ᐅ Is it possible to ground a satellite system using a 7x2.5 mm² cable?

Stefan001 schrieb:

Making such statements is dangerous!
Crashing slowly into a wall twice doesn’t hurt nearly as much as crashing into it once at high speed.
Conductor resistance, surface conditions, and so on vary significantly. Then there are also strange effects with surface currents, solid conductors versus stranded wire, and so forth. Which of the materials is better or even suitable should not be decided based on what “should” be done. Standards exist for a reason and are usually scientifically grounded, especially when dealing with well-defined physical phenomena.

And I certainly wouldn’t ask a practical builder here. Because I hope that no tradesperson builds so many houses that they encounter a significant number of lightning strikes during their career. The statement “it has always worked so far” is probably just because they have never had a strike on any of their installations.

Which statement exactly are you referring to? I don’t see that I recommended anything here. Primarily, I said that such a component definitely has to be grounded. You should have quoted the previous comment instead.
And if that is physically not a problem, but someone requires green-yellow as identification, I wouldn’t care whether that complies with VDE standards or not.

Mycraft schrieb:

The expert here on this topic would be @Dipol

Because the “pöse” Dipol habitually included a standard with a link, he was excommunicated, which is why your “reputation” did not reach anyone. 😉

With a delay, under the nickname with asterisks, my comment as an RF antenna specialist:

Once again, the temporary ban on multi-stranded grounding conductors hinted at in the OP’s question has long been lifted in the primary standard for antenna safety, DIN EN 60728-11 (VDE 0855-1), and never applied to lightning protection construction. Grounding conductors of antennas subject to lightning currents, as well as lightning protection equipotential bonding conductors, are standard-compliant if the individual strands have a diameter of at least 1.7 mm (0.07 inches), which the OP also meant with the 7 x 2.5 mm².

Using connectors designed for this purpose, a 16 mm² conductor can safely carry even extremely rare massive lightning currents of over 200 kA to earth. However, every chain is only as strong as its weakest link: connectors for antenna grounding conductors must be certified according to the testing standard DIN EN 62561-1 as Class H = 100 kA.

This applies both to the grounding conductor connection at the antenna mast and at its base point, usually the main grounding bar, which must be designed for lightning protection potential equalization; for 16 mm² copper, this requires clamp-type terminals. Shields of antenna cables for antennas that require grounding must also be connected to the grounded antenna mast via a grounding block or grounding angle using at least 2.5 mm² copper (protected installation) or 4 mm² copper (unprotected).

By the way, regarding “standards or paragraph riders”: in forums, this is not an insult but a compliment, usually given by norm-unaware envious people. 😎

Perfect… exactly what I was expecting! :-)

No, at least one rigid 10mm² (10.8 sq. mm) conductor is required by regulation; actually, using a 16mm² (17.3 sq. mm) conductor with single wires is not even allowed.

Patricck schrieb:

No, at least one rigid 10 mm² (16 AWG) conductor is required by regulations; actually, using a 16 mm² (5 AWG) conductor with individual strands is not even allowed.

This supposed regulation exists only in your imagination, far removed from any standard. 😡

Ground conductor cross-sections of 10 mm² (16 AWG) copper and 16 mm² (5 AWG) aluminum are the standard according to the outdated national VDE 0855 Part 1/07-71. Since VDE 0855 Part 1/05-84, so for 38 years (!), grounding conductors for antennas have been required to be 16 mm² (5 AWG) copper, 25 mm² (3 AWG) aluminum, and as before 50 mm² (1 AWG) steel/galvanized steel.

Hopefully, you are not professionally involved in antenna installation. If you are, here is a quote from the current standard for your overdue further training:

DIN EN 60728-11 (VDE 0855-1):2019-02 schrieb:

A suitable grounding conductor is a wire with a minimum cross-section of 16 mm² copper, insulated or bare, 25 mm² aluminum, insulated, or 50 mm² steel.

Awful German wording, but still clear—there’s no longer any allowance for 10 mm² copper.

I won’t go into the temporary ban on stranded conductors in antenna construction, which still lingers in some minds and, although it never applied to lightning protection or photovoltaic systems, is sometimes mistakenly extended to these by people unfamiliar with the standards. Stranded conductors, common in lightning protection but previously strictly prohibited in antenna installations, are now allowed in antenna systems as well, subject to specific connector requirements.

I am planning to install my satellite dish soon. For grounding, I intend to use a 16mm2 grounding cable between the mast and the main equipotential bonding bar. For equipotential bonding between the mast, grounding block with surge protection, multiswitch, and main equipotential bonding bar, I plan to use a 4mm2 grounding cable.

I currently have two empty conduits running from the attic to the utility room. Can I run all the cables (grounding + 4x coaxial) through one conduit? Eventually, a photovoltaic system is planned. That will likely require grounding as well. How should I separate the cables? All grounding cables in one conduit and the remaining cables in the other?

For my safety, I want to have the lightning protection system inspected. What kind of measurements are typically performed?

We have installed a ring earth electrode in the ground and connected it to the reinforced concrete foundation (rebar). In the utility room, a conductor bar is rising vertically, where the main equipotential bonding bar has been installed. Additionally, there is a conductor running up along one corner of the house. This is probably connected to the ring earth electrode, as the builder included it in the construction specifications. Would this be suitable as the grounding for a lightning rod, or rather not?