Hi Alex,?

Welcome to the amateur radio world!?

This internet thing is a good location for much information, however not all is good and not all is bad. ?About your ground question. ?I feel it is good to have all equipment in your 'shack' attached to a good ground rod for a couple reasons. ?1. Is SAFETY! ?The chance of a cabinet or piece of equipment in a ham shack having either a high voltage ( any thing over 60 volts could cause shock in a dry shack - not saying it will) or when you do get your license, when transmitting or testing, a thing called RF burn (caused by many things - improperly tuned or installed antenna, a bad antenna connection or a faulty piece of equipment are some). These chances of shock are higher in a ham shack without a good ground than probably anywhere else in the home. ? 2. Almost always everything plays better when connected together with a good ground, both at home and in a mobile installation.

Alex, I have been a ham for over 50 years, so here is a little free advise. ?Antennas are about the most important part of your station. Some will say you can hang a wire out the window and everything will work fine, and maybe it will work for some in some instances, but to get the best performance out of your transceiver, a good well tuned antenna is the best way to go. And grounds are a part of the antenna system in almost all installs. ?

The Arrl Handbook is used by not only hams, but by engineers, electronic technicians, Broadcast television and radio stations as a very good reference source. It could be the best $50 bucks you could spend.

And as someone else stated, try to find a local amateur radio organization, and see if someone there can 'elmer' you (help get you on the right track) They are almost always willing to help out a new ham.?

I think you are going to love the Icom IC-7000. ?If you decide to get a different base radio at a later date, that unit is one of the best little mobiles around. I love mine!

Now get to studying!!! Hope to hear you on the ?air soon. When you get your ticket drop me an email.

Best of luck ! ?