New Installation Not Grounded

[lmelamed]

I had a system installed in December 2007. The installer said he couldn't run a ground wire more than 18 feet do he didn't ground the dish. He told me it wasn't that big of a deal but it sure sounds like it's a big deal.

Should I make Direct TV send someone back out here to ground the system? I definately don't think I should have to pay for a service call.

Larry

[RobertE]

I had a system installed in December 2007. The installer said he couldn't run a ground wire more than 18 feet do he didn't ground the dish. He told me it wasn't that big of a deal but it sure sounds like it's a big deal.

Should I make Direct TV send someone back out here to ground the system? I definately don't think I should have to pay for a service call.

Larry

Yes it should be grounded. You should also be covered under the installation warrenty, so there should be no charge.

[aim2pls]

it's not really a big deal ... regardless of what D* says or some electrical codes .. but if you feel better about it call them and get it lightning rod installation completed

[raoul5788]

it's not really a big deal ... regardless of what D* says or some electrical codes .. but if you feel better about it call them and get it lightning rod installation completed

Right. National electric codes are just for sissies!:rolleyes:

[lmelamed]

Well all Direct TV has done is transfer me to the installation company in Dallas that installed the dish. Contrary to everything I've been reading, they are arguing with me that the dish DOES NOT need to be grounded, everything I'm reading and hearing is incorrect, and they do installs all the time without grounding the dishes. They are arguing running a round wire longer than 18 feet is totally useless and won't do a thing.

They said they will not come put a grounding rod next to the installation to make it under 18 feet. They told me I'm free to hire an electrician to do it and then they'll ground to it.

I finally got them to agree to come run a ground wire from my dish to the grounding "spot" of my house which is about 25 feet away but they say it's really useless.

[slimline]

Well all Direct TV has done is transfer me to the installation company in Dallas that installed the dish. Contrary to everything I've been reading, they are arguing with me that the dish DOES NOT need to be grounded, everything I'm reading and hearing is incorrect, and they do installs all the time without grounding the dishes. They are arguing running a round wire longer than 18 feet is totally useless and won't do a thing.

They said they will not come put a grounding rod next to the installation to make it under 18 feet. They told me I'm free to hire an electrician to do it and then they'll ground to it.

I finally got them to agree to come run a ground wire from my dish to the grounding "spot" of my house which is about 25 feet away but they say it's really useless.

is it 25 feet ?20 IS THE MAX . EVERY DTV INSTALL MUST BE GROUNDED
PER NEC CODE AND DTV..... <----IF YOUR HOUSE BURNS TO THE GROUND THE INS
COMPANY WILL SEE IF ITS 20FT OR 25 ....

[lmelamed]

is it 25 feet ?20 IS THE MAX . EVERY DTV INSTALL MUST BE GROUNDED
PER NEC CODE AND DTV..... <----IF YOUR HOUSE BURNS TO THE GROUND THE INS
COMPANY WILL SEE IF ITS 20FT OR 25 ....

This is the answer I can't seem to get a confirmed answer on. Some people are telling me 18-20 feet is the max. Electricians are telling me this is false and they can run a gound 150 feet without a problem. Electricians say the longer the ground wire, the thicker it needs to be.

I don't know whether to take the electricans answers or the people saying 18-20 feet are the max.

All I know if I do want it grounded. I know it's less than 18 feet from the dish to the ground if they would just put in a grounding rod which the installer says they don't do. From what I understood, the installer is suppose to have properly installed AND grounded the dish. If that means he needs a grounding rod, then that should be included.

[Annihilator31]

I had a system installed in December 2007. The installer said he couldn't run a ground wire more than 18 feet do he didn't ground the dish. He told me it wasn't that big of a deal but it sure sounds like it's a big deal.

Should I make Direct TV send someone back out here to ground the system? I definately don't think I should have to pay for a service call.

Larry Is it supose to be grounded? Yeah. Does it matter? NO. Despite NEC, grounding your system is more likely to cause problems than solve them and thats just a plain simple fact. Get ready though, this thread could go on and on forever with people arguing this point.

