I was not planning on moving the antenna close to the powerline i was just pointing out that at my location It is not possible to be close to the ground rod and away of the power line, I'm either close to both or away from both and it is probably the case for most of us and that make applying the NEC exactly as they say is extremely difficult to say the least.
Got it. This is why sometimes it's a good idea to hire a professional. They may be able to look at your house and find an easier/better way to do this. But then again, most electricians are not radio guys. They look at just the AC safety ground for the house and may not understand antennas.
I have of course chosen to be away from both for obvious reasons. What you are suggesting brings a few questions
When you say to ground the antenna i assume you mean to attach the ground wire to the part of the antenna that is connected to the braid of the coax ?
Grounding the mast would be suggested. The antenna mount should clamp to the mast and be grounded through that. That part should cover your local code requirements. Usually at a commercial site, they'll ground the coaxial cable shield at multiple points along the tower. Usually at the top near the antenna, and at least at the tower base. If it's a long run, there will be multiple ground points along the length of the tower. Idea is to keep all the grounds at equal potential so the maximum amount of metal can get the energy to ground. That's usually overkill for a basic install like yours, and not required by the NEC.
And there's a big difference between a large commercial site and how they are grounded and a hobby/home install. A really big commercial/cellular/broadcast site can take direct lightning hits and everything keeps running (usually) at a home installation, a direct hit is going to do damage. It's just too costly to design a home and antenna system to survive direct strikes. Your goal is to limit the amount of damage and keep people from getting hurt.
When you say to ground the Polyphaser i guess i put another ground rod at that location and i also bind that rod to the house electrical ground ?
Ideally, yes. But another option might be (if you can) to run the coax into the house closer to the antenna. Not sure if your basement would allow that. What the Polyphaser device does is to protect the center conductor of the coax and give energy at way to get to ground.
If number 2 is true it means that i will have 2 ground rods to bind to the house electrical ground. Should i be using a single ground wire to bind the 2 rods to the electrical ground ?
Ideally? Yes. A continuous run of heavy gauge wire would be the way to go.
At a big commercial site, the grounds are usually set up in a ring that circle the building. Many ground rods would be put in along that ring. Individual parts of the radio systems, antennas, towers, etc. would all get attached to the ring.
But this is getting way out there for a hobby. I know that most of us have limited budgets for our home stuff, so do according to what you can. Biggest goal is to keep the humans safe. Trying to protect from a direct lightning strike probably isn't going to happen, and you'd end up spending a lot of money trying to achieve that. So don't get hung up on this stuff too much, and don't make it too difficult on your self. My posts were intended to help you understand the ideal setup. Not all of us can achieve that sort of installation.
What do i do with the ground post on the radio ? i can bind them to the main electrical ground but again it would take a long wire.
Again, going back to a commercial install, you'd have something like this mounted in your radio shack. There would be a heavy gauge wire from this to your ground ring. You'd ground your radios to this.
LBY .24"x 1.97"x 9.8" Wall Mounted Copper Ground Bar Kit, with 12 Terminal Positions,Copper Grounding Busbar Bar Kit - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
But again, that's an expensive option, so there are other ways to do this. The old ARRL Amateur Radio Handbook suggested mounting a length of 1/2" copper pipe and using hose clamps to attach your ground wires. Ground that to your ground system. Ideally, yes, to the electrical entrance ground. Remember, the goal is to keep all the grounding points at the exact same potential.
At any rate the binding point of the two rods and the electrical ground won't be at the main ground rod (located underground) but to something leading to it. I will do the best i can but bending the ground wires is very likely to happen. This is what it would look like.
So, yeah, that'll work.
The gentle bends in the ground wire is to keep energy from a direct or very nearby strike from hopping off and finding a faster path to ground. But then again, that's way overbuilding this.
Like was said above, it's difficult to design a system that will protect against a direct strike to a residence. It's expensive and hard to do after the home is built. For hobby use, it's overkill. Again the idea behind the National Electric Code is to keep the humans safe. That should be your goal. Proper grounding can also lower noise on your radios.
The challenge is making sure everything is bonded and at the same potential. That's where the multiple ground rods come in, long copper wire runs, and all the connections.
Since this is a hobby site, you should also keep in mind that while many of us do this radio stuff for a living, we can't really cover all the bases. There variables involved and code differences. That why talking to a local electrician is a really good idea. Some stranger on a computer in California isn't going to know the specifics for your area. We can't be experts from across the continent when we can't see your install. Best we can do is make suggestions.
Like I said, goal is to keep everyone safe. Always.
