The QRPer Board

Nothing particular, just a pair of links discussing the "random" wire antennas

https://f5npv.wordpress.com/endfed-rand ... w-antenna/

https://k8ua.com/2019/10/my-lid-moment- ... ndom-wire/

the first one is pretty long, but I believe it's worth reading with some attention, since it carries some often overlooked concepts which, once grabbed, will allow to squeeze out the max from an EFRW

Thanks for the links - something to read over the weekend.
I think part of the "problem" with EFRW antennas is the name. They're really End Fed Non-resonant Wire antennas - not just random lengths of wire.
The biggest downside of a non-resonant antenna is that you need more junk in the antenna chain (tuner, SWR meter of some kind, common mode choke) it was a nice change this week when I was tinkering with a base loaded vertical that connected directly to my rig!

well... the EFRW is not "random" as you already wrote, it's more an "aperiodic" or "travelling wave" kind of antenna, at any rate, the first link I posted, carries some concepts and facts which need to be digested to get a good grip on EFRW, so, if you want, take your time to read the whole "blurb", I think it will be worth; more often than not, when it comes to EFRW, people tends to set them up "as it goes" but that's a mistake imVHo since while the "random" is a simple antenna, it still needs some care to work at its best (see the 2nd link)

One thing I tried and is worth a test, imHo, is using a short run of wire connected to a ground stake in place of the counterpoise, it has pros and cons, but is something worth testing

An easy, simple rule of thumb that I learned helping my dad back in the 60s:

At least a quarter-wave on the lowest band you plan to work.
Not a half-wave on any band you plan to work.