Attic Antenna Installation Grounding

Advantages of installing an antenna in an attic.

Attic antenna installation grounding.

If a live wire comes in contact with the case the current goes to ground through the grounding prong rather than through the body of a person touching the case. The third prong on a grounded plug is a safety ground. This is where lightening strikes elsewhere and the magnetic field induces current onto the antenna. In the case of an attic installation your tv antenna will be sheltered from the environment so there s no need to ground it for that reason.

If you need to add an fm or bandstop filter to your antenna system grounding the coax shield will make the filter. Although there are several disadvantages of installing a radio antenna in the roof space there are also some advantages. However the connection of your antenna coax to various ac operated equipment in this case your converter box or tv introduces the potential of electric shock. You don t have either of these issues inside a home so there is no need for grounding for indoor or attic antennas and why it s not required.

The effective range of most antennas is lowered by 10 15 miles with an attic installation so you may consider getting a more powerful antenna than you would typically need with an outdoor antenna. You can use the outside of the electrical conduit provided the conduit has a continuous reliable electrical connection to earth ground. Grounding the coax shield will protect you from possible electrical shock. Hdtv antenna attic installation grounding 1.

The coax is connected to ac operated. Since signals will be weakened by just about any roofing material utilizing a higher gain antenna is typically the first step in overcoming signal loss. In this video i will show you diy how to ground a tv antenna for lightning strikes. To correctly ground the antenna you must separately ground the mast and the coax shield.

There are many reasons for wanting to locate an antenna in a roof space or attic and sometimes the convenience and ease of installation make the drop in performance of installing an antenna in the attic. Also depending on the size of coax you re using and the care given to installation ground kits may do more harm than good in your application. It is normally very much easier to install a radio antenna in the attic or roof space than outside. In any case do not ground the electrical parts of the antenna.

An attic antenna is not going to pick up any charge that has to be bled off either. Grounding of mounting hardware is not required indoors. Grounding will eliminate static electricity as well as protect against energy to the mast if the antenna comes in contact with live electrical wires.