Thanks for all this info. As i'm still just listening, I think I'm starting to understand that all the tuning and matching is somewhat irrelevant to my needs. There is literally nothing for miles where I'll be deploying this and all I really care about is catching the morning weather round up around 7250 kHz and then whatever else I can pick up while sitting fireside. So far the random wire seems like the cheapest and easiest way to go, and maybe even the best all around performer. I figure I'll get a spool of wire and run it at least 4 feet off the ground - is that really all I need to do?! Since thats so easy, I'll probably play with a SUPER long one (500 feet+), and then find the best balance between performance length and convenience. Two more questions before I put it to test:

will if effect the performance if the antenna comes into contact with the ground?

Will I get the same results if I make a 20 foot x 20 foot square and run a huge length of wire along the perimeter at different heights so as not to short but essentially 500 feet of wire run around a shape instead of in a relatively straight line?


Thanks for all your insight.

bmtc