so ive been going back and forth on this for a few weeks now and figured id just ask here. i've got a pretty small backyard, maybe 60 feet end to end if im generous, and im trying to figure out whether to put up a proper dipole (inverted V probably) or just go with a vertical. the vertical is obviously easier to fit but everyone i talk to has a different opinion on whether the low angle radiation actually makes up for what you lose in gain or whatever.

my main interest is 40m DX, not really local contacts, so i know low angle radiation matters a lot. ive got decent ground conditions i think, not particularly rocky, pretty normal suburban soil. the thing is if i go vertical i need to put down radials and i honestly dont know how many i realistically need to get decent performance out of it. ive seen everything from 4 to 120 radials mentioned and that range is just kind of paralyzing.

current setup is literally nothing, just been running a random wire into my tuner which works but i know im leaving a lot on the table. anyone been in this situation and actually done a comparison somehow?

ran both at different times here, lot is about 75 feet deep so similar to yours. the inverted V at about 40 feet at the apex actually did surprisingly well for DX once i got it up there, the angle isnt as bad as people make it sound when you get the center high enough. the vertical i had before that was a trap vertical with maybe 16 radials and honestly the inverted V beat it more often than not into europe from the midwest. now maybe with 60 or 80 radials the vertical would flip that around, i dont know, but who has time for that.

if your choice is an inverted V with a decent apex height vs a vertical with a handful of radials id just do the inverted V, easier to build, easier to tune, you can do it with wire and a couple trees. the vertical with a good buried radial system is probably the "right" answer theoretically but getting there takes a lot of work and real estate that you might not have even underground.

honestly the radial thing gets way overhyped in terms of the number you need. like yes 120 radials is better than 16 but the difference between 16 and 32 is way more noticeable than between 32 and 64. something like 16-24 decent length radials gets you into the zone where youre not leaving massive amounts of efficiency on the table. thats probably the practical sweet spot for most people who arent going to spend a weekend every fall adding more wire to the ground.

that said i do think for 40m DX specifically from a constrained lot the vertical has a real edge during gray line when the low angle stuff is working, ive noticed it on my setup at least. but its not like the dipole is useless either, contacts are contacts. just build whichever one you can actually put up well.