If you are mounting an amplifier on the mast, point its connectors down and use a drip loop on the run from the antenna. In many cases, you are better of if you can put in a new ground rod at the location of the antenna. This avoids a long run on the ground. In many places they suggest an iron wire or "copper clad" for the ground wire. You are effectively making a lightning rod. Find the local advice on this.
One caveat. The National Electrical Code (NEC) states a ground rod should be connected to the power service ground electrode. The code states use a 6 AWG copper or equivalent conductor.
Better yet to drill a hole in the mast and thread your RG 6 cable in the mast for a yet neater tucked in installation. Once outside of the mast, then you can tack the RG 6 cable to the house neatly and efficiently down to the celler of your home and ground the line on a cold water pipe. On the outside, ground the mast with copper wiring down to a ground rod in the ground for further grounding procedures. Doesn't hurt to have additional grounds installed.
The ground wire is mainly used to "help" protect from lightning strikes, but it is also used to discharge static electricity. Static buildup can reduce signal reception or cause other problems. Static electricity buildup is more pronounced in dry climates. I would ground it.
@@donaldsawicki6866 Exactly, as they say better to be safe than sorry! Plus you always wanna (at least I do) do the job right the first time, cuz the job is bound to fail when you start taking shortcuts. IDGAS where you live somebody in that state still wins the state lottery even as crazy the odds are of you winning! So a little bit more time & money is better than the amount it's gonna cost you when you lose by playing the odds. Let's keep it a buck. Just saying... +Peace & Rock n' Roll 4 Your Soul My Friend+ 🤘😉🤘
The only exception would be if you can put it in your attic. My antenna works in the attic as the broadcast towers are not far away (30 miles) and no natural features (hills, buildings, trees) are blocking the signals, plus there are no metal components in the attic blocking the signals - wood roof framing with asphalt shingles, no foil-back insulation, and no HVAC system ductwork in the way. No problem with reception during rainstorms, either.
Here in Canada, I've only see ground rods used on barns, sheds, other outbuildings or rural homes on wells and septic systems. Urban homes, almost exclusively, have their electrical panel and antennas grounded to the copper water supply line to the home, before the meter. The charge from static electricity or a lightning strike is directed into the city's water supply network through the earth. Because of cold winters, water lines entering the home are more than 4 feet below grade to prevent freezing. Some new subdivisions aren't suitable for the application because they now have plastic/poly supply lines, rather than copper. I've also wondered; My older home has a 4 inch solid cast iron plumbing/sewer vent stack that protrudes through the roof about 18 inches high and it's quite close to my antenna. Solid grounding to the stack would certainly provide a direct path to ground, but maybe vented sewer gas (methane) would not mix well with lightning.
You showed an optional ground rod near the antenna when the service rod is too far away. I would think this would be properly grounded at this point, but you stated on the video to then run#6 copper wire from the optional ground rod to the service ground rod. I don't understand why this is necessary.
The National Electrical Code (NEC) specifies the #6 copper wire run. Their reason is all grounds should be tied to the service ground. An antenna ground rod will usually have a SLIGHTLY different potential then the service ground, introducing ground current loops.
My town only allows an antenna to be ten feet above the house, I installed mine in late afternoon when the "village idiots" were safely at home, Once installed nobody noticed, I went 13 feet up and have amazing reception, Now whenever I have a mixed drink I find myself staring at it with pride!
stclairstclair Federal law prohibits antennas from being restricted below 12 feet above the roof line. As far as I’ve read, the local government can limit you to 12 feet, but not 10 feet. The FCC site provides the complete laws regarding this. Here is a link to a blog dealing with questions regarding HOA restrictions (not local government).
www.fcc.gov/over-air-reception-devices-rule Even so , no one will climb up on the roof with a tape measure. I like your comment of the " village idiots ". I am now 70 years old and my evaluation is more and more Humans are becoming " village idiots ". The general population of Humans are becoming , dumber , dumber , dumber. Yes is True Pride , the Tv Antenna. Yes read the information I have provided else where here.
The basic rule of thumb is Lightning takes The shortest path to ground so ground your antenna mast pole with #6 gauge copper wire straight down to an 8ft copper ground rod. Copper ground rods vary in price but you should be able to order one online for around $20 That's cheap insurance❗
Miguel Salami That makes sense to me. My antenna is literally on the other side of the house from my power supply. At the corner of the house under my antenna is a grounding rod. I grounded my antenna to that rod because it doesn’t make sense to me to make a bolt of lightning travel across my entire roof to get to ground. That’s begging for a fire.
