AN-80i
Installation Guidelines
70-00073-01-08-b
Proprietary Redline Communications © 2011
Page
39
of 58
May 27, 2011
3.4
Step 4: Installing the AN-80i
3.4.1
Surge Protection Guidelines
All outdoor wireless equipment is susceptible to lightning damage. Surge protection and
grounding practices per the local and national electrical codes serve to minimize
possible equipment damage, service outages, and serious injury. Common reasons for
these damages can be summarized as follows:
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Tower/Antenna sites that are not grounded properly may conduct high lightning strike
energy.
-
Lack of installed surge protection equipment may cause equipment failures resulting
from lightning induced currents.
The grounding system should provide a low-impedance path to ground for the lightning-
induced current. A loose ground connection is a source of noise and may cause
sensitive equipment to malfunction.
The tower grounding system disperses most of the surge energy from a tower strike
away from the building and equipment. The remaining energy on the Ethernet cable
shield and center conductor can be directed safely to ground by using a surge arrestor in
series with the Ethernet cable.
3.4.2
Grounding Guidelines
CAUTION
The following are general recommendations for system installation. This equipment must
be installed by a qualified professional installer and follow local and national codes for
electrical grounding and safety. Failure to meet safety requirements and/or use of non-
standard practices and procedures could result in personal injury and damage to
equipment. A direct lightning hit may cause serious damage or injury even if these
guidelines are followed for the system.
The following general industry practices are provided as a guideline only.
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All grounding connections must be made in accordance with local/national
standards.
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Painted or dirty surfaces should be cleaned thoroughly down to bare metal and
screws should be well tightened.
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Avoid sharp bends in the ground wire.
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The installation site should have had an external ground ring or bus bar.
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Above ground wire must be #2-6 AWG when interconnecting ground rings and #6
AWG (minimum) for grounding equipment and any metal objects
-
Below ground wire must be #2 AWG (minimum).
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Ground rods must be 8 feet long (minimum) and 5/8-inch in diameter. Rods must
extend 3 feet below any adjacent basement/vault.
-
A grounding block should be installed where cables enter the building.
This section describes mounting of the AN-80i, recommendations for grounding and line
protection equipment, and rough alignment of the antenna.
