Dish 1000 install ?

[chadzx11]

Look in the owners manual. It specifies grounding.

Also, I can't speak for other QC techs, but I personally do not check in with retailers and installers before I go view a site. Hell, I even QC'd a retailer's store over in Alabama. I did NOT call and let them know I was coming.

 

[ZandarKoad]

This question is killing me. It doesn't seem there is a correct answer.

I think your starting to understand the situation. Do a thread search on these same forums for this same topic. You'll find a dozen threads with the exact same content and the exact same conclusion: inconclusive. They make for a good read though, and I don't doubt that you'd learn something by reading them.

 

[ThomasRz]

1. The purpose of grounding is to protect people not equipment. Protection of equipment is incidental. If you have an incident and fry your receiver but nobody gets hurt it's a good day.

2. Grounding a satellite dish is always preferred. It does NOT increase the risk of a lightning strike unless you mount your dish on a 50 foot pole.

3. Grounding bleeds static build-up which otherwise mayincrease the attractiveness of the dish to lightning.

4. While grounding a dish may also protect in the case of a nearby strike or other electrical incident it will NOT, repeat NOT, do squat in case of a direct lightning strike.

5. Grounding does not protect in every event but neither does it prevent tooth decay. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

6. There is more than one type of "grounding," which is beyond the scope of this thread.

7. Some people (e.g. apartment dwellers) may find it difficult or impossible to properly ground. In such cases, alternative measures such has having the dish under cover may help but you pays your money and you takes your chances.

8. There is no excuse for a homeowner not grounding. If you can't afford to pay for proper grounding, you can't afford to have satellite TV.

 

[tsduke]

I'm probably just going to do the grounding myself. The crappy part in I'll have to redo one half of the run because it'e homerunned from dish to receivers with no slack left for splice and drip loops.

Is is the coax ground or mast ground that aids in static discharge?

It's also not a matter of not affording to do it, I just didn't want to pay for something I feel should have been included in the install if it was required.

 

[havana]

If you are properly grounded, your chances of having a psychotic episode are minimized.

 

[ZandarKoad]

If you are properly grounded, your chances of having a psychotic episode are minimized.

ROTFL

 

[rcdallas]

Grounding is a personal opinion, I think.

My personal dish isn't grounded, unless you count the fact it's actually sitting on the ground.

One thing that someone forget to mention , may not do anything for lightning strikes, but it might help out with static electricity. Wind creates static.

On a side note:

My house down in Texas got struck twice in one night a few years ago. My neighbor witnessed it as he was out in the back alley.

I had a 2m/440 vertical up about 30' on top of the roof, I didn't have it grounded, and she got struck twice in one night.

My dish was located about 2' from the base of the tripod, it fried out my D* Tivo, 1 computer, phone lines, my router, 3 APC UPS backups, and few other things. Yet my actual radio itself still worked.

When I rebuilt my ham shack and stuck about 5 more antennas up top, I grounded the snot out of it with #2 AWG Copper, along with 4 more ground rods. I bonded every single device in the shack to every antenna, computer, you name it I grounded the hell out of it. Custom made copper grounding bar, the room looked like the inside of a breaker panel.

Either way I think it was probably a waste of money, that was more hobby then anything.

Bottomline:

If your going to hit, it's going to take out something. Lightning takes the shortest path to ground.

 

[dishcomm]

Is there any documentation about a ground with this setup? I called the local retailer and talked to a salesman that went and checked and was told that the ground is not needed.

WRONG!!!!! The sales guy lied....The local reatiler should be put on reoprt to Dish. An FSM can then gather p[ast w/o's from that retailer and run qc's on those inspections. Then the retailer can be held responsible to ground all the work not currently to spec....This actually happened to a local retailer I am somewhat familiar with...Anyway, grounding IS required by Dish

 

[dishcomm]

Grounding is a personal opinion, I think.

My personal dish isn't grounded, unless you count the fact it's actually sitting on the ground.

One thing that someone forget to mention , may not do anything for lightning strikes, but it might help out with static electricity. Wind creates static.

On a side note:

My house down in Texas got struck twice in one night a few years ago. My neighbor witnessed it as he was out in the back alley.

I had a 2m/440 vertical up about 30' on top of the roof, I didn't have it grounded, and she got struck twice in one night.

My dish was located about 2' from the base of the tripod, it fried out my D* Tivo, 1 computer, phone lines, my router, 3 APC UPS backups, and few other things. Yet my actual radio itself still worked.

When I rebuilt my ham shack and stuck about 5 more antennas up top, I grounded the snot out of it with #2 AWG Copper, along with 4 more ground rods. I bonded every single device in the shack to every antenna, computer, you name it I grounded the hell out of it. Custom made copper grounding bar, the room looked like the inside of a breaker panel.

Either way I think it was probably a waste of money, that was more hobby then anything.

