Lightning rod needed with antennae?
 

I just upgraded my generic T indoor antennae with a Magnum Lab ST-2. Installing on the back of a 2 story house or along the chimney (no longer used).

For the experts out there:

1. Do I need some form of lightning rod attachment? I do plan on the coax cable running into a Furman Elite 15 surge unit before feeding my MR85.

2. I assume height makes all the difference and installing along the chimney and sticking up and above the top will give much better performance. How much higher is enough though? 1/2 the shaft, 1/4 exposed above?

3. Anyone recommend a quick disconnect coax connection worth using? Easiest option for lightning protection would just be to have it disconnected when not in use, but getting to the plug in the rack is not an easy task.

Thanks!


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In a word, yes, but that is a very small antenna, probably not likely to be hit in preference to the rest of your house.

BUT

If lightning has a direct strike on your house, you will still be dead in the water unless you have a separate grounding rod a good distance from your antenna with a heavy gauge cable to direct the electricity to the ground. That also assumes the ground rod will be hit before your antenna. Typical houses are wood frame structures, unlike many commercial buildings and skyscrapers that have steel frames acting like a faraday cage that will effectively direct lightning strikes away from the inner structure and your equipment.

Even with a separate ground, with a direct hit you'll still lose equipment---and that doesn't preclude the possibility of your house burning down, or at least catching fire!

Depends on how deep the rod goes into the ground. At about 26 metres you should have good ground conductivity. Deep grounding remains the choice if you want good lightning protection, along with other measures such as spark gaps.