so ive been running an inverted V for 40m for about two years now, apex at maybe 35 feet off a single mast in the backyard. works okay but ive always wondered if i'm leaving something on the table by not having a flat top dipole. the thing is getting both ends up to 35 feet is basically impossible where im at — trees on one side, house on the other, and my wife already thinks the yard looks like a radio shack exploded out there.

i did read somewhere that the inverted V has a slightly higher angle of radiation which isnt great for DX but honestly most of what i work is domestic stuff, some ragchews into canada and the caribbean. so maybe it doesnt matter that much for what im actually doing. the SWR is pretty flat across most of the band with a 1:1 choke balun at the feedpoint which surprised me a bit when i first put it up.

anyone actually done a side by side comparison or have some real world experience with this? not looking for antenna modeling software answers, i can run EZNEC myself, more curious what people actually noticed on the air

honestly for domestic and caribbean work the inverted V is probably fine. the higher takeoff angle actually helps for regional stuff under maybe 1500 miles or so. where you really start to notice the difference is when you're trying to work EU on 40 at the gray line and everyone with a flat dipole or low vertical seems to have an edge. i ran both configurations for a while when i had a second support available and on 40m the practical difference was maybe 2-3 dB in certain directions, which is real but not earth shattering.

the other thing nobody mentions much is that the inverted V has a bit more omnidirectional pattern compared to the flat dipole which has those nulls off the ends. depending on your orientation that can actually work for you or against you. if your dipole happens to be pointed north-south you're killing yourself for EU DX anyway regardless of the shape.

35 feet apex is pretty decent for an inverted V on 40, im running mine at like 28 and it still does the job. dont overthink it tbh. if the swr is good and youre making contacts youre antenna is working. ive worked plenty of dx with mine including some JA and VK on 40 at the right time of day so the takeoff angle thing is real but its not a dealbreaker