Grounding a satellite

When I first got a satellite, Direct TV came out and drove a small ground rod and ran a bare wire from the base of the dish to the ground rod.

I no longer use satellite but I am thinking about switching back again.

I plan to have the new installer leave the base of the satellite grounded to the ground rod, but also insist that he take another bare wire from the clamp on the ground rod into the house and bond it to a copper water pipe.

Will this meet code? If I can't get the satellite people to ground it properly then I plan to stay on cable. I don't plan to spend any money out of my pocket to ground a satellite system when I can just stay on cable and not worry about it.

The cable company installed a splitter and came off the splitter to the same cold water pipe I plan to have the satellite people to use.

Reply to
Terry
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The NEC requires that this get connected to the ground electrode system for the house with a 6ga wire.

820.40(D) Bonding of Electrodes. A bonding jumper not smaller than 6 AWG copper or equivalent shall be connected between the antenna systems grounding electrode and the power grounding electrode system at the building or structure served where separate electrodes are used.
Reply to
gfretwell

Unless the water pipe you are talking about is within five pipe feet of were the piping enters the building AND, the supply piping in the earth outside your home is also metallic And, the underground portion of the supply piping is twenty or more feet in length, it is not suitable for use as a grounding electrode. The US National Electric Code (NEC); which may or may not be enforced as law in your community; requires that the Grounding Electrode Conductor for your satellite dish must terminate at the Grounding Electrode system of the building. If the entry point of the satellite feed line is too far from the grounding electrode system then a full sized driven rod of at least eight feet in length should be driven below the dish and within a few feet of the point of entry. That driven rod is then bonded to the Grounding Electrode System so as to become part of that system electrically. The minimum size of the bonding conductor is number six American Wire Gage (AWG).

Reply to
Tom Horne, Electrician

I kind of get the feeling that about 100% of the dishes installed do not meet these requirements.

Reply to
Terry

That's one long assed wire to ground a satellite.

Reply to
Steve Barker

[snip]

Mine wasn't grounded. It had a wire from the dish that wasn't connected to the grounding block that wasn't grounded.

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

Most satellite dish installers are jobbers who will be paid and gone before anyone takes a hard look at their work. If the customer is happy enough to sign off on the install that's all they care about. The consequences of that kind of hit and run installation is that any lightning discharge that energizes the dish will find ground through the television set rather than through the grounding conductor. That usually destroys the TV tuner but it is hard to prove who is at fault so the satellite company can usually evade responsibility for the damage.

Reply to
Tom Horne, Electrician

DANG !! !! !! That's gotta be some humongus chunk of #6 wire .. .. .. what, with them thar' sat-t-lite thingies hoverin' around 23,000 miles abouve this here earth & all !! !! !!

Reply to
Anonymous

When they installed mine (existing dish left by previous owner), the subcontract installer made me sign a waiver that I knew it wasn't grounded. It actually was, but not near the mast- the in-house coax runs had a ground block where they passed near the water pump, and were tied to that. I probably oughta put a stake near the faux chimney stack it is all mounted on, and run a wire up there.

aem sends...

Reply to
<aemeijers

The purpose of a ground on a satellite dish is to dissipate static electricity generated by the wind passing over the dish. This, in turn, acts like a lightning rod to discourage lightning strikes.

You&#39;re going for over-kill.

Reply to
HeyBub

If you don&#39;t bond this to your building ground electrode system any ground shift will be reconciled in yourt TV tuner The dirt is not really any particular potential at any given time and it varies by many volts over fairly short distances in fault conditions. That is why we bond electrodes

Reply to
gfretwell

You don&#39;t want to ground a satellite, it would take a rocket and about 20 miles of cable to reach up to the satellite. Or did you mean a satellite dish that you wanted grounded. It pays to write with correct names.

Reply to
EXT

Why, is your plumbing grounded to a different earth...?

Besides the circuitry problems that might (I ain&#39;t no electrician) occur from having 2 grounds, I&#39;d avoid directing possible lightning strikes into my home circuit whenever possible. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

That cable would be much too short. Communication satellites must be in geostationary orbit (to always appear over the same location on Earth). That orbit is 22,300 miles above the equator.

And actually knowing what you&#39;re talking about, can make it a LOT easier to understand things. That helps explain why I&#39;m more likely to mention such errors (including the erroneous statement that a gallon is 4 times more than a quart, it&#39;s 4 times AS MUCH [3 times MORE]).

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

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