Attic Antenna (1 Viewer)

[drobbins]

I am in the process of building a new house. I don't like the look of an antenna on the roof, so I am considering putting it in the attic. I had one on the top of my current house & it was hit by lightening. The charge went down the ground wire on the outside of the house. Does having in the house lessen the chances of getting hit? I wouldn't want the lightening charge going through the house. How would I ground it?

Dave

 

[Phil A]

I have an antenna in the attic now (actually 2 of them) and have had them in the past (and a roof top one in the past too). On avg. you may lose a decent amt. of signal (perhaps around 25%) and if you have aluminum siding or lots of metal near it in the attic it may got more interference. I'm certainly not an expert but can't imagine it being able to get hit by lightning. From what I understand, it tends to strike the highest object in the area, which, if it hit the house, would be the roof (e.g. gutters). Unltess the antenna was attached to something on the outside of the house, I would not think there would be much of an issue. I always attach mine in the attic with non-conductive stuff. I put some nails in the wood above and get rubberized clothesline at Home Depot and tied it from various angles so that it is fairly level and steady.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

You don’t have to worry about an antenna in the attic getting hit by lightening. That isn’t to say there wouldn’t be a problem if lightning hit the house, though. I don’t believe there’s any reason to ground it if it’s in the attic. However, if you want to, you should ground it to the house’s main electrical ground stake. You can get an antenna grounding terminal at Radio Shack.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[drobbins]

Thanks for the replies! I feel better about it.