[lmelamed]

How could it hurt to be grounded?

Thanks.

[mjones73]

Per code it appears to be 20 feet from the location of the ground block, anything over that requires a second 8 ft long ground rod that is bonded with 6 gauge wire to the primary ground system. I can't find a maximum length for the run from the dish to the ground block though I think it would have to be more then 20 feet since some antenna installs are higher then that off the ground. From the dish to the ground block you can use 10 gauge copper, 8 gauge aluminum or 17 gauge copper clad steel or bronze.

[HD AV]

Is it supose to be grounded? Yeah. Does it matter? NO. Despite NEC, grounding your system is more likely to cause problems than solve them and thats just a plain simple fact. Get ready though, this thread could go on and on forever with people arguing this point.

Please, do your research. Proper grounding is a necessity for eliminating and/or minimizing many problems associated with modern electronic devices, especially OTA TV and Sat installations. The following is one of the best reasons:


Bleeding off the static charge that can build up is the most important aspect of the ground. If directly struck by lightning, it really makes no difference what type of ground you have, you're screwed. There are 2 main reasons for static bleed:
(1) As has been previously stated; to dissipate the EM charge radiated through the air (just like a radio or TV signal only 100,000 times stronger) from a bolt of lightning (that can even be several miles away) instead of it being gathered by your dish and/or pole and fed directly into your equipment.
I had the P*** shocked out of me from a bolt of lightning at least 5 miles away, while holding onto a 10' mast for an OTA installation, that was inducted by the antenna and mast. I guess I must have been a good ground standing on the roof in my bare feet. Needless to say, I got the H*** off and waited for the storm to pass. A lightning bolt dissipates a tremendous amount of electrical energy into the atmosphere, even when it is a direct ground strike. Any good conductor picks this up through induction. Such are our dishes.
(2) To prevent the build up of a negative charge which continues to build, rising upward to a point where the positive charge in the clouds causes a discharge (lightning bolt) to the negative, and our dish. This, unfortunately, is only possible to minimize, not eliminate, as the negative charge builds up in the earth and may build up either in the area of, or close to, your dish. Nothing can be done about that. Check your installations, if your dish is not grounded, please do so ASAP or sooner or later, you will wish that you had. By the way, lightning does not always hit the highest point, such as a tree, it strikes the largest negative charge, which may build conically to a height, or remain on the ground.

[sailermon]

Per code it appears to be 20 feet from the location of the ground block, anything over that requires a second 8 ft long ground rod that is bonded with 6 gauge wire to the primary ground system. I can't find a maximum length for the run from the dish to the ground block though I think it would have to be more then 20 feet since some antenna installs are higher then that off the ground. From the dish to the ground block you can use 10 gauge copper, 8 gauge aluminum or 17 gauge copper clad steel or bronze.

I believe the grounding block location is supposed to be at the point just before the cables enter your home. There would be no restriction for this length, as related to grounding, only to signal quality. The grounding block is than connected to the grounding rod or a house electrical ground and this distance should be 20 feet or less. If you have all your cables entering at one point, than it is not to difficult to install a grounding block and enclosure just outside of the point of entry than run copper to a grounding rod as close as possible to the grounding block location. If you have two points of entry, as I do, (one for the mid-level and the other for the upper story BR) then this may require two grounding blocks and two rods.

You can't always put the grounding block right at the dish where all the cables are accessible, because this location is many times more than 20 feet from an appropriate grounding rod location.

We should find out what DirecTV policy is. I believe the third part installers are going to make any excuse they can to avoid spending the time to install appropriate grounding, as my installer did. If they are skirting DirecTV policy and/or electrical code, maybe they can be "forced" to comply and install appropriate grounding with each installation. There may be a difference in an"upgrade" and a new installation when it comes to the responsibility for grounding. Code may also require a licensed electrician to install the grounding system.

Just my 2 cents.

