Thanks. Just laid down 2 quarter wave counterpoises for 40m, and
another quarter wave counterpoise for 20m. I also connected the ground
system to an outside storage shed but who knows that would add. The
ground system had already been connected to the electrical system
ground ground, and thereby the house wiring.

Noise floor seems to be extremely high for 40 m in the afternoons and
evenings, is this common?

The Eternal Squire