Hi all. I am installing a LoRaWAN antenna on my roof. I’m finding conflicting information online (YouTube). If the antenna is internally grounded, meaning if I use a multimeter to test for continuity by probing the twist nut and the internal pin, and it completes a connection, does that mean I do not need an arrestor if the device or the POE injector is connected to a grounded outlet?
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Mmmm. It’s a 8cm long antenna so…
Your gateway may or may not be connected to earth ground depending on the power supply that it uses. A lightning arrestor will provide a direct path to earth.
So you do want to set up ground for the coax shield, rather than trust your router to ground it. And presuming the antenna is an appropriate RF impedance and near DC short, you probably have at least 98 percent of the protection from static build up and 75 percent of the lightning protection. What a gas discharge protector may help with is that during the charge up before a lighting strike, the high potential voltage in the clouds can draw charge up the wires to the antenna, and when that strike happens, that charge is no longer pulled up the wires, and will travel back to the equipment end. While that was balanced between the shield and the center conductor at the antenna through the DC shorted antenna, it may not be balanced as it hits the equipment end.
So a gas discharge protector there can give your equipment a bit more protection.
Gotcha. I thought it was odd to rely on just the hotspot to dissipate static overtime.