How to ground a cable feed?

I posted previously with a problem I had where my coax cable feed in the attic has current in it, I felt it when I tried to split it into 4 cables up there. Someone suggested that the external feed into the house may not be grounded that I just need to ground the cable coming in in the attic.

I have a stupid - how do I do that? Do I attach a bare wire from the splitter to which all cables attached to and attach the other end of that bare wire to a ground source? I am not sure which one is grounded, will a metal conduit work? Most of my electrical wires in the attic are using rigid conduits so will those be good? What else can I use?

Thanks in advance,

MC

Reply to
MiamiCuse
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Yes, if your splitter has a screw that you can tighten down to grab the ground wire, that will work. I've seen splitters with the ground screw and splitters without. If you don't, you can easily get a grounding block from Radio Shack or elsewhere. Basically it is that same ground screw that will attach to the outer conductor. I have a hunch that where the CATV line enters your house there should be a grounding block put in by the CATV company. It should be grounded there I would think.

Regarding what to attach it to. I wouldn't attach it 'just anywhere'. Technically, conduit is fine, but it is better to have a 'star ground' approach to home where there is ONE place all grounds are tied to. That will eliminate the problem of ground loops that can be all too common if you attach grounds at the most convenient place.

Reply to
autonut843

Where ever the cable first comes into the home there should be a device/splitter that has a place for a ground wire. A #12 ground should be run to the electrical service and attached there either to the can or the ground bus. Where I live the electrical service and cable are inches away from each other on the end of the home.

Attaching to conduit ASSUMES that the conduit is grounded/attached all the way back to the service.

It is your electronics, mine are pretty expensive to me, so I wanted it right.

Reply to
SQLit

OK pardon my ignorance here...

at the outside of the house, behind in the back alley is a big cable company box two feet wide four feet long. I think this is what they called a "drop", from there an orange cable goes into the back of the house underground until it gets to a corner, then it goes into a small plastic box that is mounted on the exterior wall. There is a screw on it but it is not a standard hex or flat or philip, It's a hex with a pin in the middle so I don't have the tools to open it, there is markings that says "do not open" etc... on the other end of the box is a black cable which comes out and goes under the eave and into the attic which leads to the place where the splitter is. I do not see anything grounded.

I hate to call an electrician out here to take a look to see how I need to ground it, I feel stupid enough asking the question here and testing voltages with my bare hands.

MC - electrical dummy

Reply to
MiamiCuse

"I hate to call an electrician out here to take a look to see how I need to ground it, I feel stupid enough asking the question here and testing voltages with my bare hands.

MC - electrical dummy "

You don't need an electrician. It's the cable company's responsibility to have the cable properly grounded where it enters your house. If there is no evidence of a ground wire attached near where the cable enters the home and running to a suitable ground location, then call the cable company to check it out.

Reply to
trader4

That's the box that should have a ground in it. If you can't see another wire that goes into the house or into the ground (never seen the latter, personally) then can you see if anything is going into the house hidden by the box? - That is, can you get inside the house where the box is attached and see a wire coming in? If so, check that that wire runs to a reliable ground.

If not - definitely call the cable company and complain about the current in the cable. They will check it out and if the problem is real they should fix it.

BTW - on my last house, that box could be opened by squeezing it just right - it was plastic and the screw that "locked" it wasn't too secure.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Daly

Just before cable (and telephone) enter your building, the provider will usually install a box (often gray plastic) where their wire connects to yours AND where their wire must connect inside that box to your earth ground.

That other post you found too complex is intended to be read three to five times. New technical concepts are rarely understood on the first reading. What is required by you to inspect was in that post.

You are doing this first because you are getting what was described as dangerous electric shocks. This grounding from each incoming utility to that earth ground is necessary so that those shocks do not happen. This earthing also have other requirements which is why that typically green wire from each box to same earth ground rod should not be routed adjacent to any other non-earthing wire. And why that wire should be less than 10 feet long.

Because this wire is required by the National Electrical Code, then both phone company and cable company are required to make that connection. Of course, they cannot is the ground rod does not exist. You are responsible for providing that earth ground rod. If it does not exist (if your electric was pre-1990), then first you need an electrician to install that ground rod and connect it inside your breaker box using a bare

6 AWG copper wire (or larger).

This ground system being so essential to human safety that you have no excuse for not learning this now. If you don't understand, then not hiring an electrician to inspect it and teach you would just be irresponsible.

Once that earth ground rod is located or installed, then telephone company and cable company wires must also connect direct to that earth ground rod - using requirements above that exceed what the National Electrical Code requires - ie less than 10 feet, no sharp bends, not bundled with other non-earthing wires.

Better to learn now, then later....

MiamiCuse wrote:

Reply to
w_tom

The grounding block where I live looks like a splitter with a ground wire attached. Its outside of the house just before the wire enters the house.

Try calling the cable company. Where I live cable/phone company is responsible for the stuff outside. AND its regulation that all lines entering yoru house be grounded. If its not grounded (like mine was not and took a lightning spike killin my stuff) then call the cable company and tell them to ground it.

Reply to
CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert

I should add that I don't think this will fix yoru problem. I suspect the current is flowing from inside the house to outside, not vice versa.

Reply to
CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert

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