For coax installations outside. New coax connectors are compression type and kind of connectors. Compression type and kind of connectors provide a water tight seal. Do not use a rubber boot outside , No requirement for black electrical tape. If you choose to use tape. Use the , Self Fusing , Self Amalgamating Tape. If you choose to use a rubber boot , then fill the boot with grease and slide into place. Do not use the crimp type connectors outside.
Gene Sky, Compression terminals are water tight "for the most part" I still found water getting in after one year, On my new antenna I used rubber gloves and sealed the connections in premium automotive silicon on each connector, it's a messy step, but worked very well, I'm a retired mechanic , I cheated and used 10 gauge grounding wire, What's your experience with this situation? The grounding wire was a short run and no hard bends.
totallyfrozen, all they are good for by themselves outside is trapping water, I'm an auto mechanic, These are not made of silicone like an automotive connection, they're cheap hard rubber, Put them on and cover them with some high grade silicone.
stclairstclair Do they make silicon coax boots? In the past, I covered the rubber boots with electrical tape. Since it was outdoor at my antenna, the weather has been a bit rough on that set up.
@Google User ,Hams and tv stations are far different from the home tv antenna setup which is what I was referring to. A home tv coax should feed the ground directly to the main home ground system. People get confused . NEC GUIDELINES are just guidelines .
We put in battery backup for our solar panels for whenever we are turned off by the electric company for high winds and fire hazard. That meant we had to put up a rain gutter to protect the equipment (outside) in a cabinet and the gutter meant we had to move our antenna from the eave. I used some of your instructions. We put in a pole about 14 feet (shorter than our chimney but the chimney is the wrong direction for air waves anyway). I connected 6 foot coax cables to the two antennas and I connected them to a combiner that has a ground block connection. I connected the TV coax that goes through the house to the combiner. We put the copper wire connected to a grounding rod in the ground through the combiner connection and also wrapped the copper around a bolt on the pole. We now get more channels than we did before (17 English channels in North San Diego County.) I sure hope we are grounded good enough. I heard California is generally so dry that the soil is not moist enough for a ground to work anyway. Here is the connector/ground I got on Amazon. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006JPE1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Do you think we're good?
I'm seeing two variations on grounding the mast. This one shows the mast ground wire going through the grounding block then into the ground. Others say that the mast ground wire must go directly into the ground, and the coax would then be grounded by running the coax through a grounding block with a ground wire going only from the grounding block to the ground. Which is to code?
The National Electrical Code (NEC) has the ground wire running from the mast through (connected to) the ground block then to the electrical service ground. The "other" method you describe is unknown to me, and has the disadvantage of a built-in ground loop (most undesirable).
sierragreen, Code? I waited till dusk when the "code nazi's" were having dinner and completed my "too tall for code" antenna!! Once installed nobody noticed, and 83 channels!
stclairstclair “Code”’is not the same as your HOA’s rules. Code refers to the national electrical code and has nothing at all to do with how pretty your neighborhood looks. The NEC is about safety. Your HOA are not “code nazis” as they enforce their silly rules and not the safety codes. The Fire Marshall of your local fire department would be considered the “code Nazi” as you put it. It’s doubtful your Fire Marshall gives a damn about your TV antenna as long as it doesn’t touch electrical lines or pose a fire hazard
@@donaldsawicki6866 That's not correct. This explains why: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JfbKRk4YfUg.html You have a built-in ground loop If you run both grounding wires to the same ground block.
If the antenna mast is buried directly in the ground then continues up above the roof line connected to the eaves of the building is it necessary to install a ground block ?
Yes, a ground block would still be necessary to provide a ground path for the coax cable. Additionally, I believe to meet NEC (National Electrical Code), the mast would need to be connected (grounded) to the power service ground with #6 copper wire.
I believe using #12 will work. Actually something as thin as piano wire would work, but might not weather well. The National Electrical Code specifies #10 or heavier, but that number is somewhat arbitrary.
“Would work” and “is recommended” are not the same thing. Will 12 gauge WORK? Maybe. A bolt of lightning is figured to have anywhere from 100 million to 1 billion volts, and 200,000 amps or more. Does going with the smallest wire possible sounds like a wise idea? 6 or 8 gauge is recommended. 6 being better.
News, Events, Information Piano wire? Do you think the electrical code was written by a bunch of uneducated morons taking wild guesses? There is science behind it.
A preamp is a low noise amplifier. The closer the preamp is to the antenna, the better the signal reception. Most preamp's are 2 piece units; an amplifier mounted close to the antenna, and a power unit mounted inside the home. The amplifier gets DC power through the coax cable from the power unit.
Nice demonstration! I bought an antenna: goo.gl/Bs0GY0 and was confused on installing it at first. I had previously bought another type of antenna but this one is far superior to the other one We live 60 K.m. from nearest t.v. repeater station and get a perfect picture all the time.
