Grounding My Antenna

[McP]

I currently have my RS discone mounted to a old satellite dish arm (metal) that is connected to my house. I removed the dish. That arm has a grounding nut on it, which I want to run a ground wire down to where my pool grounding wires are grounded. If I do this, my antenna will remain where it is, about 14 feet up, but with the wall of my house directly behind it on one side, thus affecting my signal. Which I've already found, even using LMR-400 coax.

First, is this grounding scenario ok? Could I use #12 solid copper wire from the satellite mount to the grounding brackets going into the ground?

My other thought, providing wind torque would not dislodge the satellite arm from the house, would be to attach a 10 foot 1 1/4" pole to the metal satellite arm and that would raise the antenna up above the second floor roof line, thus solving my reception issue. Is that a viable option and would I need to change anything on the grounding or attach a ground wire to that pole, even if it's connected to the same satellite arm that has the current ground wire?

 

[wyomingmedic]

Grounding is a PITA!!! I'm not gonna lie.

The idea of attaching a direct ground wire from the antenna to a ground is a good start. You need to make it bugger than 12ga though. I BELIEVE NEC (national electric code) says the wire needs to be a 6ga.

You also need to take effort to also ground your coax. I use Alpha delta lightning protectors. They go inline in the coax and shunt electrical current (lightning) to ground before it frys your radio.

Low Loss Coax Surge Protectors

The lightning protectors need to be grounded. This is where you SHOULD have a common point ground. All of the electrical entries to the house (electricity, cable TV, all coax, ETC) should come through a single point in your house and be grounded to the same point. This is called a "single point ground" and is what is needed to keep the ground potential the same for all items in the house.

Here is what mine looks like. It is a long brass plate with all of the protectors inline. All of the wires that enter the house are grounded to this single plate.

I know it seems like a LOT, but a lightning strike (or just the static from the wind here) can destroy a LOT of equipment. My setup is hooked to a 60ft tower connected to LOTS of antennas in the air and we are on a hill, so I took lightning protections VERY seriously. You need to evaluate your risk of taking a hit and act accordingly.

Good luck,
WM

 

[SkyPager]

You would be better off using a gable-end eave mount. Your dish mount is probably installed using 1-1/4 to 2 inch lags. These will work loose over time. The bigger concern is roof damage and water seepage. A solid eave mount would also allow for a larger antenna and rotor.

VMP GEM-4060 Adjustable Gable End Antenna Mast Mount Heavy Duty Adjustable Antenna Eave Mount 60" - 40" Adjust Satellite Dish Off-Air Outdoor HDTV Aerial Support, Rohn Replacement, Part # GEM4060: Oak Entertainment Centers and Home Office Furniture,