so ive been going back and forth on this for like two months now and i need someone to just tell me to stop second guessing myself. i have a decent sized lot, maybe 150ft deep, and i want to get on 40m for the first time. been doing 2m/70cm stuff for a couple years but finally got my general and want to work some dx.

the question is basically dipole at 35ft vs a vertical with radials. i know 35ft isnt ideal for 40m but its what i can realistically do between two trees. i keep reading that a dipole lower than a half wavelength starts acting more like a cloud warmer which isnt what i want if im trying to work dx, but i also see people say a low dipole is still better than a crappy vertical. my ground isnt great either, pretty clay heavy which i think hurts a vertical more than a dipole? or maybe im wrong about that.

dont have budget for a beam right now and honestly my HOA would probably lose their mind anyway. just trying to figure out which way to go before i start cutting wire.

clay soil is actually not the worst for a vertical if you put down a decent radial field — like 16 to 32 radials at least a quarter wave long makes a huge difference regardless of soil type. the ground loss thing matters way more with only a few radials than it does with soil conductivity once you have a proper mat laid down. that said, 35ft for a 40m dipole isnt as bad as people make it sound. youre not going to be working deep dx on a gray line opening with it but for general operating and even some dx on a good band night its totally usable. ive worked europe on a 40m dipole at 30ft before, wasnt easy but it happened. if i had to pick one for your situation id probably lean dipole just because you dont have to deal with the radial work and theres nothing to tune against a bad ground. but honestly either one will get you on the air and thats the point right.

vertical. always vertical for dx on 40. low angle radiation is just better for that skip distance and a dipole at 35ft is basically nvis territory. i run a homebrew vertical with about 25 radials on 40 and 80 and it punches way above what i expected. yeah the radial work is annoying but you do it once and forget about it. the clay concern is real but like the other guy said radials fix most of that. just my two cents, ive done both and the vertical wins for dx every time at that height.