Gery,

A high SWR won't prevent you from hearing things.  Transmitters are much 
more picky about what they like to see in an antenna than receivers are. 
For example, you could use a 50-foot piece of wire for a receive antenna and 
get good results, but that same piece of wire might not work at all for 
transmitting.  Also, it's important to operate on the band for which the 
antenna was designed.  A 10-meter vertical won't work on 40 or 75.  Also, 
the type of ground you have can make a huge difference.  In fact, if your 
radio isn't connected to a real ground, that may be your problem.  The best 
ground is one or more rods driven into the ground at least three feet.  In 
this case deeper is better, and two rods are better than one, etc.  You 
should avoid using the ground connection on an outlet because it may or may 
not be connected to a good ground.

Steve

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gery Gaubert" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2007 11:07
Subject: ic751a


> Yah, that is why I am not going to try to get on it again.  I am hoping
> it is an adjustment.  I only have about 50 feet of rg8x cable from the
> radio to the antenna.  Maybe a loose connection too.  Funny thins is
> that I can hear stations from all over.  I had even thought about making
> a dipole to see if in fact it was the vertical anenna.
>
>
>