Should I (electrically) ground my TV antenna?
I've heard both: "you must always ground your antenna" and "you don't need to".
I haven't grounded it (at all) yet.
Under what circumstances is it useful or necessary?
I imagine a TV antenna could theoretically be struck by lightning, but I don't know if that's the only reason to ground.
My home is single storey. All 4 of my neighbours within 50m or so have taller antennas. Some have trees twice that tall. A few houses down, there are double storey homes too. My street is lower than surrounding streets and is in a low lying area (does this remove all chance of lightning strikes to my home?).
Grounding is not required by law (where I live).
In my case, would grounding it simply increase the (unlikely) possibility of a lightning strike?
Best Answer
Yes, you should have a grounding block wired to a ground rod before the antenna wire enters your home. It won't necessarily prevent all damage from a direct lightning strike, but it will help.
NEC in the States (NFPA 70) says that if you don't ground the grounding box to the same ground rod that is connected to your breaker box, you need a #6 wire between the ground rods. Obviously, that doesn't apply in your locale, but it's still a good idea.
YMMV, but I get excellent digital TV reception from an antenna mounted in my attic. Removes all the worries about grounding, wind, etc.