so ive been going back and forth on this for like three weeks now and i need to just pick something and build it. the situation is i have a decent sized backyard, maybe 80 feet wide, and im trying to decide between a simple 40m dipole fed with coax versus putting up a quarter wave vertical with a radial field. primary interest is ragchews and some casual dx when conditions cooperate, not contesting or anything serious.

the dipole feels like the obvious choice because its just easier to build and i have the wire already. but ive read a bunch of stuff saying verticals are better for dx because of the low angle radiation and now im second guessing myself. neighbor on one side has a metal roof which im slightly worried about with the vertical but maybe thats a non issue i dont know.

anyway not looking for a definitive answer just curious what people who have actually used both think in a typical suburban backyard situation. my coax run would be about 60 feet to the shack either way.

honestly at 40m in a suburban lot you're probably fine either way, but i'd lean toward the dipole for your situation. the metal roof thing would bug me too — not saying it would definitely cause problems but it's a variable you dont need to introduce. a flat top dipole at even 25-30 feet will get you plenty of contacts, and if you can slope one end you get a bit of a low angle component anyway.

the whole 'verticals are better for dx' thing is true in the sense that they have lower radiation angle, but a vertical also needs a really solid radial system to be efficient and people underestimate how much work that is to do right. i put down 32 radials on mine and it still took me a whole weekend. if you just want to get on the air and start making contacts, wire the dipole, slap a 1:1 choke balun on the feedpoint, and you'll be working stations this week instead of still planning in three more weeks.

the metal roof probably doesnt matter much at 40m unless its really close to where the vertical would sit. but yeah i agree with the dipole rec just because its simpler. i built a fan dipole for 40 and 20 a while back and its been the workhorse antenna here ever since, super low drama. verticals are great but they really do need the radials or you're just loading up lossy ground and wondering why your signal reports are mediocre.