[bt-rtp]

The recommendation for the ground block location is as close to the grounding point as possible, those being the ground rod or copper water pipe. This keeps the length of the ground wire to a mimimum. However, there are practical limits to this based upon the dwelling. There are also cases where the ground point is on the other side of the dwelling. In this case, an additional 8' ground rod can be used and connected the the existing ground with a #6 copper wire. See the diagram at the bottom of this web page, substitute a satellite antenna for the OTA antenna.

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/basics.html



I believe the grounding block location is supposed to be at the point just before the cables enter your home. There would be no restriction for this length, as related to grounding, only to signal quality. The grounding block is than connected to the grounding rod or a house electrical ground and this distance should be 20 feet or less. If you have all your cables entering at one point, than it is not to difficult to install a grounding block and enclosure just outside of the point of entry than run copper to a grounding rod as close as possible to the grounding block location. If you have two points of entry, as I do, (one for the mid-level and the other for the upper story BR) then this may require two grounding blocks and two rods.

You can't always put the grounding block right at the dish where all the cables are accessible, because this location is many times more than 20 feet from an appropriate grounding rod location.

We should find out what DirecTV policy is. I believe the third part installers are going to make any excuse they can to avoid spending the time to install appropriate grounding, as my installer did. If they are skirting DirecTV policy and/or electrical code, maybe they can be "forced" to comply and install appropriate grounding with each installation. There may be a difference in an"upgrade" and a new installation when it comes to the responsibility for grounding. Code may also require a licensed electrician to install the grounding system.

Just my 2 cents.

[DX9100]

I would think the biggest issue would be grounding the dish to the same place the electrical panel or meter box outdoor ground rod. When I ask for my installation to be done in the spring the dish would be on the roof and coax cables will run directly into the attic and down the 1-1/2" conduit to the basement that was put in during construction. The ground wire should be run on the exterior of the house and hidden if possible under the siding to the ground rod. We got hit very close by lightning a few months ago not fun!!!

[bt-rtp]

Most likely there is a nice, well grounded copper water pipe in your basement that is the main service pipe. You should use it as the ground and make sure that it is connected to the main electric service panel ground point, which it may be already.

I would think the biggest issue would be grounding the dish to the same place the electrical panel or meter box outdoor ground rod. When I ask for my installation to be done in the spring the dish would be on the roof and coax cables will run directly into the attic and down the 1-1/2" conduit to the basement that was put in during construction. The ground wire should be run on the exterior of the house and hidden if possible under the siding to the ground rod. We got hit very close by lightning a few months ago not fun!!!

[BattleZone]

Two issues here:

1. Many installers and installation companies are cheap and like to do the absolute minimum necessary to get you picture on your TV. That's probably the case here. HOWEVER...

2. Many homes are constructed and landscaped in such a way as to limit where the dish must go to get line-of-site. Cabling issues may also dictate placement of the dish, for several reasons. This can result in the dish being mounted FAR away from the house's electrical panel, below which is almost always the house ground. In many instances, there is no NEC-valid ground source anywhere near the dish or the desired cable path.

No installation company can rightly be expected to pay out-of-pocket to drive an 8' ground rod every 20' all the way around your house and then connect them with 6 gauge copper wire. This is what NEC states is necessary, and in the ideal world, they're right, but if you think any satellite company is going to do all of this as part of a free install, you'd be wrong. Very wrong.

If your dish/cabling is within 25' or so if your electrical panel, there's no excuse for the installer not to have grounded the system. Otherwise, the customer/home owner needs to take some responsibility and provide a valid ground source within 25' of the dish/cabling. I've yet to see that happen in 7 years...

[lmelamed]

If your dish/cabling is within 25' or so if your electrical panel, there's no excuse for the installer not to have grounded the system. Otherwise, the customer/home owner needs to take some responsibility and provide a valid ground source within 25' of the dish/cabling. I've yet to see that happen in 7 years...

This helps alot. The dish is mounted approximately 25 feet from the electrical box. The cables run within 12 feet of the electrical box.

Larry

[aim2pls]

How could it hurt to be grounded?

Thanks.

