so ive been using a whip on my HF rig for a while now and finally decided to just build a proper dipole for 40m. cut the wire to the standard formula, 468/f, ended up with two legs about 33 feet each. used some 14 gauge stranded from the hardware store, zip cord actually, and a dog bone insulator i printed on my 3d printer for the center and ceramic egg insulators at the ends.

got it up in an inverted V configuration, apex at about 30 feet off the roof peak, ends tied off to some fence posts with paracord. fed it with 50 ohm coax through a 1:1 choke balun i wound myself on an FT-240-43 core. SWR came out around 1.4:1 at the frequency i was shooting for which honestly seems pretty good for a first build.

my question is about the feedpoint connector. i just twisted the coax braid and center conductor to the two legs and taped it all up with self-amalgamating tape, then wrapped that in regular electrical tape for UV protection. is that good enough long term or should i be doing something different there. ive seen people use SO-239 chassis connectors mounted to a little piece of lexan or cutting board material as like a proper feedpoint housing. wondering if thats worth doing or if im overcomplicating it.

the taped connection will work but honestly it wont last as long as you'd think, especially if theres any movement in the wire when the wind picks up. moisture gets in there over time and you end up with a corroded connection that kills your efficiency before you even notice. the cutting board feedpoint plate idea is the right move, a lot of guys use that or a piece of PVC flat stock. drill a hole for the SO-239 and two holes for the wire legs to pass through or wrap around, then seal everything with self-amalg tape after. way more durable and if you ever need to take it down and put it back up it holds together properly.

also on your balun, good on you for winding your own. the FT-240-43 is a solid choice for 40m. how many turns did you do? for a choke balun on 40 you want enough choking impedance to actually work, some people dont put enough turns and wonder why they're getting RF on the coax shield.

1.4:1 is totally fine, dont stress about that. i built a very similar setup for 40 and 20 last spring and mine came in around 1.6 and its been working great. the inverted V does detune slightly compared to a flat top because the legs arent horizontal so your effective electrical length changes a bit, but at 1.4 youre well within what any modern rig will handle without complaining.

the feedpoint connector thing — i did the same lazy tape job on my first one and it lasted about one winter before i had to redo it. so yeah probably worth doing it properly with the SO-239 plate. i used a bit of HDPE cutting board from the dollar store and it cost basically nothing and looks way more legit