Grounding questions

[detroit_fan]

And that cable guy doesn't care and he had NO ideal what he's doing when it comes to grounding. The minimum most likely should have been an 8 footer rod and the only way to know for should would be to measure it. AS far as the cable in the basement that's what I do as the my tower is on the oppose side of the house and I tie into my panel box ground along with all my cables grounds and equipment. I'm guessing that all it's going to take is a lighting ground strike somewhere near you to cause damage .

While i respect your opinion and appreciate your advice i hardly think it is very likely to damage my stuff in immediately, considering the previous homeowner used the antenna for years as it is now and had no problems at all. i understand there is potential for it. all the guys i talked to who do OTA installs said the rod does not need to be bonded, just 8 feet onto the ground. all the electricians i asked said it did need to be bonded. i guess i have to decide who's opinion to take.

 

[detroit_fan]

Ok guys, maybe I found a way to not have to deal with it. I am only interested in picking up Toledo stations, so maybe I can just use an indoor antenna? That would save me a lot of work, time, and money. Then I wouldn't have to install a ground rod and wires, run coax, or buy all the supplies or deal with bonding.

I am not completely sure how to read the tv fool results, but it looks like it may work. It looks like all of the Toledo stations are within 19 miles from my location. Here is my tv fool report-

TV Fool

If that will work, do you guys have a recommendation for an indoor antenna?

 

[Mr Tony]

an indoor antenna should work. All of the stations are line of site (that is how the signal gets from the tower to you...doesnt bounce off anything)
I would just try an amplified antenna. The good thing is if it doesnt work you can always return it

 

[detroit_fan]

well i went to my local meijer and bought 5 rca indoor antennas. everything from non-amplified rabbit ears to a multi-directional amplified flat antenna. results were poor at best. none of them picked up channel 11.2 which is the one i want most. looks like i am going to have to use the outdoor one

 

[Mr Tony]

Since 11 is back using their analog spot (11) instead of going UHF (like most stations did) the indoor antennas arent the best for that

 

[Mr Tony]

I know in your other thread you were talking about what antenna to get and how to get it on the tower and such

If all you want is Toledo why not get a simple outdoor antenna like a Antennacraft HBU22 or HBU33 and a tripod/mast instead of climbing the tower? (both are at Radio Shack or make the hour drive to solid signal in Novi)
Or you can even bracket it to the house or even on the dish? You could even use an old dish mounting mast if you want. Your only 15 miles or so form the Toledo stations so you dont need a huge antenna

Once you get an antenna outdoors that helps with reception greatly. For distant signals you want to go higher or larger

 

[detroit_fan]

Since 11 is back using their analog spot (11) instead of going UHF (like most stations did) the indoor antennas arent the best for that

that figures. if i could have got 11 i could have just been done with this. oh well

 

[detroit_fan]

I know in your other thread you were talking about what antenna to get and how to get it on the tower and such

If all you want is Toledo why not get a simple outdoor antenna like a Antennacraft HBU22 or HBU33 and a tripod/mast instead of climbing the tower? (both are at Radio Shack or make the hour drive to solid signal in Novi)
Or you can even bracket it to the house or even on the dish? You could even use an old dish mounting mast if you want. Your only 15 miles or so form the Toledo stations so you dont need a huge antenna

Once you get an antenna outdoors that helps with reception greatly. For distant signals you want to go higher or larger

Yeah i could do that. not sure which way to go on this set up yet. thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Mr Tony]

that figures. if i could have got 11 i could have just been done with this. oh well

looks like they are only at 16000 watts so the signal doesnt travel as far. That was the issue with the conversion. The FCC **thought** you could get the same coverage with VHF Hi (7-13) on digital running 15-20000 watts as you did on 316000 watts on analog. They were sooooo wrong

conversely the 2 VHF Hi stations here in Minneapolis are running at 30,000 watts (Fox9) and 46000 watts (NBC11). But in your case I assume the close proximity Detroit and Toledo are might be way too.