I have installed (commercially) literally thousands (yah a lot of years doing it) ... I have never had an ungrounded dish have problems as a result of ligthning over the years .... a very small number of dishes have been grounded (per the wire instectors requirement) ... 4 of them had been hit .... one 2 days after the installation ...... read that for what its worth ... oh btw, there was another dish on the roof (ungrounded) that i had installed a few years prior .. it's still working fine

[Annihilator31]

I have installed (commercially) literally thousands (yah a lot of years doing it) ... I have never had an ungrounded dish have problems as a result of ligthning over the years .... a very small number of dishes have been grounded (per the wire instectors requirement) ... 4 of them had been hit .... one 2 days after the installation ...... read that for what its worth ... oh btw, there was another dish on the roof (ungrounded) that i had installed a few years prior .. it's still working fine I have seen this exact same issue many times myself, and thats why I said what I said earlier. If your not a tech, then you haben't seen what we have seen in the real world. It's not that we are lazy, we are just practical and live in a real world. There are many other reason grounding wasn't done. Distances/lengths of cable, age of house and available ground, etc. In snowy and heavy rainy territory, the most common service call problem is to replace outdoor fittings and the ground block. Now if you put the block in the basement, then you don't have this problem. Now, this is not what they want us to do, but it's better for the customer and more practical, thats why I do it.

[Annihilator31]

Two issues here:

1. Many installers and installation companies are cheap and like to do the absolute minimum necessary to get you picture on your TV. That's probably the case here. HOWEVER...

2. Many homes are constructed and landscaped in such a way as to limit where the dish must go to get line-of-site. Cabling issues may also dictate placement of the dish, for several reasons. This can result in the dish being mounted FAR away from the house's electrical panel, below which is almost always the house ground. In many instances, there is no NEC-valid ground source anywhere near the dish or the desired cable path.

No installation company can rightly be expected to pay out-of-pocket to drive an 8' ground rod every 20' all the way around your house and then connect them with 6 gauge copper wire. This is what NEC states is necessary, and in the ideal world, they're right, but if you think any satellite company is going to do all of this as part of a free install, you'd be wrong. Very wrong.

If your dish/cabling is within 25' or so if your electrical panel, there's no excuse for the installer not to have grounded the system. Otherwise, the customer/home owner needs to take some responsibility and provide a valid ground source within 25' of the dish/cabling. I've yet to see that happen in 7 years... Exactly. Well said!

[slimline]

Lets Get A Real Look At What Is Ok And What Is Not ...


1 .your Dish Is 20feet Or Less To The Ground From The Pole. Run The Ground Wire From The Pole To The Service Ground, Dont Just Wrap The Wire Around The Clamp On The Dish You Need To Drill Into The Pole For It To Be Proper..... And To Nec And Dtv Code .

2 . Your Dish Is Over 20 Feet From The Pole Mount To Your Service Ground At The Pole A 6 Foot Copper Clad Grounding Rod Must Be Drove Into The Ground And Attached To The Pole And Than Ran To The Service Ground .... Bonding It All This Is Also A Custom Charge, Not Coverd In The Basic Installation Guidelines

This Will Cover Local Code , Nec, Code And Dtv Code .

DOES IT WORK WELL A FEW POST AGO STATED IT DOES NOT WORK,

AND I GUESS YOU CANT BEAT SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE AS MANY INSTALLS AS HE HAS ..... HOWEVER IT IS TO CODE

SOME TIMES IT IS NOT PRACTICAL TO GROUND THE ODU AND SOMETIMES IT IS IMPOSSIBLE..........

[randyk47]

Well, my Slimline is grounded to one of my outdoor faucet lines (copper) and it's about 30 feet below the dish. There's nothing else around or closely available. The house's main service is clear on the other side of the house. I'd venture it would take 75' to 100' of wire even if you could figure out a way to attach it to the house to run it that far. Putting the dish just above the service, assuming you could get LOS which was rated marginal by DirecTV installer, would still be 30'+ as the house is fully 3 stories at that side. Drive another grounding rod? Not on my property, I live on virtually solid limestone. Planting annuals is a problem so driving some 8' grounding rod isn't happening any time soon. It's not that I don't want to do the correct and right thing, it's finding a way to do it. It probably would be easier and cheaper (and maybe more "legal" in the sense of code) to go with cable but I'm not ready to do that.

