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  1. It is against the electrical code in most jurisdictions to tie anything into the power company grounding system. Don't go there. If a 'meter reader' walks by and sees that tie-in, it could be a bad situation financially with fines, etc. One accepted method to ground your antenna system is to run a 4 gauge ground cable with lugs on both ends from a U-BOLT where the antenna attaches to the mast, and then down to the standoff gable mount bracket U-Bolt. Tape the 4 gauge cable to the mast. Then continue with another length of 4 gauge cable from the gable mount U-Bolt down to an 8 foot ground rod that is out by at least 1 foot from your foundation. It should also be a minimum of 10 feet away from the power company ground rod. This is necessary to distribute a lightning hit into the power company equipment away from a lightning hit at the same time into your antenna structure. Having ground rods too close together may create a high electrical pressure wave against your foundation or slab during a strike and cause cracking or an actual failure. I have witnessed this personally in Michigan. There is also an OLD SCHOOL amateur radio idea that may or may not be a good idea, but I'll explain... Some older hams have refused to ground their antenna systems at all. The thought behind this is that a bolt of lightning is going to seek out the best and easiest path to ground. Grounding an antenna structure makes it into a lightning rod and may actually attract lightning. Some old school hams also remove the antenna connector from the radio and place that connector inside a GLASS Mason jar so it will not contact a metal surface in the room during an electrical storm. There have been countless discussions about this over the years, and it just may continue here now that I have mentioned it.
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