HDTV Forum

I went to buy ground wire for an OTA antenna I am installing and being an idiot, picked up guy wire. I was curious if it would be safe to use galvanized steel guy wire as a ground for the antenna mast. It is recommended to use copper or aluminum, but can't find anything that states using galvanized steel would cause an issue. Any thoughts?

The specs for the wire are:
20 gauge, 4 strand. My thoughts are doubling the wire just to make it a little thicker.

Hello ' schwabrus '. . . and, 'welcome!'

No one is an IDIOT at all - - - perhaps, at times, too much in a hurry?

You have for all intents ZERO protection at present! ..... any 'strike' now will simply make usage of your roof / home as it's dissipating medium, with that OTA outside antenna acting as a pretend "magnet" to help attract all of them in your area!!

The Electrical Code was not written strictly to cause one to spend more money per se!

http://www.nema.org/prod/pwr/connect/ground-rods/

http://www.nema.org/media/20080116b.cfm

That galvanized guy wire has about as much use for conducting the "hit" of any near electrical strike as toilet paper does for wrapping fresh foods! ... quadrupling it will NOT make it "appropriate!"

Get some bare, solid #6 copper grounding (only, not ever aluminum, either!) ...

eli

First, I have a big sticker on my first computer (Yes I still have it taking up lots of space in the basement OSI C2-8P) that says, "Don't be afraid to ask dumb questions, they are so much easier to handle than dumb mistakes and I've made lots of those.

I don't know as I'd phrase it quite the way Eli did, but yes the steel makes a very poor conductor compared to copper and in essence you have a big, poorly grounded, lightning rod sticking up above your house with good conductors running to things in the house which is not a good combination and a great way to start fires.

Check the code in your area, it may be more stringent than the National Electric Code.(NEC)

Here they require a #6 copper wire to an 8' copper clad ground rod, although that may have been changed to a 10' ground rod recently. I have all of my grounds which are bare #2 copper, tied together at a grounded bulkhead where the coax cables enter the house. That system is also tied into the house electrical ground.

My tower (It's 130 feet to the top antennas) has been struck at least 17 times since it went up. At least that is how many strikes have been observed. For the first few years it was 3 times a summer, but so far no hits within the last two years. IF it makes it through this summer that will make three. The point is there has been no damage to anything in the house or shop even with 17 direct hits with a properly grounded system.

I would add that lightning is very unpredictable and there is no guarantee no matter what steps you take for prevention, but every one of those steps puts the odds more in your favor.