Ron_Service_Point
New User
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ
- Occupation
- Low Voltage Electrician
I am interested in figuring out how to properly bond a Starlink sat system in an enterprise environment.
The main issue I see is Starlink tries to distance themselves from applying the NEC 800 section by making this statement on their web page around grounding and bonding, "Starlink meets the U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC) grounding requirements and includes the necessary lightning protection. However, any user who lives in an area with lightning should have the appropriate lightning protection installed in accordance with your local electrical code prior to using Starlink."
#1 takeaway from me is the local electrical code is the NEC all over the USA as far as I know. I don't see it meeting the electrical code. But who am I? I only hold 13 state low voltage contractor licenses and have been installing antennas for 40 years as a licensed contractor. All that said I don't know it all. My wife tells me that every day!
These systems are getting popular for redundancy in enterprise situations. Installing this system in a critical network, any responsible communication contractor would want to make sure that a critical network is protected against any possible lightning damage that can be caused by a metallic item on a roof of a large building possibly being the tallest metal item to attract a lightning bolt or static energy. Naturally we go to the NEC for guidance. Problem is in the NEC Starlink crosses many lines . It is an antenna system with a mast so clearly bonding and grounding the mast must come into play unless the mast and all its components are not metallic.
Main issue is the lead in conductor. It is not Coaxial so it gets a little lost, but 810.20 states that lead in conductors must be grounded with a protection device. This means a ground block is required in my eyes. Previously it was a problem because of Starlink's proprietary cable. Now in the Enterprise kit they have one that is proprietary only into the antenna the other end is an RJ-45 making it possible to use a generic ethernet ground block for lightning protection.
My thinking is to do a Starlink install in an enterprise environment properly it would require following 810.20 use the enterprise kit with a ground block to ground the lead in conductors and follow the bonding instructions in the NEC 810.15 for the antenna mast.
I would like the feedback from the professionals in this forum as to how any of you may be dealing with commercial Starlink Broadband installs.
The main issue I see is Starlink tries to distance themselves from applying the NEC 800 section by making this statement on their web page around grounding and bonding, "Starlink meets the U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC) grounding requirements and includes the necessary lightning protection. However, any user who lives in an area with lightning should have the appropriate lightning protection installed in accordance with your local electrical code prior to using Starlink."
#1 takeaway from me is the local electrical code is the NEC all over the USA as far as I know. I don't see it meeting the electrical code. But who am I? I only hold 13 state low voltage contractor licenses and have been installing antennas for 40 years as a licensed contractor. All that said I don't know it all. My wife tells me that every day!
These systems are getting popular for redundancy in enterprise situations. Installing this system in a critical network, any responsible communication contractor would want to make sure that a critical network is protected against any possible lightning damage that can be caused by a metallic item on a roof of a large building possibly being the tallest metal item to attract a lightning bolt or static energy. Naturally we go to the NEC for guidance. Problem is in the NEC Starlink crosses many lines . It is an antenna system with a mast so clearly bonding and grounding the mast must come into play unless the mast and all its components are not metallic.
Main issue is the lead in conductor. It is not Coaxial so it gets a little lost, but 810.20 states that lead in conductors must be grounded with a protection device. This means a ground block is required in my eyes. Previously it was a problem because of Starlink's proprietary cable. Now in the Enterprise kit they have one that is proprietary only into the antenna the other end is an RJ-45 making it possible to use a generic ethernet ground block for lightning protection.
My thinking is to do a Starlink install in an enterprise environment properly it would require following 810.20 use the enterprise kit with a ground block to ground the lead in conductors and follow the bonding instructions in the NEC 810.15 for the antenna mast.
I would like the feedback from the professionals in this forum as to how any of you may be dealing with commercial Starlink Broadband installs.
with your post. In about 2000 I started installing low power radio systems, VHF, 2 watts, so figured out exactly what you said (and had a code proposal accepted on antenna grounding )