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I purchased my first radio (Eton Elite Field) two weeks ago. A few days ago I ran 50' of speaker wire from a second floor window to the peak of my garage behind my house.
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Second floor window, past the tree to garage peak. Fifty feet long about 13'-14' above ground.

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Connection at window. Stripped away insulation and connected feed wire, ran it through the window to the radio.

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Past the tree to the garage.

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Connection to the garage peak.

Hope the pictures help.

I'm happy with the reception I'm getting. I seem to get better reception when I connect the feed wire to the telescopic antenna on the radio instead of the antenna jack on the back of the radio. Is that normal? I thought connecting directly to the radio's antenna jack would be better.

Also, I haven't grounded anything yet. Should I ground the 50' wire antenna to a ground rod? Should I run a ground wire to the ground jack on the back of the radio?

I am new to the SWLing hobby and I would appreciate any advice, tips or criticism on my set up.

Thanks.
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