[gfrang]

A lot of old time antenna installers don't believe in grounding. I my self never
grounded an antenna that i owned. My slimline is on a pole mount in the ground so i consider
it grounded.But i am aways tempted on grounding the antenna so i really don't know.

[jclarke9999]

OK, slightly off topic, but I have a question on the grounding topic. When my disch was fisrt installed in the 90s, it was properly grounded to my house ground using a grounding block. When I had my slimline installed, the installer ran the 2 additional lines into the house directly while leaving the original 2 lines and grounding block in place. I'm still ok, right?

[slimline]

OK, slightly off topic, but I have a question on the grounding topic. When my disch was fisrt installed in the 90s, it was properly grounded to my house ground using a grounding block. When I had my slimline installed, the installer ran the 2 additional lines into the house directly while leaving the original 2 lines and grounding block in place. I'm still ok, right?


HE SHOULD HAVE RAN THE 2 WIRES TO THE GROUND BLOCK. AND THAN OUT OF THE GROUND BLOCK INTO THE HOUSE, WERE TALKING ABOUT GROUNDING AN ODU ... THE RG6 SHOULD ALWAYS BE GROUNDED.. IM SURE EVERYONE HERE AGREEES WITH THAT...

[jefbal99]

Glad I caught this thread...

Because of where I wanted to mount my grounding block, my installer just left it with me and I completely forgot to put it up. I picked up another block for my Antenna and mounted/grounded both to a copper waterline this evening.

The old phone line in the house was grounded there, but that was removed awhile back. So there was a mounting point on the pipe already.

[dms1]

it's not really a big deal ... regardless of what D* says or some electrical codes .. but if you feel better about it call them and get it lightning rod installation completed
Of course it's no big deal. I'm sure if your dish was struck by lightning then you'd much rather the current flow through the flimsy shield of the coax inside your house, potentially setting fire to it or worse, rather than flow down a nice meaty outside conductor to ground. ;)

[jclarke9999]

HE SHOULD HAVE RAN THE 2 WIRES TO THE GROUND BLOCK. AND THAN OUT OF THE GROUND BLOCK INTO THE HOUSE, WERE TALKING ABOUT GROUNDING AN ODU ... THE RG6 SHOULD ALWAYS BE GROUNDED.. IM SURE EVERYONE HERE AGREEES WITH THAT...

So I need to replace my 2 port grounding block with a 4 port and I'm good to go?

[finaldiet]

Just checked mine. My dish is located on post in yard about 20 ft. from house. I have block on house which is grounded, I think because ground wire runs through brick into house. The block on pole is wire tied to post only. The block has grounding connections but no ground wire. Should I screw block onto post and will post act as ground ,or run ground wire from bolt on dish to ground block on post?

[sailermon]

HE SHOULD HAVE RAN THE 2 WIRES TO THE GROUND BLOCK. AND THAN OUT OF THE GROUND BLOCK INTO THE HOUSE, WERE TALKING ABOUT GROUNDING AN ODU ... THE RG6 SHOULD ALWAYS BE GROUNDED.. IM SURE EVERYONE HERE AGREEES WITH THAT...

Slimline... Please, no need to shout!

[byrnecw]

My D* system was installed almost two years ago (March 2006). Within the past 3 months I have had 2 H20's fail, and in troubleshooting also found that 2 of the 4 feeds coming from the dish have no signal. I had 3 working H20's to begin with, was down to 1, and finally got D* to ship me a replacement H20 for free (sans $20 shipping fee), so I am back up to 2.

Well, I finally checked the dish installation and sure enough...no ground. No ground wire form the dish, and no grounding block for the RG-6 feeds coming in.

Could the lack of a ground have have failed the dish's multiswitch and damaged my H20's? D* will gladly send somebody out to look at it for a mere $80. Their faulty installation may be causing me to replace my multiswitch and my other H20. Any advice?

