wrote in message
...
The NEC
solution is to bond _all_ grounding systems of different systems together
(electric power, TV antenna, cable TV, phone, etc.) so that they all come
up
to the _same_ potential during a strike. No potential difference between
systems, no destructive current flow.

OK

So..... I should ground the TV antenna direct to a rod driven into the
earth.... BUTALSO run a wire back to electrical ground of the service
panel?

Yes.
The antenna lead-in should connect to an antenna discharge unit close to
where the it enters the house. A minimum #10 should be ran from the mast
(straight line-of-sight), then pass through the grounding lug on the
discharge unit, then on to the ground rod. That ground rod should then be
bonded (minimum #6) to the electric power grounding system. Best to keep
that bonding wire outside the house if possible. You can connect to
anywhere on the electric power grounding electrode system. Usually an
electric service will have a bare #4 (or so) coming out of the meter or the
electric panel going to a ground rod. You can split bolt to that. What
ever you do, _don't_ cut that main power grounding electrode wire to make
the splice. I prefer to use #4 bare for the entire install because it
doesn't need to be protected. If you do it right, you can run it from the
electric service grounding electrode conductor (GEC), through the acorn on
the antenna ground rod, through the lug on the discharge unit (make sure the
lug will accommodate a #4 wire before you buy it), and on to the mast
without any slices. Burying the bare #4 will also improve your overall
electric system ground. Copper prices are going up so be prepared for
sticker shock.