Antenna Grounding Advice

I know it has been covered but wanted some calcification. I recently purchased the Flight-aware antenna to replace the stubby stock antenna that originally came with the noolec tuner. I have a ranch style home with hip roof. The antenna is located in the middle on a small attic venting dormer that I have my cables running through. I have found a Dish swiveling post is the best way to mount he antenna and looking at adding a few more projects as well. (PWS and a weather satellite photo decoder in the works)

That being said, what is the best way to ground the antennas? I read a copper wire to the electrical service ground is the best but hat is well over 30 feet away. I’ve read it is best to ground the antenna base and a grounding unit inline with the signal cable as well. And if I ground the antenna base separate from the service ground static can build up and damage components?

This is my first home and wish to keep it safe so any ideas that will work are invited.

That being said, what is the best way to ground the antennas?

Lightning and power surges travels through the shortest path to ground. The rules for grounding is to have the shortest path to ground with as few grounding wire bends as possible. You want the energy to go towards the ground rather than into your home.

There are two common places to ground the antenna. One is near the antenna and the other is near where the coax cable enters the house. Connect a “10AWG ground wire” or larger wire to the point and run it to your house service ground.

I’ve read it is best to ground the antenna base and a grounding unit inline with the signal cable as well. And if I ground the antenna base separate from the service ground static can build up and damage components?

It is best to only have one ground for a house. If one ground point is far away from another you can run a wire between the two ground points and “bond” them together. Ground points are usually copper rods that are driven into the ground. There is usually one located near your electrical service panel and this is called the service ground.

The inline grounding unit is called a “coax surge protector” or a “coax lightning protector”. The cheaper ones have a gas discharge tube that will ground both the inner and outer parts of the cables together when the voltage reaches above a set voltage. Usually 60V to 120V coax surge protectors are good for antennas.
You need one that is the same impedance as your cable and can work at a high frequency 1.090 GHz (ADSB frequency). You should run a ground wire directly from the surge protector to your house ground.

That being said, lightning doesn’t follow a set path and can still go where it isn’t planned to go. If you are really worried about a lightning storm you can disconnect the equipment.

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