Outdoor TV antenna grounding question

[Joev1973]

Ok Hello all and thanks for having me. I need some advice and joined this forum hoping to be pointed in the right direction.

First off I am not an electrician and dont know the first thing about grounding or wiring.

I will try to explain it the best I can.

I recently moved to Middle Tennessee in a very rural area. No cable tv or internet is currently available at the home we purchased with a few acres. Did I mention cell phones barely get a signal out here and only ar&t work we had to switch over upon moving here.

I bought a small indoor tv antenna and stuck it in the window and we were able to pull in only 4 channels. On some days if I rescan we can get 7 or 8 but can rarely watch them as they pixelize and disaapear.

I talked to a couple people at a local market who have old school tv antennas (not cheap modern chinese crap) and are picking up 50-70 channels from nashville and even some from Huntsville Alabama.

I stopped by my nearest neighbors house to see his set up and he does in fact pull in far more channels than I imagined.

Out in my yard I have a antenna mast tower approx. 20 ft high with no antenna on it. Its heavy duty and in the perfect place on the property to pull in a signal from Nashville 60 miles away to the north.

100 ft from the antenna mast is my living room wall where our tv is located.

So I went to channelmaster.com and purchased the longest range outdoor antenna they had (after weeks of researching antennas) I will attach a photo of the antenna. Its rated at 100 miles, im aware its debatable if a vhf signal can reach an antenna at 100 miles but I wanted the best chance at doing so. The transmission towers im after are 60-70 miles and Im getting a few with a $20 walmart indoor antenna. Buying this big boy for outside and having it high up on a mast has to increase my chances to pick up the signals.

The antenna I purchased does not have a motorized rotor as I didnt want to run electricity to the mast. Just point it in the degrees of Nashville and bolt it down as my neighbors have done.

I purchased the antenna and a pre amp booster suggested for my zip code by channel master. The pre amp does not require its own electric as it works by taking electric it receives from the coaxial cable it uses to attach to the antenna. Antenna and booster arriving tomorrow.

I then started thinking about the need for grounding the antenna and the coaxial cable so purchased a coax ground block and a spool of #10 solid copper grounding wire. I also purchased a 5 ft copper grounding rod to ground both the antenna mast and the coaxial cable at the mast and have 120 ft of burial coaxial cable running to the house under ground.

I thought everything out carefully as fas as parts and supplies I would need. Today I went out and sunk the grounding rod into the soil near the mast leaving only the top 6" sticking up so I can attach my copper.

I came in the house and started reading a little about grounding to make sure I would do it right and now I am not confident that I am.

Most articles I find pertain to antennas mounted on the roof of the home. And the antennas are grounded to the homes main ground under the electric panel outside of the house.

My antenna is going to be on a stand alone mast 100+ feet away from the house all by itself out in the field nowhere near the homes main ground.

The electric panel and main ground for the house couldn't be any further away than they are, completely on the opposite end of the property's. Im talking polar opposites!

I am also now reading that 8' ground rods are needed?

So keep in mind this antenna is on a stand alone mast and not powered. The little booster add on is powered but from the coaxial cable that carries a charge from inside the house where an ac adapter is plugged in that the coaxial cable runs through.

I had it all planned out for a clean neat install of an antenna that besides the coaxial just had 2 U clamps . Now this simple tv antenna is turning into a whole big thing.

Can someone tell me that its ok to ground the mast (pictured) and coax to its own grounding rod and not have to buy a country mile of copper wire and dig for a week to tie it in to the main ground of the home. I have to make sure this is safe and will work.

I know to an electrician this stuff sounds simple but again I am no electrician and I will appreciate whatever advice you can give me.

Also I would like to place the full blame for this project getting started on Eva Gabor. With only 4 channels I got hooked on Green Acres and devoloped a little crush on Miss Gabor. Now they switched networks and the new transmitter with green acres is a little further out. If you ever saw Miss Gabor you can understand my urgency.


Thanks to anyone who helps bring Eve Gabor back into my life.

 

[DPG]

What a great post (the text above, not the antenna tower!). Good detail, loads of pictures. Nice one.

I personally would say that grounding is not needed in your case, but others may well have different opinions.

Nice garden as well.

 

[Megawatt]

What a great post (the text above, not the antenna tower!). Good detail, loads of pictures. Nice one.

I personally would say that grounding is not needed in your case, but others may well have different opinions.

Nice garden as well.

Ok Hello all and thanks for having me. I need some advice and joined this forum hoping to be pointed in the right direction.

First off I am not an electrician and dont know the first thing about grounding or wiring.

I will try to explain it the best I can.

I recently moved to Middle Tennessee in a very rural area. No cable tv or internet is currently available at the home we purchased with a few acres. Did I mention cell phones barely get a signal out here and only ar&t work we had to switch over upon moving here.

I bought a small indoor tv antenna and stuck it in the window and we were able to pull in only 4 channels. On some days if I rescan we can get 7 or 8 but can rarely watch them as they pixelize and disaapear.

