"Dave" wrote in message
...

Okay, so here's the problem. The fence is metal, and the house is covered
with steel siding. My DX-402 does pick up BBC on 5975 pretty well with
just
the whip (next to a window), but VOK is extremely weak to vanishing.
(This
last one is what I want the broomstick antenna for.) If I do go with the
broomstick, should I stick with the five-foot piece that I already have
cut,
or go with a longer eight-foot piece which will still fit nicely in the
corner I have in mind. Or should I go all out with a ten-foot piece (or
even multiples maybe) and put it in the attic? Also, what type of ground
should I use? I could run a ground wire out the window to a ground rod
that
is as old as the house, but that's about my only option (the house
predates
three-prong plugs with a real ground.)

I really appreciate your thoughts on these things. You obviously know a
lot
more about this stuff than I do.


The rafters idea could still work with standoffs, though not as well as with
a wood surface. What material is your roof made from? How much of a crown
does it have? You could run wire along the crown of the roof with good
results. Use coax to get it into the house. Ground the coax outside the
house at the point it enters.