in a housing sub division with quarter acre lots. neighbors have not complained. most on cable. upgraded to an ICOM718, and hve made contacts, 100+ miles. to the sierra foothills. one station was running stacked 3 element beams. and was on a hill 2000 ft elevation. I'm thinking a higher antenna might be the answer. the sigma4 continues to surpass my expectations. next strp is to put it up 40 ft to the base. I'll preobably start hearing more stations. pre amp and noise reduction on the 718 prove useful. 257 is a solid rig, but the extra wattage alowed me to be heard.Obviously you need to raise the antenna.....20' plus the antenna doesn't help matters. Talking 100 miles with a 257 and a groundplane on a 20' mast seems impossible unless the receiving station uses a set of beams 100' in the air pointed right at you. The lower the antenna is the more likely you will cause problems with your neighbors and I am assuming that you live in a housing subdivision.