My contract is up in a couple months...seriously considering a switch to DISH.

[finaldiet]

My D* system was installed almost two years ago (March 2006). Within the past 3 months I have had 2 H20's fail, and in troubleshooting also found that 2 of the 4 feeds coming from the dish have no signal. I had 3 working H20's to begin with, was down to 1, and finally got D* to ship me a replacement H20 for free (sans $20 shipping fee), so I am back up to 2.

Well, I finally checked the dish installation and sure enough...no ground. No ground wire form the dish, and no grounding block for the RG-6 feeds coming in.

Could the lack of a ground have have failed the dish's multiswitch and damaged my H20's? D* will gladly send somebody out to look at it for a mere $80. Their faulty installation may be causing me to replace my multiswitch and my other H20. Any advice?

My contract is up in a couple months...seriously considering a switch to DISH.

Get the repair service contract for $4.99 a month and call them after 30 days. Best to have it for problems that might arise.

[lmelamed]

Well I finally got them to come back out and "ground" the dish but I'm not sure this is correct.

The ground wire is not connected to the dish at all. They connected to a metal bracket that is holding the coax coming from the dish to this metal connector under the eave. At this metal connector, they have the coax connected to the coax running into the house.

They connected the ground wire to the metal connector connecting one coax to another. The other end is just clamped to my electric meter box on the side of the house.

There is no ground wire running to the dish itself on the roof like in the diagram at http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=941620#post941620

Is this sufficient?

Thanks,
Larry

[BattleZone]

Well I finally got them to come back out and "ground" the dish but I'm not sure this is correct.

The ground wire is not connected to the dish at all. They connected to a metal bracket that is holding the coax coming from the dish to this metal connector under the eave. At this metal connector, they have the coax connected to the coax running into the house.

They connected the ground wire to the metal connector connecting one coax to another. The other end is just clamped to my electric meter box on the side of the house.

There is no ground wire running to the dish itself on the roof like in the diagram at http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=941620#post941620

Is this sufficient?

Thanks,
Larry

In the diagram, the yellow thing is a ground block. There should be either a 17ga ground wire (bonded to one of the coax lines coming from the dish to the ground block; most installers carry dual coax with attached ground for this purpose) that is connected to the dish mast and to the gound block, or if not bonded, then solid 10ga copper wire from the dish foot to the ground block. Between the ground block and (in your case) the ground clamp on the meter, there should be 10ga solid copper wire in all cases.

[lmelamed]

There's no ground wire running from the dish to the ground block, just coax.

The ground wire runs from this ground block where the coax cables are secured to the eve to a clap on the electic meter casing. Is this electic meter box grounded?

[BattleZone]

The ground wire runs from this ground block where the coax cables are secured to the eve to a clap on the electic meter casing. Is this electic meter box grounded?

It's required to be by NEC code, and this would have been inspected when the house was built and/or first hooked to power. It's always possible that someone disconnected it, but that's rare and unlikely. A meter clip is a valid ground option.

[byrnecw]

Get the repair service contract for $4.99 a month and call them after 30 days. Best to have it for problems that might arise.

Actually...I found a better solution. Working on the advice of a sympathetic D* tech support rep, I called back to D* to schedule a disconnect. That got me to the Customer Retention department, and they bent over backwards for me. I got a service call free of charge, they waived the shipping charge to replace my failed H20, and offered me an HD DVR at no cost (if I sign up for another 2-year contract, which I am not ready to do yet).

I ended up getting a new dish (replaced my failed AT9 with a new AU9 Slimline), and properly grounded everything. So far so good!

[K4SMX]

I would have taken that free HD-DVR deal in a heart beat. Since everything is in good working order now, are you going anywhere else in the next two years? Nice to read a CSR retention story with a favorable deal offered and outcome for a change with all the gripes and complaints lately....

