TV aerial splitter.

[Livy]

im just in the middle of put a second feed into the bedroom from the aerial in the loft and the splitter im using has a earth connection on it.
should i wire this into the house earth, or is it not worth the bother.

[callum]

I think the copper screen is earthed, maybe you're meant to connect some of that to the earth connection.

[Livy]

i think inside the splitter the screen is connected to the earth tab on the splitter, which you then connect to the earth so any unwated signals picked up in the screening are earthed. giving better performance,
i was just wondering wether its worth the bother of wiring it into the house earth.

[Virtualbody1234]

If the outer shield is already grounded then it's not nessasary.

Check at where the cable enters your home to see if it's really grounded.

If you're unsure then do ground the splitter. To be grounded at many places doesn't harm anything.

[Livy]

the cable is from my aerial which is in the loft, which then goes into the splitter. and from there one lead goes into the bedroom and the other goes into the livingroom so it isnt earthed at all really, apart from via the freeview boxes. (terrestrial digital TV)

edit: the splitter is like this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Way-Aerial-Cable-TV-Splitter-5-2400mh-Eurovox-Sky-Ntl_W0QQitemZ230006670259QQihZ013QQcategoryZ4693QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

[Virtualbody1234]

Link doesn't work.

It's better to ground it. Can you connect it to a cold water supply pipe?

[Livy]

works here. ???

the lighting circuit is up the loft anyway so i can connect into the earth there.
and i beleive the cold water feed is up there to supplying the cold water storage tank,

[Virtualbody1234]

Ah you fixed the link.

Cold water storage tank? What's that for?

[lynx]

Cold water storage tank? What's that for?Many older houses in the UK have a hot water storage tank which is gravity fed from a cold water tank. Bathroom cold water is sometimes fed from this tank too. The idea is to give constant water pressure (in case mains pressure is low for some reason), while at the same time preventing back-syphoning into the mains cold water system. Alternatively, older central heating systems also needed a constant head, so it could be for that.

@Livy, I've never had reason ground a splitter, but if it is easily facilitated I see no reason to avoid it.

[Livy]

yeah, the cold water tank isnt very pretty inside either, but the taps are mains fed anyway. so its only there for the hot water and the power shower.

i think ill just attach it to the pipe as its a little easier and closer.
got some earth cable somewhere, just need a pipe strap.


managed to get most it finished yesterday, just had to pull the cable up through the floor left to do today and fit the connectors.

so now my toppy can be moved into the livingroom.

http://www.toppy.org.uk

[lynx]

Feck, they're expensive.

I think I'd have gone for something like this (http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/172_277177.html) if I didn't have a dvd-recorder with hdd and mpeg4 playback.

[Livy]

i got the 250gb version, and the thing i liked about it was the ability to put the taps on it, and some people were having problems with the humax.
i use my xbox for dvd and mpeg4 playback aswell.

also the toppy has good support. the humax has had a few major problems and there was no firmware update for ages.

[harrycary]

It's rather simple. You ground your antenna to avoid lightning damage and
allow excess current to safely discharge into the ground. (should you ever get hit)

It's not necessary for reception. It's merely for safety's sake.

Any water pipe or steel/brass rod going into the ground will suffice.

[Livy]

the splitter im using has nothing to do with the aerial, and it would be pretty hard for the aerial to get hit with lightning as its in the loft.
and the splitter im using was orginally for catv. and wasnt grounded.

and isnt the aerial using grounded via the lashing kit etc,, not through the aerial cable.

[harrycary]

For the record, a lightning strike can harm you, your home and/or electronics from a strike up to a mile away. (1 mile<1 km)

And once again, grounding isn't necessary for reception. In fact it has nothing to do with reception.

And yes, grounding an antenna(or splitter) is done via a separate wire/cable.