the interference on 156.000 could be almost anything,I know cable TV can cause issues on 2 meters and just above that band,very well could be a leaky cable tv line close to you.
A rubber duck antenna is not a very good antenna at all.Their range is very limited on avarage,if you get on a hill or a tall building they will work pretty well,but in a house or car,they are spotty at best.
I have seen mobile antennas set up with a ground plane kit on a short pole that works great !! Larsen antennas has such a set up...Or you could make your own antenna ,a home brewed j-pole made from rigid copper water pipe or tv antenna flat wire works and is alot cheaper than buying an antenna
For finding what repeaters are in your area give Radio Reference web site a try,it will have all frequencies you are after,and are pretty accurate for PL tones
For a first HF radio I would have to say,keep it simple.There are alot of good radios out there that will do you a great job for you to make contacts...and when you get a chance take your general class test,you will be glad you did!!The general class ticket will open up a large part of all the HF bands for voice.You will be finding yourself scanning the HF bands for hours for contacts to make
and grats on getting your ticket !!
