[Lane Meyer]

Greetings all.

So I have a new home.... The 'logical' place for my HDTV antenna is on the chimney since this gives me the highest and best line of sight. Unfortunately I have no gables on roof ANYWHERE. So I would have to run the wire straight into the attic from the mount. Which by reading in threads is a big no no to run my ground through the attic. So my alternatives are run the wires straight down over the singles (Ugly and won't last) or I can do a mast on the side of the house where the grounding rod is located.

My question to all is. Is it really that big of an issue to run my ground THROUGH the attic and then out a soffit to the grounding rod? I mean the primary focus of the ground is really to bleed off static no? If lightning strikes your antenna.. is that 6 guage wire really gonna help your house?

 

[pgwalsh]

I would not run it through the interior without grounding it first. Lighting travels to the point of least resistance, so there are alternatives, but your city code probably requires grounding outside before brining the wire in. You could buy an antenna pole to mount on the side of your house that extends above. My antenna is mounted on top of a chimney and runs a fair distance to the grounding lug one the first floor of 3 stories.

 

[ProjectSHO89]

Is it really that big of an issue to run my ground THROUGH the attic and then out a soffit to the grounding rod?

No, it is explicitly permitted by code to run the ground inside the shell of the building.

I mean the primary focus of the ground is really to bleed off static no?

Yes, and also to protect against accidentally energizing the mast and related conductors. It's not a lightning protection system, it's a lighting (and electrocution) protection system. Many posters, here and elsewhere, are unable to grasp the concept and discern the difference.

If lightning strikes your antenna.. is that 6 guage wire really gonna help your house?

No, it's going to turn to plasma in a very small instant of time.

Call the fire department, then your insurance agent, if lighting hits your building.

Install the grounding block at or near the point of entry. The code does not require it to be outside.

 

[DrDon]

Please search for existing threads before starting a new one. Especially if the thread is stickied. http://www.avsforum.com/forum/25-hdtv-technical/1704881-grounding-antenna-masts-coax-cable.html