Dear Harlan and Laura,

You are correct in stating that we "old-timers" tend to assume that
newcomers to the hobby know all the "basics" we know. That, as you
state, is not the case.

Antennas are the MOST important item in your radio arsenal yet are the
LEAST quantifiable; in other words, a great antenna at one location may
turn out to be a "dud" at another. Even moving an antenna a FEW FEET(!)
in either direction may make a great difference in reception.

How are you going to accomplish what you want? As I stated above, only
"trial-and-error" will do. That, as you can surmise, can be a real pain
in the neck (sometimes literally!).

All anyone can do is research the various antennas which might be
suitable for your particular location and requirements and then try one
or more. Obviously, if one has restrictive covenants, an outdoor
long-wire antenna is "out" unless it can be camouflaged (and then,
often, its performance is compromised), so one has to make allowances
for his/her particular situation.

With an abundance of local electrical noise, it is important to find
the source and to see if somehow it can be overcome. Recently in my
location we had two defective streetlights. One, a low-pressure sodium,
was fixed by the electic company rather rapidly. The other, a mercury
arc-vapor one, was not fixed for several months; I had to call the town
hall and the electric company quite a number of times before this light
was fixed. Having those defective lights was adding "insult to injury"
at my location already awash in electrical noise. (Too bad there isn't
an electrical noise reception hobby. Just imagine being able to tell
your friends "I picked up a high tension line from 10 miles away!" Boy!
What fun!)

To get to your original query, insulated wire makes a good outdoor
antenna. It should be run straight; the longer and higher the better in
general. (But bewa a great long wire, suitable for a good table-top
short wave radio, may badly overload a portable. Your antenna MUST be
"matched" to the particular receiver with which it will be used. Common
sense prevails here.) The wire should terminate at both ends to ceramic
(or similar) stand-off insulators. (Remember to affix those insulators
to connections with strain-relief.) The lead-in wire should be
connected at one end and that wire run to your receiver. The simplest
lead-in is just another piece of insulated wire attached to the +
terminal of your wire unput (on a table radio) or affixed to a 3.5 mm
plug (for a portable). If you are using a table radio, you can
experiment with a ground. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not. The best
ground is heavy copper wire attached to a metal rod driven about 6 feet
into the ground (at least in my experience). A portable radio does not
need a ground. IN ALL CASES, when using an outdoor antenna, you MUST
have lightning protection. (All radio shops can help you along those
lines.)

There are, of course, many other types of antennas: dipoles, Beverages,
vertical, tower, etc. Your call.

The best thing to do (and here I shall brook no argument) is to buy
several of the better books on antennas, such as Joe Carr's book
(available from Universal), PASSPORT's 'White Paper" about antennas,
and some others, and read them several times. The more you read, the
more you will know and understand. Does all that take time? Yes it does
and one could argue, "I'd rather be listening than reading and learning
all that stuff!" But unless you are willing to learn and then
experiment with antennas based on your knowledge, no matter what
receiver you own, you will never be able to use it to full advantage.

Once you have done all this (and it takes time, effort, and experience,
of course, for which there is no substitute), then you too will be an
"old-timer" like me!

Best,

Joe