[grooves12]

Is there any solution for grounding a satellite dish that is installed on a 5th floor balcony?? Do these types of installations normally just go without any grounding?

 

[Mertzen]

Most of the times yes they do. Do you have a cold water pipe on the balcony ?

 

[thespaceghost]

Most of the times yes they do. Do you have a cold water pipe on the balcony ?

Cold water pipe on the balcony??

Usually in multistory buildings like yours the railing (if metal) is bonded to the frame of the building, thus making it a ground source.

 

[grooves12]

No cold water pipe... and building is concrete and stucco, so no metal railing.

The only things on the balcony are an electrical outlet, a light overhead, a fire sprinkler, and a drain in the center of the concrete floor.

My thinking is the only real possibility was if there was some SAFE way of grounding through the houses electrical system.

 

[Mertzen]

Is only the sprinkler visible or also the pipe leading to it? That pipe is a NEC approved ground source.

 

[babzog]

The electrical plug should also have a ground wire in there (esp being outdoors). You could ground the dish to the box.

NB: I don't know if that would meet code or not... so take that with a grain of salt and let others more knowledgeable than I confirm this.

 

[joe diamond]

Don't ask...don't tell.

DISH won't do apartments.

Installing a ground adapter plug and attaching the center screw to a wall outlet
grounds the receivers.........they are connected to to the ungrounded dish through the coax.

Disconnect your phone from the receiver.

Joe

 

[Johnnie5000]

Assuming the electrical outlet is grounded properly, you can take it apart and attach directly to its ground lug inside the gang box. Flip the circuit breaker off first.

 

[joe diamond]

Assuming the electrical outlet is grounded properly, you can take it apart and attach directly to its ground lug inside the gang box. Flip the circuit breaker off first.

Jonnie,

You are correct, but most local codes will not allow a lightning receptor (dish) to be added to a residential system. Under the proper but rare conditions you got lightning running through the building. It would probably burn open first but who knows.

As an installer you do not open any closed enclosures. Phone NIDS, Breaker boxes, CATV drop boxes.....you ain't certified to do dat! But screw the CATV boxes. They ain't certified either. Keep their boxes for yer lunch.

Joe

Joe

 

[Johnnie5000]

Jonnie,

You are correct, but most local codes will not allow a lightning receptor (dish) to be added to a residential system. Under the proper but rare conditions you got lightning running through the building. It would probably burn open first but who knows.

As an installer you do not open any closed enclosures. Phone NIDS, Breaker boxes, CATV drop boxes.....you ain't certified to do dat! But screw the CATV boxes. They ain't certified either. Keep their boxes for yer lunch.

Joe

Joe

They allow it here, but my lack of electrical certifications and good sense not to get electrocuted is why I said YOU could ground it that way. Not me. I would just leave it ungrounded and hope for the best. Grounding doesn't help switches and LNBs from going out when there's a high static buildup in the air anyway.

 

[thespaceghost]

There are two issues at hand: legal ground and a ground for protection. It sounds like you don't have a legal ground, so move past that thought. If you want it for protection, then wire it into the socket as noted above. Not perfect, but its better than nothing.