Antenna on roof of house-should i worry about lightning?

[Trainman101]

Ok, so i was thinking of putting like a 4' tall antenna on the the roof of my house with maybe a 50' cord to my scanner in the living room. Should i be concerned about lightning(will it set the house on fire because its not grounded)? Also, does a long 50' cord from the antenna to the scanner affect the reception?

I figured id ask before i got myself electrocuted.

Thanks guys

[dummy]

50 ft. is fine, just use the right coaxial cable. LMR-400 is recomended. why would you put up an outside antenna and not ground it ?? always ground the mast. the rod of the antenna itself can be covered in a piece of PVC pipe. thats what the makers of the "traintenna" did. just do a nice job. i dont think it will impede performance. anyone agree? disagree?

[Ken W2KB]

50 ft. is fine, just use the right coaxial cable. LMR-400 is recomended. why would you put up an outside antenna and not ground it ?? always ground the mast. the rod of the antenna itself can be covered in a piece of PVC pipe. thats what the makers of the "traintenna" did. just do a nice job. i dont think it will impede performance. anyone agree? disagree?

Covering the rod of the antenna will not afford any protection whatsoever against lightning. Building codes (electrical safety codes) require a lightning arrestor outside at the point of entry to the building of the coax, with the arrestor grounded at that point. One example of a good quality arrestor is http://www.alphadeltacom.com/pdf/Transi ... 20data.pdf

[Trainman101]

50 ft. is fine, just use the right coaxial cable. LMR-400 is recomended. why would you put up an outside antenna and not ground it ?? always ground the mast. the rod of the antenna itself can be covered in a piece of PVC pipe. thats what the makers of the "traintenna" did. just do a nice job. i dont think it will impede performance. anyone agree? disagree?

Covering the rod of the antenna will not afford any protection whatsoever against lightning. Building codes (electrical safety codes) require a lightning arrestor outside at the point of entry to the building of the coax, with the arrestor grounded at that point. One example of a good quality arrestor is http://www.alphadeltacom.com/pdf/Transi ... 20data.pdf

Thanks for the info. This should get me pointed in the right direction.