Your best bet is a lightning arrester type device called a Polyphaser. You mount it on top of a ground rod, and connect the coax from your antenna to one side of it. A second length of coax goes from the other side of the Polyphaser to your radio. Down here in the south, if you don't use such a device with a fiberglass antenna, the antenna will build up a static charge, and will become vaporized the first time lightning comes anywhere near it. I know 3 people who learned this fact the hard and rather expensive way. Fortunately for me, one of those people is the person who installed my antenna 7 years ago. ----- Original Message ----- From: "tom behler" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, January 03, 2010 12:56 PM Subject: grounding question Hi, all. As many of you know, I'm planning to put in a ground rod for an HF station earth ground here at the new home QTH in Colorado if I can get the weather to co-operate, and be above freezing for a while. However, in thinking about grounding, I have another question. My VHF/UHF antenna here at the new house is a Diamond X200A. It is mounted with a bracket to the side of the house, just below the roof line. The coax for that antenna runs from the feedpoint, around the house, and into the feed-through panel at the shack window. How do you ground an antenna like this for lightning protection? I suppose that, when summer thunderstorms approach, I could simply disconnect the antenna, and hope for the best, but I wonder what others have tried. There are no grounding instructions provided with the antenna itself. See everyone on the Cross-country Blind Ops Net in a couple of hours! 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.431 / Virus Database: 270.14.124/2598 - Release Date: 01/03/10 09:41:00