External Antenna Grounding Help

[jaskel]

Hi all, I am running my radarbox and a radar rama external antenna, I have popped 2 boxes now due to static to to box, can anyone please help with how to ground or best way to stop static discharging tothe box, I looked at DC blocks but I dont think that will help.

Im not too good with grounding etc so keep it simple.

Right now I have the antenna on top of a PVC tube that connects to the mast that holds the discone so there is no metal between the antenna and mast..will it help if I run alloy or metal pipe from the antenna to the mast then earth the mast to a ground rod or do i need to earth the coax too (or will earthing the mast sort that issue)

thanks everyone

 

[WayneH]

I don't know anything about the antenna but you should definitely have it connected to a grounded point on the tower at a minimum.

Proper professional grounding is typically employed at three to four points: near the antenna, at the base as it sweeps away toward your house, shelter, etc, immediately before it enters the premise and optionally after it enters the interior. Some like to also use surge suppressors but they aren't necessary.

 

[ridgescan]

I will ad my litle blurb and the hide but-maybe something causing friction to the PVC pipe can cause electrostatic buildup on it(?) just a thought. Then if so, maybe some #12 bare copper wire attached along down the side of it then connected to that mast for discharge.

 

[jaskel]

Thanks for the info, where would I connect that copper wire to on the actual antenna? Once I have attached this wire would I still need to earth the actual coax or will the outter sheath take care of that as it would be connected to the earth anyway?

 

[ridgescan]

I was hoping a RR pro would intercept my thought and refine it -but I will throw you a couple ideas based solely on my own experience-I was thinking that you would attach the wire directly to the side of the PVC pipe lengthwise (electrical tape it) so it can act as a discharger, then connect the wire to the mast, which would be sufficient to bleed off what buildup would be on that short PVC. You could then, for extra measure, ground the mast to a nearby groundpoint such as a copper clad ventpipe, or run some rg8u as a shielded RF ground lead from the mast down to cold waterpipe at earth, or electrical service conduit at earth.

 

[WayneH]

Thanks for the info, where would I connect that copper wire to on the actual antenna? Once I have attached this wire would I still need to earth the actual coax or will the outter sheath take care of that as it would be connected to the earth anyway?

Anywhere that makes good contact with the base/outside of the connector. BUT, your mast needs to make a good earth contact ground also otherwise it's a wire to no where.

Ridgescan makes a good point. That PVC pipe is going to shimmy like crazy and build up some serious static. You've got to at least ground out the outer jacket on the coax going to that antenna. A lot of people are going to tell you to do some costly things (you don't really need to professionally ground your setup) but at the minimum you should have a good ground to your coax at some point to minimize these static bursts.

 

[ridgescan]

BTW super nice antennas man very pro look

 

[jaskel]

thats some great info guys! thanks

I think ill change the PVC to alloy, that way it keeps light, the mast will ground itself due to contact f metal to metal and therefore ground the coax, then ill run a run some coax or copper wire to a cold water pipe somewhere and earth that way!

Should solve the issue! still dont understand how these things are so touchy...no other box seems to have the issue.