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  • Antenna Earth

    Hi everyone,

    Soon I will be providing ADS-B to FR24. However, I am confused about the antenna installation. The aerial will be connected to a steel mast and I'm reading opposing views about earthing this mast. Some people say earthing allows static electricity from wind and storm activity can safely dissipate to earth. Othes say that earthing provides an invitation to lightning to strike due to the low resistance path to Earth. I don't know who is correct and certainly dson't want a full on lightning strike either.

    Can I have some advice please.

    Thanks,

    847563

  • #2
    Originally posted by 847563 View Post
    Hi everyone,

    Soon I will be providing ADS-B to FR24. However, I am confused about the antenna installation. The aerial will be connected to a steel mast and I'm reading opposing views about earthing this mast. Some people say earthing allows static electricity from wind and storm activity can safely dissipate to earth. Othes say that earthing provides an invitation to lightning to strike due to the low resistance path to Earth. I don't know who is correct and certainly dson't want a full on lightning strike either.

    Can I have some advice please.

    Thanks,

    847563
    Your steel mast should be grounded to earth as well as your feedline to the antenna that goes through a grounding block. All of these should be tied to the same ground/earth ground. Having all of your antennas and external masts 'bonded' together so they are at the same potential to the earth ground is critical in helping survive a lightning strike. The 'if you ground it you will invite a lightning strike' is just a myth. Here are a couple of good references for grounding http://www.nojolt.com/lightning_prot...antennas.shtml and http://www.astronwireless.com/topic-...protection.asp

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    • #3
      Not grounding will not stop lightning. Think about it: Lightning travels thousands of feet through the air. It's going to hit something. If your equipment is not properly grounded, the lightning energy will make a path. It's much safer to provide a path for it to reach the ground, than thinking a few inches of air is going to stop it. Lightning will find a path, if you let it search for one, it may use your coax, radio, YOU, your homes wiring, etc. to get there.

      Not grounding equipment to "avoid attracting lightning" is foolish and dangerously uneducated.

      Not sure where you are located, but checking with whoever is responsible for the local building codes, which should include the codes that apply to electrical, will shed some light on this. Here in the USA, the National Electric Code is very clear on the subject. Masts, antennas and feed lines _MUST_ be grounded.

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      • #4
        Thanks for the replies, my mast is grounded and I have grounding blocks on order, but they have to come from the USA.

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        • #5
          Sorry to sound cranky about it, but there is some misinformation out there and getting this stuff wrong can be quite dangerous.

          It doesn't take much to destroy a radio, it doesn't even need to be a direct strike. Even a nearby lightning strike can induce enough current into metal objects, like an antenna mast, coax or antenna to damage electronic components. It's often fairly easy to prevent this. Even static charges from wind and dust storms can create enough energy on your system to damage things.

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