Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Do I need to ground a coax splitter?

Does a 1X2 splitter need to be grounded? I notice a 1X2 previously installed by the cable company was grounded, but I noticed that the instructions from another splitter (Levitan 1X6 passive) does not say anything about grounding. Is grounding necessary?

Thanks.

The initial line going into the home is usually grounded. Anything after that splitter does not.

Thanks.

Do you mean the outside line is gounded before it enters the home, so the splitter I see grounded does not need to be? Or are you saying that the splitter I see (which is connected to the main IN line just after it enters my house) SHOULD be grounded, but anything after that need not?

You are correct on both.

Some installers ground it out at the box on the home, but most I've seen ground it on the first splitter in the home.

You do not need to remove it or add anything else.

That's very clear.

That first splitter was originally installed before I began my basement refinishing project. It is grounded to a rigid metal conduit that had a BX cable running through it. Subsequently, I had an electrician bring the electrical service in the basement up to code, and the outlet that the BX cable served was disconnected. The conduit is still there, but as I see it the ground wire from the splitter is no longer connected to a proper ground. There is a nearby metal electrical box. Can I ground the splitter to that box (which I assume is grounded)?

Thanks.

I would call the cable provider first. They are responsible the the proper grounding of the cable. The outter sleeve under the coax's covering is the ground. The cable might already be grounded out in the distribution box on your home.

if the conduit is still there it is probably still connected to the panel and is still grounded , the electrician just disconnected the BX cable inside

if the conduit is still there it is probably still connected to the panel and is still grounded , the electrician just disconnected the BX cable inside

I neglected to say that the conduit only overed the vertical run of the BX-- only about 4 feet. The BX is also still there, but it has been disconnected from the panel.

You should probably run a ground wire back to the panel.

That's to much work considering it's the cable companies responsibility.

I contacted my canle company and their reply was that the cable is grounded before it enters the house. Of course, that doesn't explain why the splitter was grounded in the first place.

Guy

in all installations I have seen, the cable company places a ground block at the point of entrance to the building.

Since all of the cable has a groundung means within it, that will ground the entire cable system. There is no need to add grounding elsewhere. In some cases it could be detrimental to the signal to ground elsewhere.

If you do not have a grounding block at the entrance, you should place one there.

It's supposed to be within five feet of the point at which it enters the house. Of course, the monkeys who installed mine ran a 12-gauge bare wire all the way across the basement and attached it to the pipe on the hot (output) side of the water heater. That pipe runs all the way across the basement to within a foot of the cable entrance.

Here's Cablevision's reply when I asked why my splitter was grounded, even though the cable is grounded prior to entering my house:

"I am unable to speculate as to why this unnecessary action was originally performed."

Are you sure it was the cable company that installed it?

If it was, it was probably a apprentice installing it and just went a little overboard. No harm, no foul.