Spark arrestor placement

[KF0AWL]

Im planning to put a spark arrester/lightning in my line mainly to ground my end fed dipole thing im wondering tho I run my coax inside before I put my ends on so would it be a issue having the arrestor inside the shack and the ground wire running out to my ground rod?
It would basically be right at my radio.

 

[mmckenna]

The idea behind the lightning suppressor is to protect the home. They are required by the NFPA "fire code" as a method to help reduce risk to the structure and occupants. The suppressor should be mounted either just outside before the coax enters the home, or immediately inside at the entry point. Mounting it at the radio won't protect the run inside the home.

Very common in the two way radio industry to have them mounted to a copper ground buss right inside at the entry point.

 

[KF0AWL]

You say just right inside the entry point, my desk is up against the wall and my radio might be 5 inches from the entry point.
Is that close enough?

 

[prcguy]

The ideal point for a lightning arrestor is right OUTSIDE before the coax enters the building and you would have to provide an appropriate ground at the entry point that is bonded to code with the house main AC electrical entry point ground. A lot of radio repeater sites have the lightning arrestors right inside the wall where all the coax passes into the building but that is a purpose built building with a massive grounding system and usually no people inside. For a home you would want to keep the lightning outside.

You say just right inside the entry point, my desk is up against the wall and my radio might be 5 inches from the entry point.
Is that close enough?

 

[KF0AWL]

Ok so I will need to split my coax n put some new ends on. OUTSIDE to be safe. Thanks

 

[prcguy]

I would recommend doing a search on "nec article 810" which deals specifically with antenna grounding. This will show you correct and legal ways to ground the lightning arrestor.

Ok so I will need to split my coax n put some new ends on. OUTSIDE to be safe. Thanks

 

[CanesFan95]

The terminology in that article is hard to understand. You have to sign up with a password to see it, and you only get this weird restrictive window that makes it hard to navigate.

 

[prcguy]

Are you talking about a search for "nec article 810?" You get a bunch of links to pictures and descriptions on how to ground to code that are very easy to follow. Here is one that will download a pdf file that is very useful. The raw National Electrical Code can be a dry read but many companies put out easy to follow versions of it like this. https://www.mikeholt.com/download.php?file=PDF/Radio_and_Television_2014NEC.pdf

The terminology in that article is hard to understand. You have to sign up with a password to see it, and you only get this weird restrictive window that makes it hard to navigate.

 

[K4EET]

Hi @KF0AWL, you might want to also look at this post of mine:

Antenna Coax Grounding by Whitham D. Reeve based on the National Electrical Code (NEC) Article 810

In many threads about running coax to antennas, some of us will usually mention "be sure to properly ground things" without going into a whole lot of details. We may even mention that the National Electrical Code (NEC) requires it for all homes and businesses within the United States. I found...

forums.radioreference.com

73, Dave K4EET