Jeff,
Try this antenna
http://www.bloomington.in.us/~wh2t/S...%20Antenna.htm

Many Vertical antennas require a RF ground system (usually many radials) to
obtain efficient radiation.
The old joke is "Verticals work equally poor in all directions".

A single ground rod or group of them bonded together , is seldom as
effective as a collection of random-length radial wires. Generally a large
number of shorter radials offers a better ground system than a few longer
ones . The power company ground can be tied in , and if a metal fence skirts
the property it can also be tied in as a part of the ground system .

If you want an easy to make vertical see

http://www.bloomington.in.us/~wh2t/invertedl.html

73, Ace - WH2T


"Jeff" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hi,
I'm fairly new to the HF thing. I currently have a dipole antenna
which is hung up in a low tree :-{ Needless to say it's too low
(~8-10') off the ground and I'm contemplated getting a vertical. I
also seem to be having ground problems...my rig is fairly far from any
outdoor "earth" ground material. So I'm trying to resolve these
problems and try my hand at DX. Does anyone have any advice? Am I
likely to have better results with a free-standing vertical? Also,
what is a good grounding option for a fairly remote indoor location?
Thanks.