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Another question is whether I would need anything else other than one grounding block?
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Enough 10 gauge copper wire to connect the grounding block and mast to the house ground, and maybe one of these, which is called an IBTB, Intersystem Bonding Termination Block:
http://www.erico.com/public/library/fep/LT1476.pdf
The ways of house electrical system grounding are many and varied:
http://www.dbsinstall.com/diy/Grounding-2.asp