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Roof Antenna Proper Installation

E

eyg2181

Guest
I am getting this roof antenna. it will be about 20 feet in the air, and will be hooked up to my stereo receiver. how would i go about hooking it up, and what would i do to make it "Lightning Proof".

Thanks,
-Russ
 
Roof antenna's are tough when it comes to lightning protection. With a mast you can ground both mast and the feedline. With a roof mounted antenna you're basically stuck with using either a lightning arrestor or an antenna switch.

The arrestor is tube like thing with a wire going from the feedline down a wire to a ground rod. The idea is the lightning charge will take the more direct path down the ground wire to the rod. Of course if it's a direct hit on your antenna it's not going to make a difference,w/that much voltage it's going to down the wire AND into the house. What they're good for is protecting your receiver from nearby strikes and static build-up on the antenna.

Personally I like a switch. In calm weather I can close it and listen. When I'm away from or it's stormy I switch to the position that leads it directly to a outdoor ground rod and disconnect the feedline going to the receiver. A close hit is going smoke the switch box and your general static build up is fed directly to ground. If it's really bad out I disconnect the feedline from the switch itself and chuck it out the window.

Do your antenna instillation on a calm day. You'd be surprised how much wind load a small FM/TV antenna has. A decent wind and it's like trying to hang on to beach umbrella under the same circumstances. There are a lot of former hams in the graveyard from trying to install small antenna on windy days.

Good luck and I hope my rambling helps.
 
Thank You!, i will have to get a switch of some kind. either that, unhook the antenna from the back of the receiver when im not using it. the wire coming from the antenna is about 4 feet long...im debating on whether to do it right, and buy the proper cabel end, or to rig it up with a piece of speaker wire. im thinking i should get the proper end, that way i can connect another cabel wire in, and run it into the back of the receiver.
 
There's another way to do it, too. Since the antenna itself is electrically isolated from the metal mast on which it's mounted, you can - and should - ground the mast. I have heavy grounding strap going from the mast across the roof and down the side of the house to an 8' copper ground rod. The antennas themselves are mounted below the top of the mast, so at least in theory, the most direct path for a lightning hit will be through the mast to ground.

(I'm also surrounded by trees that are significantly taller than the top of the mast.)

And of course I disconnect all the antennas if there's a storm threatening.
 
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