Do Attic Antennas Need To Be Grounded

For electrical saftey the antenna should be connected to a lightening arrestor and that connected to ground.

Do attic antennas need to be grounded.

The antenna is essentially designed to capture that electricity. Will their location in the attic reduce their tendency to build a charge and attract lightning. If it is just for reception e g. How important is it to ground them.

Note that the coax is going to be grounded at the receiver anyway. In the case of an attic installation your tv antenna will be sheltered from the environment so there s no need to ground it for that reason. A tv antenna then there is no need for an rf ground. There is an nec requirement to ground metallic objects in a structure likely to become energized such as metal water pipes appliances gas lines etc.

Check to ensure that the vent tube is firmly grounded before connecting the wire. Furthermore tv signals are made of electricity. If it is important should i just tap the coax or is a separate grounding wire needed. Yes all outdoor tv antennas should be grounded.

However the connection of your antenna coax to various ac operated equipment in this case your converter box or tv introduces the potential of electric shock. Antennas mine are receive only for fm tv and public safety bands will be generally restricted to the attic. There is no requirement to do this for indoor antennas. Even if you have a newer plastic antenna there is metal inside.

I found that a firm grounding of antenna mast gave a better reception as well. But this wouldn t apply to most attic antennas i would think. I can tell you that as of the 2004 nec and nfpa 101 which covers life safety codes there is no requirement to ground a receive only internal antenna system.