In article AHkne.20531$Ri3.10068@trnddc09,
"DX99" wrote:

How long is too long for a random longwire? I live out in the country with
lots of trees around the house and all over my property - have one 80' wire
from a tree in the side yard, a 45' PAL end-fed wire from chimney to
mast...and not satisfied with overall reception. Feeding both into a Grove
TUN4, then out to R75 and R71. Longer wire? I have 500 ft or so of good
gauge - how long or short should it be for optimum reception? When I lived
in town an 80' wire was great...seems it would be better out here, but it's
not for some reason. Suggestions??

I got to this thread after several people already made good suggestions
but to answer your question directly a random wire that is not cut to a
specific frequency and is intended for reception over a range of
frequencies. The 80 foot wire qualifies.

The other question of why the 80 foot wire is not working as well in the
new location could have a number of reasons. The wire is half an antenna
where the other half is ground so you may not have as good a ground at
the new place. The soil conductivity may be worse at the new place. This
could be made better with a more extensive ground system. An alternative
is to make a complete antenna that does not need ground.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California