so ive been running a 40m inverted V for about three months now, apex at maybe 35 feet off a push up mast, legs going out at roughly 45 degrees and ending about 8 feet off the ground. resonant on 40, SWR is fine, radio is happy. but compared to my old hustler vertical with 4 radials that I used last year I feel like im losing signals left and right. guys who were 59 before are now like 55-56 and I feel like im running QRP when im not.

the inverted V should theoretically be better or at least comparable right? lower angle for DX maybe not but for domestic stuff it should do okay. im in a suburban lot so the vertical was always kind of squeezed in next to the fence anyway. ive checked connections at the feedpoint, coax looks good, balun is a homebrew 1:1 choke type wound on a FT240-43. not sure what else to check. maybe the angle of the legs? or is 35 feet just not high enough for a real low angle radiation pattern on 40.

anybody run both and have a feel for how they compare

35 feet on 40m is pretty low honestly, youre looking at a high angle radiator at that height which is great for NVIS and regional contacts but anything over say 800 miles and the vertical is probably going to smoke it for low angle stuff. your old hustler with even just 4 radials would have a decent low angle lobe that the inverted V at that height just cant really compete with for DX.

if you can get the apex up to 50-55 feet it starts to look more competitive. also check your leg angles, closer to 90 degrees between them flattens out the pattern a bit. 45 degree legs basically turns it into a less efficient vertical polarized antenna which is weird middle ground. try pulling the ends out flatter if you have the room, like 120-130 degrees between legs total. might help more than you'd expect on 40.

I had almost the exact same situation a couple years back. went from a ground mounted vertical to an inverted V and thought something was broken for weeks. turned out my expectations were just off. the vertical really does punch harder on flat ground to the horizon, especially on 40 and 80. the inverted V grew on me for local and regional stuff though, NVIS is actually really useful for stateside work depending on where you are.

one thing worth checking — how long is your coax run and did you account for any loss there. I had a dodgy PL-259 on mine that was dropping maybe 1-2 dB and I swore up and down the antenna was the problem.