I talked to a couple people at a local market who have old school tv antennas (not cheap modern chinese crap) and are picking up 50-70 channels from nashville and even some from Huntsville Alabama.

I stopped by my nearest neighbors house to see his set up and he does in fact pull in far more channels than I imagined.

Out in my yard I have a antenna mast tower approx. 20 ft high with no antenna on it. Its heavy duty and in the perfect place on the property to pull in a signal from Nashville 60 miles away to the north.

100 ft from the antenna mast is my living room wall where our tv is located.

So I went to channelmaster.com and purchased the longest range outdoor antenna they had (after weeks of researching antennas) I will attach a photo of the antenna. Its rated at 100 miles, im aware its debatable if a vhf signal can reach an antenna at 100 miles but I wanted the best chance at doing so. The transmission towers im after are 60-70 miles and Im getting a few with a $20 walmart indoor antenna. Buying this big boy for outside and having it high up on a mast has to increase my chances to pick up the signals.

The antenna I purchased does not have a motorized rotor as I didnt want to run electricity to the mast. Just point it in the degrees of Nashville and bolt it down as my neighbors have done.

I purchased the antenna and a pre amp booster suggested for my zip code by channel master. The pre amp does not require its own electric as it works by taking electric it receives from the coaxial cable it uses to attach to the antenna. Antenna and booster arriving tomorrow.

I then started thinking about the need for grounding the antenna and the coaxial cable so purchased a coax ground block and a spool of #10 solid copper grounding wire. I also purchased a 5 ft copper grounding rod to ground both the antenna mast and the coaxial cable at the mast and have 120 ft of burial coaxial cable running to the house under ground.

I thought everything out carefully as fas as parts and supplies I would need. Today I went out and sunk the grounding rod into the soil near the mast leaving only the top 6" sticking up so I can attach my copper.

I came in the house and started reading a little about grounding to make sure I would do it right and now I am not confident that I am.

Most articles I find pertain to antennas mounted on the roof of the home. And the antennas are grounded to the homes main ground under the electric panel outside of the house.

My antenna is going to be on a stand alone mast 100+ feet away from the house all by itself out in the field nowhere near the homes main ground.

The electric panel and main ground for the house couldn't be any further away than they are, completely on the opposite end of the property's. Im talking polar opposites!

I am also now reading that 8' ground rods are needed?

So keep in mind this antenna is on a stand alone mast and not powered. The little booster add on is powered but from the coaxial cable that carries a charge from inside the house where an ac adapter is plugged in that the coaxial cable runs through.

I had it all planned out for a clean neat install of an antenna that besides the coaxial just had 2 U clamps . Now this simple tv antenna is turning into a whole big thing.

Can someone tell me that its ok to ground the mast (pictured) and coax to its own grounding rod and not have to buy a country mile of copper wire and dig for a week to tie it in to the main ground of the home. I have to make sure this is safe and will work.

I know to an electrician this stuff sounds simple but again I am no electrician and I will appreciate whatever advice you can give me.

Also I would like to place the full blame for this project getting started on Eva Gabor. With only 4 channels I got hooked on Green Acres and devoloped a little crush on Miss Gabor. Now they switched networks and the new transmitter with green acres is a little further out. If you ever saw Miss Gabor you can understand my urgency.


Thanks to anyone who helps bring Eve Gabor back into my life.

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Joe I got to agree with DPG you give all the answers to the questions we was going to ask nice post and welcome. In theory with the legs dug in the ground it’s already grounded but it’s like a lighting rod so yes ground it to the rod. The rods are required to be 10 feet long but I thing you’ll be fine we ground all parking lot lights also

 

[Joev1973]

Thanks guys, already drove the grounding rod in so may as well use it. Today while waiting for antenna to arrive i went out and attached the #10 solid copper wire to the mast and ran it to the ground rod, then took another #10 solid copper wire and also attached it to the ground rod which i will use for grounding the coaxial through a coaxial grounding block.

On another note the antenna arrived and I assembled it and climbed the tower and attached it to the mast. Before I could tighten the bolts it began to rain. It has not rained in middle tennessee since august and we are having extreme drought. As soon as i get to the top of the tower it decides to rain.

I had to climb down as I didnt want to test the ground rod and lightning strikes while im standing at the top of a metal tower holding the antenna.

Tomorrow I will torque the bolts tight and wire the antenna. I will share photos in case someone else needs help like i did.

This job will also require me to run coaxial cable underground over 100 ft to the house.

 

[Megawatt]

Thanks guys, already drove the grounding rod in so may as well use it. Today while waiting for antenna to arrive i went out and attached the #10 solid copper wire to the mast and ran it to the ground rod, then took another #10 solid copper wire and also attached it to the ground rod which i will use for grounding the coaxial through a coaxial grounding block.

On another note the antenna arrived and I assembled it and climbed the tower and attached it to the mast. Before I could tighten the bolts it began to rain. It has not rained in middle tennessee since august and we are having extreme drought. As soon as i get to the top of the tower it decides to rain.

