Wednesday, June 6, 2001
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Wednesday, June 6, 2001 |
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Make sure your cable is grounded, says inspector By DAVE
HAMRICK
You might be in for a shock if you have cable or satellite TV service and that service isn't properly grounded. You say it is? Are you sure? Tim Gore of Peachtree City looked inside the service box for his new satellite service recently to find that the ground wire to his old satellite dish had been cut, leaving his home vulnerable to lightning. "I couldn't believe it," Gore told The Citizen. "That's like an invitation to lightning." Gore said he ordered a new satellite receiver from Dish Network when Americast, previous provider of the service, went out of the business. The old satellite dish is still in place, and such devices can definitely attract lightning, confirmed Tom Carty of he Peachtree City Building Department. "Coax cable, anything in the trees, or even underground cable, when it's coming into your home it should never be disconnected from the ground," said Carty. "It's a lightening rod. It's definitely dangerous and a direct violation of the code." If ungrounded cable connections bring lightening into your home, the result could be anything from damaged electrical appliances to fire. And if you're home at the time, the lightning can kill, Carty said. In Gore's case, Carty phoned Dish Network, and the company promptly fixed the problem, he said. But Gore said he knows at least one other Fayette resident and one in Clayton who have had the same problem, and he has urged Dish to aggressively check behind its installers to eliminate any such problems. Dish regional manager Richard Larger said the company would be glad to check it out of any customers have a problem. "I don't know how it happened [that Gore's ground wire was cut]," he said, adding that the company briefed the installer involved on the proper procedures. Carty suggested that residents check all their coaxial and electrical services coming into their homes to make sure all are properly grounded. Look for wires attached to the bare copper wire going from your electric meter into the ground, he said. If you're not sure, call the company involved and ask someone to come out and check. "They should be proud to show you that it's installed properly," Carty said. Gore suggested also looking inside the cable service box, because that's where his ground wire was cut. You'll need a screwdriver.
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