Dreams & "Earthing" ???

[z80]

you are both correct in my opinion.

[Godzilla]

Earthing a dish and earthing a dream are 2 different things IMO.

A dish should be earthed regardless in-case of lighting strike. Its standard practice on cband installs and would be good practice on any metal dish.

I however never earthed a LNB/receiver until i got my DM recently.

Lets also note that most lnb holders are plastic and insulate the dish from the LNB.

Just my (limited) thoughts on the matter.

[Vic]

you are both correct in my opinion.

All hail the mighty Z peace maker extraordinaire

[z80]

Earthing a dish and earthing a dream are 2 different things IMO.

A dish should be earthed regardless in-case of lighting strike. Its standard practice on cband installs and would be good practice on any metal dish.

I however never earthed a LNB/receiver until i got my DM recently.

Lets also note that most lnb holders are plastic and insulate the dish from the LNB.

Just my (limited) thoughts on the matter.

If you have a tin roof then I guess it's automatically earthing the dish.

[Vic]

If you have a tin roof then I guess it's automatically earthing the dish.

Good one LMAO

[Hillsbysa]

Good one LMAO

Don't spoil a good thread ! These jibes at z get a little tiring after a while

[digidude]

can i ask a genuine question. how 'clean' is the electricity supply in Aus?

power surges, static spikes on the mains supplied earth, or neutral and the likes?

in the UK (as an installer) only multi dwellings need to be earthed in case of a fault in one property finding a path to earth back via another dwelling, cross phase on a UK supply is 415V and will more than tingle if your neighbour has a faulty setup

but if your house is just on the one live/neutral supply, then even with a 16 way multiswitch, PVRs, single tuner boxes and any number of dishes, the difference in voltage at any one point compared to earth should be next to nothing, unless something is faulty

when you plug in an lnb or an aerial you will see a spark, especially with an LNB as you are completing a circuit, but if you get a tingle from the shielding of the LNB when its all connected as normal, in the UK that would show that electrically there is something wrong in the house, faulty RCD, PME earthing system not right with the incoming supply or an earth neutral reversed in one of the sockets on the ring main

while equipotential bonding will get rid of the tingle when touching the chassis, it wont eliminate the original fault causing it

but it could be totally different here to there, theres quite a bit of rock and stuff in between

[ol' boy]

So what is your question agian?
OMG where do i get the idea i'm talking to a Pommie.

Ring Mains, pfft

To answer the one question about Australian Power Supplies (Re: How clean it is). Depends what you are talking about?
As the supply itself has NO EARTH!!!!

Earthing is done at each dwelling / property / or in common ground.

The Active and Neutral from the Supply Company, is the responsability of the Distribution Company.

I have had many single phase and multi phase loggers on Victorian Supplies, and i can tell you they are nothing to be proud of.
Nominal Voltage is all over the place, people would be shocked if they knew what really went on.

What this has to do with Earthing a Dreambox i have no idea though?

The Earthing System is the responsibilty of the property owner.
All Australian Supplied Properties follow the M.E.N. System of Earthing (As quoted in AS3000)

Sure, thing can go wrong though when the system isn't working within it tolorences, especially on the supply side.
Get yourself a bad Neutral connection out on a pole and see how warm your Earthing System runs

The power has to go somewhere....

I think with the Dreambox, earthing it is a preferred method. It comes Non Earthed and they want you to earth it.
Personaly i still have a DM7000 that has been running 24/7 for the passed 6 years unearthed and it works as good as the day i got it
(it's been flashed a hundred times by serial, pluged and unpluged, moved, opened, different LNB changes, Diseqc switched added etc etc)

I guess if you follow a good practise when doing all this, you should be ok.

[digidude]

lol @ pommie, im welsh, but it is on the same island

with how strict the regs are in the UK about electrical supplies, earthing and all that, i find it quite shocking that your supply is how you describe, so in theory a lightning strike within a few hundred miles of any dwelling could wipe out your tuners as the voltage in your earth rod rises to possible more than the voltage that the tuner gives out, in effect reversing the polarity and forcing it into the tuner

i now understand more why on this forum earthing is such a big and varied topic, while on most other boards its very rarely mentioned

thank you oceanboy