Is my ground done correctly?

[BrianD90]

Ok, here is what I did, I have an ST-2 mounted on top of a 12 foot mast attached to the apex of my roof.

The ground wire is attached to a screw hole with which a screw is inserted. It then wraps around the mast a few times and then runs with the coax down to the lightening arrestor for for the coax and attaches into that.

From the arrestor the ground runs 30-35 feet down the side of my house (on the ground) and does a curve around the house to the rear and then another 15ft to the house ground where it attaches to the lightening aresstor/splitter my cable uses which then runs into the actual house ground.

Thoughts?

 

[mmckenna]

Without seeing photos, it really sounds like it's way too long.

Lightning wants to find a path to ground. It won't just follow long runs of cable that snake around the house.

However, from a static electricity standpoint, you have something that is better than nothing.

You didn't talk about what size wire it is, either.

What you need is a good connection to the mast. Wrapping wire around the mast itself isn't necessarily going to help. You want a good solid connection to the mast, either via a suitable clamp or by a bolted connection. You also need to protect the connection from corrosion.

The ground path needs to be as straight as possible, if you are looking for a good lightning ground. Straight down from the mast to a ground rod or network of ground rods. No connections along the way, just a straight run down to the rod. You can ground the lightning arrestor in the same place, but I'd personally use a second wire.
National Electric Code says your grounds need to be bonded together, so having a connection that runs from your antenna ground rod over to the house ground is a good idea.

Also, grounding your coax at several places is important. Standard in the industry is:
Top of the tower.
Bottom of the tower.
At the lightning arrestor - and - just before it enters the house.

Cable size needs to be large enough to provide a low impedance path, so you'd need something like 6 gauge or larger.

Sounds like what you have is better than nothing, but you might be able to simplify it a bit and make it a bit more reliable at the same time.
To be honest, though, mine isn't much better. I'm in a very low lightning risk area and there are a number of taller structures around my antenna. Mine is a 6 gauge wire than runs off the mast and makes a dog leg near the bottom of the chimney to where my ground rod is.

 

[BrianD90]

Without seeing photos, it really sounds like it's way too long.

Lightning wants to find a path to ground. It won't just follow long runs of cable that snake around the house.

However, from a static electricity standpoint, you have something that is better than nothing.

You didn't talk about what size wire it is, either.

What you need is a good connection to the mast. Wrapping wire around the mast itself isn't necessarily going to help. You want a good solid connection to the mast, either via a suitable clamp or by a bolted connection. You also need to protect the connection from corrosion.

The ground path needs to be as straight as possible, if you are looking for a good lightning ground. Straight down from the mast to a ground rod or network of ground rods. No connections along the way, just a straight run down to the rod. You can ground the lightning arrestor in the same place, but I'd personally use a second wire.
National Electric Code says your grounds need to be bonded together, so having a connection that runs from your antenna ground rod over to the house ground is a good idea.

Also, grounding your coax at several places is important. Standard in the industry is:
Top of the tower.
Bottom of the tower.
At the lightning arrestor - and - just before it enters the house.

Cable size needs to be large enough to provide a low impedance path, so you'd need something like 6 gauge or larger.

Sounds like what you have is better than nothing, but you might be able to simplify it a bit and make it a bit more reliable at the same time.
To be honest, though, mine isn't much better. I'm in a very low lightning risk area and there are a number of taller structures around my antenna. Mine is a 6 gauge wire than runs off the mast and makes a dog leg near the bottom of the chimney to where my ground rod is.

I'll definitely get some clamps and another grounding rod then. As for the coax, I was under the impression "grounding" it was a matter of attaching it to an aresstor right before it enters the house. How do I ground it at the other locations? I'm confused now lol, so much reading and different answers.

 

[Voyager]

It then wraps around the mast a few times and then runs with the coax down to the lightening arrestor for for the coax and attaches into that.

From the arrestor the ground runs 30-35 feet down the side of my house (on the ground) and does a curve around the house to the rear and then another 15ft to the house ground where it attaches to the lightening aresstor/splitter my cable uses which then runs into the actual house ground.

There are a couple red flags here.

1. "It then wraps around the mast a few times" - That is called a choke and lightning will resist it.You want to keep the ground wire as straight as possible with no chokes. Conversely, it is sometimes used on a flexible feedline for the same reason - to resist lightning from traveling that path.

2. "and does a curve around the house" - Keep ALL bends as large as possible, as lightning does not like to change direction. It will often "blow out" a feedline right at a bend. Again, the key is to keep it as straight as possible.

If possible, try to keep the run intact past the arrestor and run a separate line to the primary line from the arrestor. This will do two things - keep the primary path with the lowest resistance possible, and keep the lightning from wanting to travel through the arrestor if it's already on the ground wire.

 

[mmckenna]

I'll definitely get some clamps and another grounding rod then. As for the coax, I was under the impression "grounding" it was a matter of attaching it to an aresstor right before it enters the house. How do I ground it at the other locations? I'm confused now lol, so much reading and different answers.

There are coax "grounding kits" that are available. The exact one you need depends on your coaxial cable type.
Basically you strip off the outside jacket of the cable and there is a special band clamp that goes around the outer shield. The kits include all the necessary materials to properly weather seal everything afterwards.
These kits will have a 6 gauge wire coming off them that gets attached to the grounding conductor/tower/mast/etc.

You might be able to do the same thing without the expensive kit, but you need to be careful not to damage the coax and to completely and absolutely water seal everything.

 

[mmckenna]

Here's one:
https://www.tessco.com/products/displayProductInfo.do?sku=63823&eventGroup=4&eventPage=1

 

[Voyager]

If you're going to go that far, I would recommend a first step of a Polyphaser lightning arrestor along the lines of https://www.tessco.com/products/displayProductInfo.do?sku=84145&eventPage=1

But, I think both may be overkill for a scanner antenna (although these two pretty much describe all my antenna lines). I got a great deal on a bulk order of wideband Polyphasers.