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I want to install an OTA external antenna to an existing satellite dish mast, I have removed the dish and plan on just attaching the antenna. The existing dish mast was never grounded, there are also coax grounding blocks on the outside of the house, but they are not grounded either.

The location of the mast is within a valley about mid way up the roof, between the main roof and the garage, its below the ridge of the house. Its not in a very good location to run a ground wire, the wire would have to run across the top of the roof then down to the side of the house grounding stake.

My question I'm wondering is if its ok to ground the external antenna somewhere within the attic? I could run 2 sheathed ground wires, one from the mast grounding block, the other from the coax grounding block into the attic where the coax goes into the house, then into the house ground, either to a cold water line or possibly into an electrical ground (that I'm not sure how to do). Is this an ok solution, or would it be better to run a ground wire across the roof ? I really don't want to re-locate the mast or the antenna. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I'm probably a little less then 20 miles from the towers, so a mohu leaf might be an option. I already have the antenna so was wanting to just try that and see, but if it worked, I wanted to make sure I got it grounded properly.

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  • Isn't coaxial cable 2 wires? What does the coaxial outer mesh wire attach to electrically?
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Jan 17, 2019 at 15:25
  • this doesn't answer your questions, but why not just get something like a mohu leaf and put that up in your attic? That is what I do and i get every station that is available in my area. How far are you from the tower?
    – C Fella
    Jan 17, 2019 at 16:44
  • Do you have an intersystem bonding termination block anywhere? (It's usually by the service equipment or meter base, or barring that, attached to the grounding electrode conductor somewhere)
    – ThreePhaseEel
    Jan 17, 2019 at 23:46

2 Answers 2

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You should run a ground wire from the the mast grounding block, but I would not ground it to anything other than the grounding electrode conductor at the source. If you have a ground rod that is where I would connect it. If there is lightning, your mast could be subject to a strike and I would want it to go directly to ground and not through any other part of my system that could be upstream of some pieces of equipment that may be damaged. Use at least a solid #10 and make sure any radius has a nice long arch.

The metal sheath in a coax is not a ground, it is a shield which drains off misc radio and electronic interference. So it needs to be grounded on one end and left open on the other. So if it has a coax block you can ground it there just make sure you are not grounded at the other end. You also need to make sure the the coax block is grounded to the mast.

Good Luck

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Harper, I'm not sure I understand your question. the 2 wires I mention above are ground wires, one for the antenna mast, the other for the coax grounding block.

Right now the coax is attached to a coax grounding block that's attached to the outside of the house close to the antenna mast, but that grounding block is not grounded, my question is can I ground that to something inside the attic, as well as the antenna mast.

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  • Sorry, I'm new to this site, I'm not sure how to add a comment, this isn't an answer.
    – Ken
    Jan 17, 2019 at 15:45
  • If you're unable to 'Add a comment' under your question you should still be able to 'edit' your question to add more details.
    – brhans
    Jan 17, 2019 at 16:52
  • Hi, Ken. You've created two separate accounts: this one and this one. You should use the SE contact form to request that they be merged.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Jan 17, 2019 at 22:18
  • Submitted request to Community Team to merge accounts for Ken.
    – Michael Karas ♦
    Jan 17, 2019 at 22:30

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