Bonding CATV/HSI in Multistory Buildings

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rwacheson

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Let's assume we have a multistory commercial building, with a wiring closet on each floor. The CATV folks will bring their feed (coax) to the structure, and bond to the structure's grounding system per Article 820.

Now, do they have to bond in each wiring closet on each floor? Let's assume there's CATV service on each floor, and that each may (or may not) require a signal amplifier (typically plugged into a wall outlet within the building).

I see a lot of Bell phone service techs that do this

Many thanks!
 
The bonding is for lightning and HV surge protection. Bond were it enters the bldg to the building electrical grounding system to make a single point ground. Bonding beyond that point serves no purpose.
 
What they said. And also...

If you bond a CATV cable in multiple places, you'll get stray currents running through the coax shield that could degrade high-frequency signals. So, even if you were permitted bonding at multiple points, you should not do it unless your friendly CATV installer knows they're using the proper equipment to break the ground loop. Often that decoupling is built into a signal amplifier, similar in function to what you see your Bell friends installing. (Phone wiring isn't usually truly bonded/grounded at any point except an amplifier, but that's another discussion)
 
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