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focus93
Freshman

Dish grounding

Hi, my question is should the dish be grounded outside? My dish is mounted outside of the front porch on a wood beam, and has no grounding what so ever! Does that cause a problem with static electricity be building up? Also, the bolts in the dish are rusting and creating rust trail’s down on the dish. Is that a problem? I have had the dish over two years and want the system to work as best as possible.

Also, I never had speeds over 288kbs, any information or ideals would be appreciated. thanks

19 REPLIES 19
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

I can't say about the grounding, but if you'd like speed issues addressed here, please follow this required troubleshooting procedure:  https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/Tech-Support/Think-you-have-slow-speeds/m-p/110034#M74607

focus93
Freshman

This is what i was told! Anything true about this?

 

A dish that is not grounded properly can cause speed issues as well and can also cause damage to your transmitter / LNB assembly as well! While we all know that grounding your antenna and transmitter isn’t REALLY going to protect you from a lightning strike… proper grounding DOES remove static electricity from the transmitter assembly which is important to keep the transmitter performing properly and protect it from static buildup that could damage the transmitter over time!  There should be a bare or coated copper wire running from the ground screw on your transmitter/LNB assembly to the antenna backplate and/or on to a common ground point! If this ground wire is missing or damaged, it should be installed or replaced accordingly!

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Well, maybe the mods on this site will reply to your question about grounding. 

If I can add my 0.02...

 

First, proper grounding should be done at the dish. Proper grounding ensure the dish has the appropriate gain wrt receiving and transmitting. The ground should be secure and as close to the dish as possible, otherwise, it may be relying on the ground provided via the cabling from the house, which is really insufficient.

 

If the dish is mounted to a wooden structure and not a metal post, you may want to follow the cabling from it to see if it's going to some kind of a nearby junction box that is appropriately grounded.

 

Incidentally, you should know that mounting to any kind of wooden structure is not really optimum when compared to a post. the wooden structures tend to shift a lot more over time versus a well-installed metal post. That shifting could cause the dish to run out of alignment a lot quicker than it should, also reducing reception and transmission quality over time.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.

Hi, thanks for the reply! I have Ham radio antennas and they all have to be earthed grounded for that reason of building up static electricity, so wonder why when my dish was installed the technician did not ground it? Am I supposed to ground it or is it up to HughesNet to had make sure it was installed correctly? just a thought

Hi focus93,

 

Thanks for posting. Our installers typically take pictures of the work and I do see a picture of the grounding for your dish. To be sure, I've asked our field services department to confirm that the work on the ground point meets our specs.

 

I don't think the rust will significantly affect performance, but I've also asked our field services folks about that as well. Once I hear back from them regarding these inquiries I'll let you know.

 

As far as your current performance, how long has this been going on? My diagnostics only show that you're subject to the Fair Access Policy, so reduced speeds are to be expected. I also noticed you have a DirecTV device on the network, so please be aware that those can use up a lot of your monthly service data. I would keep it offline when not in use.

 

-Liz

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!


@Liz wrote:

Hi focus93,

 

"Thanks for posting. Our installers typically take pictures of the work and I do see a picture of the grounding for your dish. To be sure, I've asked our field services department to confirm that the work on the ground point meets our specs."

 

Hi, thank you for your reply there is no grounding on my dish! Its mounted on a wood post of the porch and is not grounded! Don’t know what picture they took but i can take a photo to prove its not grounded in any way! Just a thought!

 

Hi, photos sent to show what i am saying! PM them to Liz

Thanks for all of your replys and attention!

Got them, thanks!

 

-Liz

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

Got a quick turnaround on this, the rust won't pose an issue, and from the picture of the ground point, it looks fine. 

 

As I previously mentioned, the system diagnostics show everything working normally, you're just subject to the Fair Access Policy since your monthly service plan data depleted.

 

-Liz

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

hi, sorry for the long topic, but the dish is still not grounded its all installed into wood with no house ground or earth ground...

I guess i can spend the extra money and time to drive in a ground rod myself since its not a issue for HughesNet...

Thanks anyway i am on my own i guess!

 

Hi focus93,

 

I privately messaged you the latest picture we have on file of your ground point.

 

-Liz

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

@Liz wrote:

Hi focus93,

 

I privately messaged you the latest picture we have on file of your ground point.

 

-Liz

 

I PM you on a couple more things!

Case closed

Good morning focus93,

 

Thank you, I received your messages. It's great you know how to ground things, but only HughesNet authorized technicians may do maintenance on the equipment. 

 

I'm dispatching a complimentary tech to review your site and address your concerns.

 

Your free site visit is currently scheduled for our earliest available slot: Monday, Oct 5, 2020 between 08:00 AM-11:00 AM. The tech will reach out to confirm the visit, so you can use that opportunity to reschedule if needed.

 

Thanks,

Liz

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

 

Good morning focus93,

 

Haven't heard from you in a bit, but I'm glad to see the site visit completed. If you have any other concerns, feel free to drop by the community again.

 

Have a good weekend!

 

-Liz

 

If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

I'd wait until a mod replies to you -- they can check your account and see what's going on and advise you of first steps.  Hang in there, they'll get to you.

Heh... ok, so you know what I'm talking about (I'm a SWL - or what's left of it). But he ground is only partly for static runoff. Mostly, it's a counterpoise for antenna gain and noise reduction (somewhat - I actually find that too hard to do anymore with all the electronic fences, computerized washers/driers, and noisy light bulbs making 40m a mess).

 

What you might do is take some pictures to show the installation you're describing, PM them to one of the mods, who can then recommend the next step. It could very well be it was installed improperly, however, the installers are supposed to happy-snap their work and get it approved after it's completed. Maybe that step never happened.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.
Ricky
Tutor

Never thought I would see this grounded thing talked about again. At least not this soon. Anyway I believe this is a non issue. Sounds like Liz is on top of it.

 

Your dish is required to be grounded. No exception. It is a federal law that requires it.