Lightning arrester for RG6 coax, receive only scanner

[RenoHuskerDu]

Howdy guys,

I found this old thread from 2009 and it answered all my questions except one. The thread suddenly dies, closed.

To ground coax or not to ground coax

I am getting ready to mount a Yagi Y8066 800 MHz antenna on my roof. This is a receive only antenna used for scanning. The antenna mast itself is grounded properly to a ground rod via a #6 copper wire. I have no questions about this portion of the ground connection. My question is; Is there...

forums.radioreference.com

I'm using a setup that Huge Satellite installed back when I had their internet service (really bad, expensive). So I already have a shield ground box, copper rod in the ground, and I'll ground my small rooftop mast. But just when the OP asked about what arrester the gurus in the thread recommended, the thread dies.

Anybody have a recommendation for a good coax lighting arrester to install at the base of the mast? I'll be running a couple old 2067 scanners on that RG6. They have sentimental value to me. And who wants a 3kV jolt inside their house. Central Texas, we do get lightning. In fact a strike 75 yards away killed the Huge Satellite modem and I see why, they had no arrester installed.

 

[Floridarailfanning]

Here is a link to a selection of different arrestors.

50ohm Multi-strike Lightning Arrestors

I've used some of the ones from PolyPhaser that have N connectors and have been satisfied. Hopefully, others will share their recommendations as well.

Also, make sure that the ground for the coax and antenna is bonded to your electrical ground. Having two separate grounds is a bad idea.

 

[prcguy]

He needs 75 ohm with F connectors but Polyphaser has those. If the satellite company put in a separate ground rod that must be bonded to the main house electrical ground and you can search "NEC article 810" for details.

Here is a link to a selection of different arrestors.

50ohm Multi-strike Lightning Arrestors

I've used some of the ones from PolyPhaser that have N connectors and have been satisfied. Hopefully, others will share their recommendations as well.

Also, make sure that the ground for the coax and antenna is bonded to your electrical ground. Having two separate grounds is a bad idea.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

My main panel is on the other side of the house. But I have an 50A RV plug right there so I can pickup the house ground easily there.

Thank you gentlemen.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Well this may just wind up being the klugiest scanner antenna setup ever. Free type F/RG6 already routed thru crawl spaces and outside, $40 on Bezoszon/Fleabay in connectors and an arrestor, culminated in a no-name magmount 10m antenna that I've had since the 80s, clinging to a galvanized "L" bracket on the edge of the roof. But it will be well grounded and arrested. And it will beat the tar out of that extendable whip currently on my 2067.

I had to go thru SMA to get from Type F to PL259. Copper butter inside and heat shrink over it all. It will work. Given current political turmoil, certain elderly neighbors 400yds away will soon be able to call us easily using FRS should they have any trouble.

 

[prcguy]

So if I understand your setup, its a 10m mobile mag mount on the roof of your house adapted to feed existing RG-6 coax to your Radio Shack PRO-2067 scanners and you will be listening to FRS?

Well this may just wind up being the klugiest scanner antenna setup ever. Free type F/RG6 already routed thru crawl spaces and outside, $40 on Bezoszon/Fleabay in connectors and an arrestor, culminated in a no-name magmount 10m antenna that I've had since the 80s, clinging to a galvanized "L" bracket on the edge of the roof. But it will be well grounded and arrested. And it will beat the tar out of that extendable whip currently on my 2067.

I had to go thru SMA to get from Type F to PL259. Copper butter inside and heat shrink over it all. It will work. Given current political turmoil, certain elderly neighbors 400yds away will soon be able to call us easily using FRS should they have any trouble.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

So if I understand your setup, its a 10m mobile mag mount on the roof of your house adapted to feed existing RG-6 coax to your Radio Shack PRO-2067 scanners and you will be listening to FRS?

Yes, mostly 2m reception, no trx. I saw several threads on receive antennas where anything is better outside than inside. A couple guys just draped copper over a tree and got great reception. Most LE/EMS around here is trunked with newer systems than my old 2067 can understand, so I cannot follow well anyway. Encryption is also gaining ground, so there's less to hear. EMS toneouts are still analog on a given freq.

 

[GTR8000]

I saw several threads on receive antennas where anything is better outside than inside.

Except when you factor in all the loss from using lossy RG6 coax, inferior connectors like PL259, adapters to go from 50 ohm scanners to 75 ohm coax, then back to a 50 ohm antenna, which itself is old and less than ideal, and out of band to boot.

There's a pretty good chance that you have more loss with that setup than you would with the back of set antenna.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Except when you factor in all the loss from using lossy RG6 coax, inferior connectors like PL259, adapters to go from 50 ohm scanners to 75 ohm coax, then back to a 50 ohm antenna, which itself is old and less than ideal, and out of band to boot.

There's a pretty good chance that you have more loss with that setup than you would with the back of set antenna.

But I'd have elevation on my side, it's a 2-story house. If I were to hang new coax, which would you suggest? I'm old enough to have done everything in 58 or 8 in the past, and have a bunch of old connectors on hand but no spare coax. One of y'all PM'd me that grounding to the RV panel won't meet NEC anyway, so I may need to rethink this whole shooting match.

 

[prcguy]

A 10m mobile antenna is only good for receiving stuff at 10m or 28MHz, its going to be really bad on 2m or FRS or anywhere else.

Yes, mostly 2m reception, no trx. I saw several threads on receive antennas where anything is better outside than inside. A couple guys just draped copper over a tree and got great reception. Most LE/EMS around here is trunked with newer systems than my old 2067 can understand, so I cannot follow well anyway. Encryption is also gaining ground, so there's less to hear. EMS toneouts are still analog on a given freq.

 

[RenoHuskerDu]

Thanks to all who helped here. I decided to abandon the RG6 cable, actually remove it from the side of the house. After what I learned here, I consider it to be a conduit for lightning strike into my office. Huge Satellite did not install an arrestor, which is why their modem was rendered inop by a strike on a nearby field.

I decided to install a magmount 2m/70cm mobile antenna in the middle of my nearest metal carport roof. The carport has 6 steel legs sunk 2' into the ground. I'll ground the arrestor and coax shield on a metal pole, drive in a copper rod too. In this area of Texas, hard rock is only a few inches down, so locals drive in several 2' rods at an angle and interconnect connect them. This I learned when installing the grounds for an electric cattle fence that keeps chickens and rabbits out of our veggie garden.

Overall it should require about 20' of rg58u +259/239. If that setup is satisfactory, I'll migrate to a base antenna, probably still on that metal roof with its good ground plane. Again, this is an RX only installation for now.

I had surprisingly good help in Amazon questions about the arrestor I chose. It's clear that hams are in there, from the quality of their answers. Refreshing, as many other Bezos users are not of the same quality.