I've been reading about grounding outdoor TV antennas but these terms seem to be used interchangeably by various articles on the internet.
For example, this article seems to make a distinction between (coaxial?) lightning arrestors and coaxial grounding blocks. It says:
- "Mount the grounding block as close as possible to where the 75 ohm coaxial cable downlead enters the house"
- "The antenna discharge unit (also called a “lightning arrestor”) is connected to the transmission line at a point close to where the transmission line enters the house"
So we should install both the grounding block and lightning arrestor near the place where the coax enters the house....
Ok, but what about this article: "To protect yourself from a direct strike, attach a lightening arrester (sic) to the antenna mast" (huh? I thought it goes near where the coax enters the house).
Lastly, this one says: "The coax cable itself can build up a static electric charge and in order to properly dissipate that charge an antenna discharge unit or grounding block can be used" (so now it seems an antenna discharge unit in fact isn't a lightening suppressor...)
This is all somewhat confusing to an antenna newbie like myself. Does anyone have a cogent explanation of these three items (and perhaps some indication of the ideal places they are installed)?