Grounding And Rf Protection; Why Is Grounding Required - Furuno Inmarsat FleetBroadband FELCOM251 Installation Manual

4. GROUNDING AND RF PROTEC-
TION
4.1

Why is Grounding Required?

4.1.1 Reasons for grounding
Grounding the FleetBroadband system is required for two reasons:
• Safety: Lightning protection of persons and equipment.
• Protection: ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge) protection of equipment.
4.1.2 Safety
First of all grounding of the system is required for safety reasons. In the event of a
lightning strike at the antenna a proper grounding of the system will provide a low re-
sistance path to divert the strike discharge to seawater.
4.1.3 ESD protection
The ESD protection circuits in the Communication Unit rely on proper grounding of the
system in order to work properly. Otherwise sensitive circuits within the Communica-
tion Unit might be damaged due to ESD when you are handling the equipment.
4-1