Bottomline:

If your going to hit, it's going to take out something. Lightning takes the shortest path to ground.

As you see below.I ground the systems because it's mandated by E*...I have spoken to people in this business that have never grounded a satellite system..in fact one retailer in the Raleigh,NC area stated he always had problems with sat systems that he grounded. So he stopped grounding them.
The other reason I ground the systems is to shield myself from those who will avail themselves of the civil courts at the drop of a hat.

 

[ZandarKoad]

WRONG!!!!! The sales guy lied....The local reatiler should be put on reoprt to Dish. An FSM can then gather p[ast w/o's from that retailer and run qc's on those inspections. Then the retailer can be held responsible to ground all the work not currently to spec....This actually happened to a local retailer I am somewhat familiar with...Anyway, grounding IS required by Dish

Are you referring to DNSC jobs or local retailer jobs? There is a world of difference. As far as I know, local retailer jobs have never been and never will be QC'ed by Dish. Keep in mind I never do local retailer jobs, only DNSC fufillment.

 

[tsduke]

I hope no questions are too stupid in here...

I have 2 ground blocks. One for my OTA antenna and one for the 2 leads coming from dish. I have a short #10 wire going from the OTA ground block to the dish ground block. From there is a 6-8 foot run to the building ground.

Is this ok for these 2 ground blocks to be tied together or should they be seperate runs to the building ground?

 

[dishcomm]

Are you referring to DNSC jobs or local retailer jobs? There is a world of difference. As far as I know, local retailer jobs have never been and never will be QC'ed by Dish. Keep in mind I never do local retailer jobs, only DNSC fufillment.

Yep Retailers too...The retailer I work for now and the previous retailer both had QC's done by the local DNS office..I know this because I got tipped off about it by the QAS trainer who is a very good friend of mine...He told me directly that his FSM's would be doing QC's on random retailer installs..The retailer I am with now which is also a DNS sub was Qc'd as well..We are told by the GM in the local office that All retailers are ramdomly checked....We were also told that in general, apartment installs are not QC'd....How often it occurs is a mystery.

 

[ZandarKoad]

Yep Retailers too...The retailer I work for now and the previous retailer both had QC's done by the local DNS office..I know this because I got tipped off about it by the QAS trainer who is a very good friend of mine...He told me directly that his FSM's would be doing QC's on random retailer installs..The retailer I am with now which is also a DNS sub was Qc'd as well..We are told by the GM in the local office that All retailers are ramdomly checked....We were also told that in general, apartment installs are not QC'd....How often it occurs is a mystery.

Interesting... Well, no matter. To me at least.

 

[dishcomm]

Interesting... Well, no matter. To me at least.

i don't worry about it either..I do my jobs by the book.,.The last thing I want to do is correct something on my dime...I just get it done right the first time..I never want to see that job again....

 

[tsduke]

I hope no questions are too stupid in here...

I have 2 ground blocks. One for my OTA antenna and one for the 2 leads coming from dish. I have a short #10 wire going from the OTA ground block to the dish ground block. From there is a 6-8 foot run to the building ground.

Is this ok for these 2 ground blocks to be tied together or should they be seperate runs to the building ground?

Any answer to my question?

 

[ZandarKoad]

Any answer to my question?

It's fine. You can tie them together.

 

[tsduke]

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[gireesh]

The installers I have met have different opinions. One in FL didn't think grounding was a good idea, had to come back and do it when the city cited me for improper installation... When I lived in PA the installer did not ground the dish. Now in TX, one SuperDish is on a pole grounded, another 33" dish on a pole that I installed is not grounded... it is on galvanized iron mast sunk 18"... I don't know... isn't that enough grounding?

 

[ZandarKoad]

The installers I have met have different opinions. One in FL didn't think grounding was a good idea, had to come back and do it when the city cited me for improper installation... When I lived in PA the installer did not ground the dish. Now in TX, one SuperDish is on a pole grounded, another 33" dish on a pole that I installed is not grounded... it is on galvanized iron mast sunk 18"... I don't know... isn't that enough grounding?

Woah woah woah, stop right there. You aren't allowed to use common sense! I don't care how deep you bury that pole. It won't protect you from lightning unless a certified federal city inspector puts the president's grand seal of approval on it.

 

[SmityWhity]

Now in TX, one SuperDish is on a pole grounded, another 33" dish on a pole that I installed is not grounded... it is on galvanized iron mast sunk 18"... I don't know... isn't that enough grounding?

I'm sure it's grounded well, but all of your grounds need to be grounded together - and not by mud, water, swamp, etc..., to prevent ground looping and/or current building up back through the proper grounds.

It won't protect you from lightning unless a certified federal city inspector puts the president's grand seal of approval on it.

Now for the humor...
Do you think the Almighty would send a lightening bolt elsewhere, if he had a counterfeit presidential seal on it?