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Satellite dish ground

10K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  J. V. 
#1 ·
I've done a little homework and think I know what I need to do. Just want to confirm and iron out the details before I start wiring.

My dish is about 50' from the house mounted on a 4x4 post. RG-6 is run underground in pvc conduit. If I understand the NEC grounding requirement correctly, I need to run a #8 from the grounding lug on the dish, to the house ground.

Do I need to bring the ground wire to the panel? or, can I connect to house ground in a lighting circuit junction box? or can I clamp to a copper cold water line (panel ground connects to water service)?

Any other alternatives?
 
#4 ·
I've seen RG-6 ground fittings in my local Menards (not sure whast they're officially called) for grounding the actual RG-6 cable too. I'm guessing these are now required by NEC but haven't read up on it yet.

Can anyone out there confirm that NEC now requires the dish/antena and the cable both be grounded?
 
#8 ·
I've done a little homework and think I know what I need to do. Just want to confirm and iron out the details before I start wiring.

My dish is about 50' from the house mounted on a 4x4 post. RG-6 is run underground in pvc conduit. If I understand the NEC grounding requirement correctly, I need to run a #8 from the grounding lug on the dish, to the house ground.

Do I need to bring the ground wire to the panel? or, can I connect to house ground in a lighting circuit junction box? or can I clamp to a copper cold water line (panel ground connects to water service)?

Any other alternatives?
Most dish installers run RG6 with ground attatched to it, this is grounding your mast and dish, this should terminate to a antenna discharge unit on the outside of the building and be grounded to the electrical systems ground.


 
#9 ·
my installers just hooked it to a light switch ground, which I am pretty sure is wrong (any help/confirmation please). My dish is only about 4' from the house. Can I just put in a grounding rod where the dish is mounted??? my panel has a ground rod, but it is on the other side of the house and to run a wire to the rod or the panel, we are probably talking about a 100' run. Do they have to be tied together? Isn't ground, ground? I do want to comply with code, however. I know that when they installed my generator out in my lawn shed, they drove a new ground rod right there at the generator. Your comments are greatly appreciated.
Jeff
 
#10 ·
my installers just hooked it to a light switch ground, which I am pretty sure is wrong (any help/confirmation please). My dish is only about 4' from the house. Can I just put in a grounding rod where the dish is mounted??? my panel has a ground rod, but it is on the other side of the house and to run a wire to the rod or the panel, we are probably talking about a 100' run. Do they have to be tied together? Isn't ground, ground? I do want to comply with code, however. I know that when they installed my generator out in my lawn shed, they drove a new ground rod right there at the generator. Your comments are greatly appreciated.
Jeff

:) A light switch ground? wow, never saw that one, anyway, its wrong, here is what the dish MUST be bonded to,



If you drive a rod for the dish, then that rod must be bonded to the electrical grounding system with a minimum # 6 cu wire.
 
#11 ·
Is there any reason in this situation not to just put a grounding block on the post, and a grounding rod right next to the post. Don't you want path of LEAST resistance. 50 feet away from the house. Why not keep it 50 feet away instead of bringing it all the way to the house????
 
#12 ·
Electricity does not look for the easiest path to ground, it looks for it's source. In your case it would be the utility transformer.
You need a grounding block and some #10 wire. The cable or cables that leave the dish LNB are connected to the grounding block. There is a screw terminal on the grounding block. Insert the #10 wire into the screw terminal and connect this wire to the ground rod or wire outside at the meter. It goes to the same place as your phone line ground goes. You can drive a new rod, but you must connect that rod to the existing grounding/bonding system of the dwelling. If you connect two rods you need #6 between them and then #10 to the block.
 
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