I had to climb down as I didnt want to test the ground rod and lightning strikes while im standing at the top of a metal tower holding the antenna.

Tomorrow I will torque the bolts tight and wire the antenna. I will share photos in case someone else needs help like i did.

This job will also require me to run coaxial cable underground over 100 ft to the house.

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I joe im not picking on you but your only allowed 1wire to 1 connector but in your situation do what you have to do and good luck

 

[Joev1973]

I ordered a grounding nut from amazon this afternoon i just hooked it up bc it was raining and i am not going to bury it until the new connector comes.
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[Megawatt]

I joe im not picking on you but your only allowed 1wire to 1 connector but in your situation do what you have to do and good luck

Joe you are determined to get it 100% right, you would have been fine. That was meant to be a learning experience god luck and hope you get 100 channels

 

[DPG]

That's an impressive antenna that. As MW says, let's hope you get all the channels, including the one with your favourite actress on ?

 

[Joev1973]

That's an impressive antenna that. As MW says, let's hope you get all the channels, including the one with your favourite actress on ?

Well a quick update. I climbed up the tower and ran the wire through a pre amp and to the house. I plugged it in to the tv and ran a scan.

Keep in mind the antenna is NOT yet calibrated with a digital compass, its just pointed in a general direction. It needs to be pointed at 55 degrees on the compass. (Nashville) Something I cant do alone standing up on a tower with one hand.

That being said I was able to pull in 38 channels in stunning HD. Channels I didnt know existed. Movie channels, weather & sports channels as well as nbc cbs abc pbs fox etc.

After calibrating to a sharp 55 degrees should pull in more .

On another note my area of tennessee is considered "deep fringe" by the FCC and expected to receive only 4 channels. Which is what I have had before installing this new antenna.

Im already happy and the antenna is not yet aimed precisely.

ON A SAD NOTE

I don't get channel 44. (metv) with eva gabor & green acres which is at 58 degrees just east if Nashville with its transmission tower in Lebanon TN so when I go up the tower to begin calibrating it I will be thinking about eva gabor when I nudge the antenna to the east a few millimeters towards 58 degrees.

Guys i had direct tv for 20 years. Im never paying for tv again. Cut the cord!

 

[David Prosser]

I used google earth to draw a line to get the exact location and compass direction from my home to the local mast. I then used the compass app on the phone to line it up, I wasn't climbing up a mast at the time though. You could put a rod flat on the ground pointing in the correct direction as a guide while up there.

 

[Megawatt]

Well a quick update. I climbed up the tower and ran the wire through a pre amp and to the house. I plugged it in to the tv and ran a scan.

Keep in mind the antenna is NOT yet calibrated with a digital compass, its just pointed in a general direction. It needs to be pointed at 55 degrees on the compass. (Nashville) Something I cant do alone standing up on a tower with one hand.

That being said I was able to pull in 38 channels in stunning HD. Channels I didnt know existed. Movie channels, weather & sports channels as well as nbc cbs abc pbs fox etc.

After calibrating to a sharp 55 degrees should pull in more .

On another note my area of tennessee is considered "deep fringe" by the FCC and expected to receive only 4 channels. Which is what I have had before installing this new antenna.

Im already happy and the antenna is not yet aimed precisely.

ON A SAD NOTE

I don't get channel 44. (metv) with eva gabor & green acres which is at 58 degrees just east if Nashville with its transmission tower in Lebanon TN so when I go up the tower to begin calibrating it I will be thinking about eva gabor when I nudge the antenna to the east a few millimeters towards 58 degrees.

Guys i had direct tv for 20 years. Im never paying for tv again. Cut the cord!

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You done a great job and let’s hope when you get it dialed in maybe you can get metv with green acres. I also like watching these old shows. I know where your coming from with the Appalachian mountains. I live on the east side of them mountains. Good job

 

[DPG]

I will be thinking about eva gabor when I nudge the antenna to the east a few millimeters towards 58 degrees.

And why not eh

 

[Joev1973]

Well I went out and buried the coaxial from the tower to the house im glad thats over. Also grounded thr coaxial to the ground rod like the mast. Took zip ties and went up the tower to secure both coaxial and copper ground to keep it clean looking.

 

[JBW175]

Good effort. I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread, glad you got it sorted. ??

 

[Megawatt]

Well I went out and buried the coaxial from the tower to the house im glad thats over. Also grounded thr coaxial to the ground rod like the mast. Took zip ties and went up the tower to secure both coaxial and copper ground to keep it clean looking.

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Joe have you ever wanted to be an electrician I would hire you just for your work ethics well done my friend
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Well I went out and buried the coaxial from the tower to the house im glad thats over. Also grounded thr coaxial to the ground rod like the mast. Took zip ties and went up the tower to secure both coaxial and copper ground to keep it clean looking.

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Joe you got to be a young buck, I’m tired just looking at all the work you got done in a short period of time. It would have taken me at least a week or two