Posted: 8/23/2009 9:45:54 AM EDT
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I'm in the planning process of (finally) getting a dedicated radio installed in my house. My current list of gear is as follows;
- Yaesu FT-8800R - Samlex 1223 - Diamond X50NA - Some type of antenna mount??? - 60' LMR400 - various connectors The radio will be installed in a basement office with the primary use of tracking and participating in weather nets (SkyWarn) during adverse weather, severe thunderstorms (read; lighting), tornadoes, etc, etc. Because of this, lighting strikes are a concern. Here are some pics of my house -> 
And for later reference, here is my planned antenna installation location -> 
The only non-insulated, inner common wall in the entire house running from basement to attic is the back wall of the (marked) stairway. I plan to run the LMR400 up this wall. With just a little Sheetrock removal, I will have full access to this wall and can easily run the LMR400 here (in fact, I could run more than I'd ever need here, it's pretty wide open). As an added benefit, the LMR400 will pop out directly below the location of my desired antenna mount. In the basement, I will need to run the LMR400 across to the other side through the ceiling to the office. I have plenty of room in the ceiling so I'm not worried about bend radius or anything like that. The total run should be between 35 and 50 feet. Unless I missed something I think that I've got that portion of the installation figured out. My concern however is grounding and/or a lightning arrestor. What do I need? What should I use here? Can I just tie the arrestor into the house ground? I have a single circuit in my attic that is tied to upstairs outlets and lights (15amp, 14awg), is it safe to tie the arrestor to this in the attic? My home electric comes in at the opposite corner of the house off of the front corner of the 3rd (small) garage stall so getting over there isn't going to be easy (garage is also insulated) but it would be doable if required. There is a 10awg "future circuit" cable in my basement that does feed back to the main panel. This is an area that I feel totally clueless. Most of the information out there is on exterior mounts like towers and such where the coax enters the home at the ground level. I have yet to find any information concerning installs where the coax enters the building through the roof. I'd like to keep this very clean and very simple so I really don't want to run a 4awg wire down the side of my house, that's the whole point of going to the trouble of running the LMR400 through an interior wall. On the other hand, I WILL be using this during severe weather so I want some protection, if the radio fries that's no big deal, I've got insurance and I'm not sure that's avoidable anyway. I just want to do what I can to minimize the risk of something severe, like fire. Thanks for your input on this, I'm sure that any information will prove useful in the end. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I really don't want to run a 4awg wire down the side of my house unfortunately this is the ONLY right way to do it. ar-jedi I've come to the same conclusion after studying it a bit more. I think that I'll move the antenna to the other side of the house and run the feed line up between the house and garage in the back yard. Then ground it with an arrestor where it enters the house and tie that ground point into the house ground. Does that sound sufficient? |