What you see is a lightning arrester. This particular one is for a high-tension power line. It’s a device designed to keep a lightning strike from traveling down a wire and ruining everything, because let’s face it, one lightning strike can (and will) ruin your entire day.
If lightning can hit a power line, it can hit a satellite dish. At least that’s the theory. It seems like a lightning arrester is just the sort of thing that you should have on your satellite dish, and several of our customers have asked whether or not we sell something like this for dishes. The answer: well sort of.
Lightning arrestors are used for large, high-tension lines. They are dense enough to really blunt the impact of a lightning strike. That’s what you need when you’re talking about high tension power lines. The lines themselves are not grounded, and there are transformers between the lines and your home that will block extremely high amounts of current from getting into your home.
With antennas and satellite dish we use ground blocks, which act differently from lightning arresters but serve the same purpose of protecting your home. They are quire different things, in fact. The only thing they have in common is that they help control the flow of electricity so as to keep you safe.
While a lightning arrester forms a gap between wires and the rest of the structure, a ground block gives lightning a more attractive place to go rather than taking it into your home. A ground block takes takes current traveling down from your antenna or dish (not signal, that’s something different) and makes it travel down a separate copper wire where it can disperse harmlessly into the ground. That’s a very important part of installation.
A lightning arrester’s job is to block as much electricity as possible. Ideally, it wouldn’t let anything through. You couldn’t have one with a satellite dish for that reason. It simply wouldn’t let the satellite signal through. There would be no way to actually receive programming. It’s that simple.
People also ask if satellite dishes should have a surge protector. A surge protector and a lightning arrester are fairly similar in what they do. Both help control current flow. A lightning arrester is designed to stop very large amounts of current. A surge protector is designed to stop relatively small amounts of current. Surge protectors use a magnetic field to control current, smoothing out its flow.
Often times this can have a negative effect on signal. Signal is, in essence, a set of minute fluctuations of a small amount of current that flows on the outer “skin” of a conductor. Surge protectors can eliminate those fluctuations if the surge protector isn’t designed to let them pass. Designing a surge protector that would allow the extremely dense, high-frequency signal coming from a satellite dish would be expensive, and there’s some question as to whether or not it would do anything more than a decent grounding setup would.
The experts at Solid Signal are here for you! We can help you configure your satellite system to be exactly what you’re looking for. We’re the best place to find the parts and accessories that DIRECTV and DISH technicians use on their own trucks. We understand that everyone has a different idea of what the perfect satellite setup is. Let us help you create the perfect custom setup for you. Call us at 888-233-7563. We’re here during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, no problem! Fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
The post NICE AND EASY: Should you put a lightning arrester on a dish? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
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If lightning can hit a power line, it can hit a satellite dish. At least that’s the theory. It seems like a lightning arrester is just the sort of thing that you should have on your satellite dish, and several of our customers have asked whether or not we sell something like this for dishes. The answer: well sort of.
The difference between a lightning arrester and what you actually need.
Lightning arrestors are used for large, high-tension lines. They are dense enough to really blunt the impact of a lightning strike. That’s what you need when you’re talking about high tension power lines. The lines themselves are not grounded, and there are transformers between the lines and your home that will block extremely high amounts of current from getting into your home.
With antennas and satellite dish we use ground blocks, which act differently from lightning arresters but serve the same purpose of protecting your home. They are quire different things, in fact. The only thing they have in common is that they help control the flow of electricity so as to keep you safe.
While a lightning arrester forms a gap between wires and the rest of the structure, a ground block gives lightning a more attractive place to go rather than taking it into your home. A ground block takes takes current traveling down from your antenna or dish (not signal, that’s something different) and makes it travel down a separate copper wire where it can disperse harmlessly into the ground. That’s a very important part of installation.
But why can’t your dish have a lightning arrester?
A lightning arrester’s job is to block as much electricity as possible. Ideally, it wouldn’t let anything through. You couldn’t have one with a satellite dish for that reason. It simply wouldn’t let the satellite signal through. There would be no way to actually receive programming. It’s that simple.
People also ask if satellite dishes should have a surge protector. A surge protector and a lightning arrester are fairly similar in what they do. Both help control current flow. A lightning arrester is designed to stop very large amounts of current. A surge protector is designed to stop relatively small amounts of current. Surge protectors use a magnetic field to control current, smoothing out its flow.
Often times this can have a negative effect on signal. Signal is, in essence, a set of minute fluctuations of a small amount of current that flows on the outer “skin” of a conductor. Surge protectors can eliminate those fluctuations if the surge protector isn’t designed to let them pass. Designing a surge protector that would allow the extremely dense, high-frequency signal coming from a satellite dish would be expensive, and there’s some question as to whether or not it would do anything more than a decent grounding setup would.
Want to know more?
The experts at Solid Signal are here for you! We can help you configure your satellite system to be exactly what you’re looking for. We’re the best place to find the parts and accessories that DIRECTV and DISH technicians use on their own trucks. We understand that everyone has a different idea of what the perfect satellite setup is. Let us help you create the perfect custom setup for you. Call us at 888-233-7563. We’re here during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, no problem! Fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
The post NICE AND EASY: Should you put a lightning arrester on a dish? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
