Jim Williams wrote:

If I run a wire out the window to a tree near the house, do I also
need to run a ground wire to the ground outside?

Does an outside wire perform better if it's grounded or is it a safety
precaution (or both)?

It's mainly a safety issue, since you can't make a good RF signal ground
for the type of antenna you're considering (random wire or inverted-L),
*unless* you use the technique on the following website:

http://www.anarc.org/naswa/badx/ante...e_antenna.html

An RF signal ground needs to be short. Several feet of ground wire is
too much. That's why the grounding method on the website (above) works
so well. The ground wire to the rod is very short. Mine is about
12-inches.

Even if you're not interested in reducing noise with a good RF ground,
it's still a good idea to have some kind of ground for lightning or just
static electricity. I suggest you install a ground rod near the location
where the antenna wire comes inside the house. Connect a lightning
arrestor between the antenna lead wire and the rod. Better yet, build
the antenna design on the website above. This method helps to reduce
noise from domestic appliances such as televisions and computers.


-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----