[joe diamond]

I am now done with the second of two installation companies that subcontracted from HSPs. In both cases they attempted to pay hourly wages to do the work per specification. Both ran out of money because, regardless of how long the installation takes or the amount of materials, DTV pays a fixed amount per installation. The list of items to be accomplished on each installation has increased as the money offered has dropped. The number of entities between DTV anf the guy with th tools has increased.

Eight foot copper ground rods every twenty feet.....connected by #6 wire............yeah, right!

Joe

[jacmyoung]

I have installed (commercially) literally thousands (yah a lot of years doing it) ... I have never had an ungrounded dish have problems as a result of ligthning over the years .... a very small number of dishes have been grounded (per the wire instectors requirement) ... 4 of them had been hit .... one 2 days after the installation ...... read that for what its worth ... oh btw, there was another dish on the roof (ungrounded) that i had installed a few years prior .. it's still working fine

There is a simple explanation to it. When the dish (a good size metal object on the top of the roof) is grounded, it creats an easy pass for lighting to touch ground, basically attracts lighting hit. So if the dish is not grounded it actaully reduces the chance of a direct hit.

But another reason for grounding is static discharge from a lighting hit nearby, which is far more often than a direct hit. But in such cases the solution is to ground the cables properly before they enter the structure, still the dish does not have to be grounded. Since you are grounding the cables only, it is more flaxible as far as reaching the house ground. The cables can run up to 200 feet I believe to the other side of the house before entering.

Just think about all the metal vent pipes and fixtures on your roof, none of them are grounded, are you losing sleep at night?

[aim2pls]

There is a simple explanation to it. When the dish (a good size metal object on the top of the roof) is grounded, it creats an easy pass for lighting to touch ground, basically attracts lighting hit. So if the dish is not grounded it actaully reduces the chance of a direct hit.

But another reason for grounding is static discharge from a lighting hit nearby, which is far more often than a direct hit. But in such cases the solution is to ground the cables properly before they enter the structure, still the dish does not have to be grounded. Since you are grounding the cables only, it is more flaxible as far as reaching the house ground. The cables can run up to 200 feet I believe to the other side of the house before entering.

Just think about all the metal vent pipes and fixtures on your roof, none of them are grounded, are you losing sleep at night?

ahhhh some one is finally understanding ...... btw ..... if you put a service loop near the dish ..... (12 in diameter is a good base) .... that will help protect the dish and coax ... ligthning (and its static) are too fast to make the turns .. lightning likes a straight line

[yyyiiikes]

ahhhh some one is finally understanding ...... btw ..... if you put a service loop near the dish ..... (12 in diameter is a good base) .... that will help protect the dish and coax ... ligthning (and its static) are too fast to make the turns .. lightning likes a straight line

I don't understand, can you describe again? What do you mean by the service loop and what happens when it doesn't follow the turn?

[jacmyoung]

I don't understand, can you describe again? What do you mean by the service loop and what happens when it doesn't follow the turn?

If you look at all the professionally installed dishes, you can see they always make a cable loop right at the dish before running the cables down. I guess if the lighting does not like that loop, it will find one without a loop to hit? Like if you make it hard for a thief, he/she will skip your house and hit the next easy target:)

[whynot83706]

I have a question about grounding the Dish....I live in apartment and I know my dish is not grounded....is that bad....and is DirecTV requiring dishes to be grounded?

[joe diamond]

I have a question about grounding the Dish....I live in apartment and I know my dish is not grounded....is that bad....and is DirecTV requiring dishes to be grounded?

You are ok as long as you keep paying the bill. If you want to be safe get a ground adapter and use the screw provided to the center screw of the wall plug you use.

DTV does not cancel installations to apartments even though it is damn near imposible to ground dishes per spec.

Joe

[dkouz]

If you look at all the professionally installed dishes, you can see they always make a cable loop right at the dish before running the cables down. I guess if the lighting does not like that loop, it will find one without a loop to hit? Like if you make it hard for a thief, he/she will skip your house and hit the next easy target:)

What? I pity those who take everything said here seriously.

[John Scaro]

So, if I run an 8' grounding rod for my dish on one side of my house and my main electrical ground is on the other, I'll need to connect the two grounds? What the benefits to this?