Ok, got any recommendations for a 40-meter capable vertical I can mount on a pole attached to my deck?
A 1/4 wave on 40m is about 32ft and you can get 33ft telescoping fiberglass masts for about $125 that will hold up a 1/4 wave wire vertically, but you will need a good ground radial system or it won't work. You can also shorten the 1/4 wave some, maybe down to 20ft tall with a loading coil or trap and it will still work ok but it still needs that ground radial system.
There are some multi band verticals that cover 40-10m or 40-6m that work ok and don't need an extensive ground radial system like the Cushcraft R8 but they are pricy and may be out of production. Many if not most no ground radial verticals that cover 40m don't work well but the Cushcraft series is not bad.
Can you run a wire out horizontally? Something like a resonant End Fed Half Wave 64ft long will work 40, 20, 15 and 10m and when installed horizontal 20-30ft off the ground will put out a better signal than most 40m verticals. Plus much of the regional activity within a few hundred mi on 40m is skywave or NVIS which a horizontal antenna does real well but a vertical does not.
www.antennas.com
