Police Scanner Antenna Grounding

[1998]

I installed a police scanner antenna a few months ago and grounded the mast to an 8 foot ground rod directly below the antenna. That is all. I have not grounded the coax, as I leave it unplugged when I am not using the scanner.

I read that I need to bond the antenna ground rod to the house ground, to avoid voltage potentials. Can this be achieved by just running a length of ground wire from one rod to the other?

And if I do decide to ground the coax, it would have to be connected to the house ground. Is this a problem if the mast is on one ground and the coax on another, even if they were bonded?

Sorry for all the questions, I am still learning

Thanks in advance!

 

[ka3jjz]

1998 also wrote:
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I just recently acquired a Radio Shack DX-394, which is my first desktop HF receiver. I noticed there is a ground screw on the back and I was wondering what to ground the radio to if it is necessary to do so. I am putting up an outdoor randomwire, and I am mainly concerned about static discharge. I am also unsure if the antenna itself needs to be grounded. The radio sits just feet from the electrical panel (best I can do) in a finished basement, and I would have access to a ground wire there to connect to.

I would only be using the receiver a couple hours a day, and I would just leave the coax unpluged. Is there a simpler way to bleed off static instead of grounding everything?

Sorry for all the questions, I am new to HF monitoring.
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Mike

 

[tojohnso]

The following links will take you to web pages I found a while ago when setting up my HAM Shack.

Notes on grounding amateur and commercial radio installations. (one of the best reads)

Amateur (Ham) Radio Station Grounding - Get A Good Ground! N8SA

In the following, go to the library and look through their slideshows.

Harger Lightning &amp Grounding

They all seem to carry a similar theme - tie everything together, use multiple ground rods (using just one rod isn't the best idea as most houses are set up that way if they have one at all), straight runs are best, the wire/strap you tie everything together with and how they are secured is really important.

As for the coax runs in to the house, if there is a storm nearby or the potential thereof, it's best to have the coax outside of the house. You can buy lightening protection for coax that have ground screws that you tie in to your grounding system. But, removing it from the house is best. It's amazing what lightening can do.

Enjoy the reads - it's a lot of info, but when you look at what's common between them, it becomes clear.

Cheers!
Tom