fm antenna wire

Hi all. I installed a rooftop FM antenna and am starting to regularly record live FM music broadcasts received on a Marantz 112 tuner. I get a strong signal, but I'm also getting some sibilance ("essing") and occasional faint soft buzz-saw noise. I'm looking for advice on how I can approach...

I know there are several threads about FM antennas, I have a few things to clarify. 1) I plan to use some heavy-gauge copper wire for an element. how long? 38"? 2) do I split it in half and attach one lead wire to each piece? 3) if I keep the element in one piece, how do I attach the lead...