SQLit wrote:

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...

John wrote:


Im new to this and know this subject has been discussed in the past. I
have tried reading previous posts, but am still confused on the
subject. I want to put up a tv antenna. I plan on attaching the mast
to my facia. Radio shack sells cable with the ground wire attached,
which I plan on running into the house and grounding to a cold water
pipe.
The antenna will be mounted on the opposite side as my house ground.
Will this be enough? I really dont want wires running all over the
side/roof of my house.Also wil this also ground the mast or does that
need grounded to?
Thanks
John


Off the top of my head, I would drive a new 8' or 10' ground rod right
under the mast and ground to it with a big wire with as few bends in it as
possible -- probably a bare stranded #8. Then I would run a #6 solid wire
from the that new electrode to the nearest point on the grounding

electrode

system for the house -- the electric meter enclosure would be the closest
point on my service. The new ground rod is now an extension of your
service ground. If your antenna takes a lightning hit, the most of the
charge should travel straight down into the new ground electrode under

your

tower.

-bob


Sound advice except for the connecting conductor needs to be the same size
as the grounding electrode for the service. 200 amp is #4.

Grounding the antenna will not protect you from a lightning strike. It might
divert some of the energy into the ground before it destroys your running
electronics... Sorry it is the way it is.



This isn't the main Grounding Electrode Conductor for the service, it is a
grounding electrode conductor to a supplimental made-electrode. 250-94 has
an exception that sez: "Where connected to made electrodes as in Section
250-83 (c) or (d), that portion of the grounding electrode conductor that
is the sole connection to the grounding electrode shall not be required to
be larger than No. 6 copper or No. 4 aluminum"

Of course, I might be interpretting that incorrectly, or the exception may
have been removed in a later version of the code book than my old one.

Also you might want to use #4 instead of #6 to avoid having to run it in a
conduit if the wire is subjected to physical damage.

Best regards,
Bob