question on lighning/surge arrestor

[AK4YA]

Does connecting the PL-259 connector from my (amp/filter/tuner chain) to the arrestor, specifically the coax shield metal connection between the two, not also bond that cable's coax shield to the ground rod?  Or is the arrestor's RF shield like the center pin and also isolated from the ground rod (except for during surges/strikes)?  For some reason I thought that having an RF ground the same as a lightning ground was a bad idea.

thanks!

[K7MH]

Coax shields should be grounded to a ground rod just as the cable enters the house at a minimum.
DX Engineering has a $15 bracket for doing just that.
The arrestors also make doing that easy and afford some protection from currents in the center conductor as well.

[AK4YA]

Coax shields should be grounded to a ground rod just as the cable enters the house at a minimum.
DX Engineering has a $15 bracket for doing just that.
The arrestors also make doing that easy and afford some protection from currents in the center conductor as well.

I see.  So out where the balun connects to my dipole would it also be a good idea to drive a ground rod and use that bracket you mentioned to ground the coax shield out there as well as utilizing the arrestor where the coax enters the house?

[K7MH]

IMO with a dipole I would just ground the shield where the coax enters the house.
With a tower it is a bigger concern. My friend has a FM broadcast tower and antennas on his property. It is about 40-50 ft, I'm not sure how high. It has the heliax shield grounded to the tower in several places along it's route down.
How far you want to go with ham antenna grounding depends I suppose on your perception of the potential risk. In some parts of the country it is a far greater threat than in others.
In any case, all lightning grounds on your property should be bonded to the ground for your electrical service.

What makes a good RF ground is different than what makes a good lightning ground.

Pretty good article about lightning protection here;
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14868226/lightning-protectiontaming-thors-thunderon-a-budget

[AK4YA]

got it.  luckily the home power entry is extermely close to where the coax will enter the house, so that lightning arrestor's ground bar will be fairly easy to bond to the power company's rod, assuming I can find it.  (underground power delivery to the home)

as far as grounding my PC, antenna tuner, LPF switch, amp, and AC-to-DC amp-power-supply; I just run as short a ground cable as possible from each device to a common ground entry that connects to the rod my lightning arrestor is bonded to?

Do I even need to worry about doing this ground to the AC-to-DC power supply's ground, given that the power supply is already connected to the home power ground?