so i finally got around to building a proper 40m dipole instead of just using that end-fed thing i had strung up for the past year. used 14awg stranded copper wire i had leftover from some electrical project, cut each leg to roughly 33.5 feet based on the 468/f formula and then trimmed from there. center insulator is just a chunk of PVC i drilled through and sealed up with some coax seal around the SO-239.

the thing actually works surprisingly well, got it up in an inverted-V config with the apex at about 30 feet off my shed roof. SWR came in around 1.4:1 right at 7.150 which i was pretty happy with for a first attempt. trimmed maybe 4 inches off each leg to get it there.

my question is about the feedpoint connector situation. i just used a barrel connector inside the PVC piece to connect the coax braid to one leg and center to the other but im wondering if thats going to be a problem long term with moisture and oxidation. should i be soldering directly to the wire and then using self-amalgamating tape over everything, or is there a better way people do this? also wondering if a 1:1 choke balun at the feedpoint is worth bothering with or if its overkill for just casual operating on 40 and 80

yeah definitely solder those connections and get rid of the barrel connector situation, moisture will get in there eventually and oxidized connections on a feedpoint are a real pain to troubleshoot later. i usually solder directly, heat shrink over each individual connection then wrap the whole thing with self-amalg tape pretty generously. some guys also put a drip loop in the coax right below the feedpoint which helps keep water from wicking up into everything.

as for the balun question, i wouldnt call it overkill at all. without some kind of choke you can get RF coming back down the outside of the coax shield and that causes all kinds of weirdness - your pattern gets distorted, you might get RF in the shack on the mic or the keyer, SWR can look funny depending on how the coax is routed. a simple ugly balun or W2DU style bead choke is dead easy to make and probably cost you a few bucks in ferrite beads if you dont already have them sitting around. for 40 and 80 id use mix 31 beads, something like 8-10 on the coax at the feedpoint gives you good choking impedance on those bands.

nice work getting the swr that close on the first cut, 1.4 is totally workable and honestly better than a lot of people do. i built a similar inverted V last spring and mine was like 1.8 before i figured out i measured one leg wrong lol. the inverted V drooping down changes the resonant point a bit compared to a flat dipole so keep that in mind if you ever model it or try to predict where itll land before cutting.

the choke balun thing, yeah just do it. i was skeptical for a long time and then i finally put one on and the RF in the shack problem i had been dealing with just went away. took me way too long to admit that was the issue.