 

[Mr Tony]

Yeah i could do that. not sure which way to go on this set up yet. thanks for the suggestion.

yeah I'm just giving some options that might be cheaper and do what you want to accomplish (get Toledo locals)

 

[detroit_fan]

yeah I'm just giving some options that might be cheaper and do what you want to accomplish (get Toledo locals)

Yeah i appreciate all the help. do you know if they make something to attach to my existing tower, like a stand off or something, so i could mount a new antenna lower on side the tower?

 

[Mr Tony]

I honestly dont know

My buddy had a rental place with a 70 foot tall tower and the cables were cut and the antenna didnt work (I was able to get high enough to tap into that cable)

We just used an old dish mounting mast and bolted it to the side of the tower up as high as we could and put a simple antenna on it. Worked for the few stations that were around there. The only thing with it was we couldnt use a VHF/UHF antenna due to the VHF elements hitting the tower (but the stations were all UHF so moot point)

 

[detroit_fan]

found one

Ronard RON 442 Tower Side Mount (RON442) from Solid Signal

 

[detroit_fan]

Bonding question

ok, i have a question about the bonding. If i run a #6 copper wire from my main panel ground to the new ground rod, do i need a bushing or something where that #6 wire will go through my outer wall since i have aluminum siding?

also, if i'm bonding the rod to my main panel, can i go with a 4 foot rod instead of an 8 foot?

 

[sergei]

found one

Ronard RON 442 Tower Side Mount (RON442) from Solid Signal

Here's a Rohn model on Ebay that cost a few dollars more but I think would give you a solid mounting system as compared to the other one.

Genuine ROHN UHF25G Side Arm Mount for UHF & FM Antennas - NEW! | eBay

 

[detroit_fan]

thank you sergei. can i ask you opinion about the bonding wire routing? is it safe to go through my aluminum siding? do i need a bushing of some sort?

 

[sergei]

ok, i have a question about the bonding. If i run a #6 copper wire from my main panel ground to the new ground rod, do i need a bushing or something where that #6 wire will go through my outer wall since i have aluminum siding?

also, if i'm bonding the rod to my main panel, can i go with a 4 foot rod instead of an 8 foot?

I would only go with an 8 footer as I'd think you'd have a better chance of getting into the 25 ohms range with it. There different thoughts on how to ground and bond a tower and if I were you I'd search Google with "grounding and bonding tower" and read the different postings. My system I used the same type plastic boxes that telephone or cable companies use to run their line into a house and I got mind from Ebay.

 

[sergei]

thank you sergei. can i ask you opinion about the bonding wire routing? is it safe to go through my aluminum siding? do i need a bushing of some sort?

Aluminum is a good conductor so I'm not sure about that, but if you had a direct hit on the tower no amount of grounding is going to totally protect electronics from it because of the overall cost factor, but a direct megawatt strike is a fairly rare occurrence. In your case I'd go to Home depot and get an 8 foot rod and install it next to the tower and if you can run a ground wire from it to the rod on the other side of the house. Just make sure you use the cable grounding blocks also.

I have my wire in the basement , BUT it might not be right in your case.

 

[detroit_fan]

Aluminum is a good conductor so I'm not sure about that, but if you had a direct hit on the tower no amount of grounding is going to totally protect electronics from it because of the overall cost factor, but a direct megawatt strike is a fairly rare occurrence. In your case I'd go to Home depot and get an 8 foot rod and install it next to the tower and if you can run a ground wire from it to the rod on the other side of the house. Just make sure you use the cable grounding blocks also.

I have my wire in the basement , BUT it might not be right in your case.

So i just pulled the cover off of my main breaker box. It is 100amp service, installed when the house was built in late 1970's. The overhead power wire from the power company comes down the side of my house, through the meter, then into my box. when trying to find the wire that connects my breaker box ground bar to the grounding rod i found none. what i did find was a solid copper wire (about the diameter of a pencil) that runs from my main panel ground bar, across the basement to where my copper water pipe enters the basement wall.

so in my case, is it safe to say i have no existing ground rod? did they use the water pipe instead of a ground rod?

 

[sergei]

As long as you tie it back to the same bar in your panel and depending on when your house was build it's completely correct as long as they are within 5 ft of the point on entry of the pipe. The following site might also help you.

Grounding Satellite Dish and Lead-In Cables