Gee, fortunately no one asked which unix editor was betterā¦
To address the original question. My practical experiences:
Homemade 1/4 loaded vertical than just fits on a lightweight telescoping pole: Found that it took too much time to layout the radials due to the scrub on our summits in VK. Was able to use it on 20/30/40M with different taps, but NVIS performance seemed a bit down, medium - long performance seem great. NVIS barely works on 40M now so thatās a problem thatās solved itself
Dual band 20/40M (+10M maybe) EFHW (loading coil on 40m): This is much easier to setup and the loading means that the horizontal distance required is quite small if used with a 7m pole. It also works fine with the shorter travel pole. Itās either setup as a inverted L (mostly vertical) or inverted V. The most used antenna now -very flexible and allowing for situations where the pole has to be at one end of a small summit.
20M 1/4 with 3 elevated radials (which are probably more like a 20 or 30 degree angle) built for DX: Really easy to setup on the 7m pole and I have no complaints with DX performance. The elevated radials do require a bit of space. This sometimes requires some thought about setup and trip hazards, not to mention potential public exposure to high voltages and RF fields, more so than with a dipole in my mind. Will be rebuilt with traps to allow for 15m and maybe one other band for DX optimised activations.
Linked dipole for 20/17/15: The linked nature is a bit of pain, but Iāve not yet been unable to set it up somehow. Itās usually in my travel kit along with the EFHW, now been extended to 30m.
There are most definitely some summits where particular antennas will be difficult to setup.
VK6/SW-004 (Toolbrunup Peak): large boulders form the small top. It would be challenging to properly layout radials or maybe (itās been a while since I was up there) put a full size 40m dipole up without potentially interfering with other members of the public. Weight is also a concern with the final ascent near vertical in places, at least the route we took.
Te Kou E5/RA-002 is another interesting one. Movement on the top was seriously challenging (tropical jungle, drop-offs) and the best spot was occupied by the commerical comms gear. The dipole was used - fortunately only 20 up was needed. Laying out substantial radials would have been near impossible with the jungle. On a not so hypothetical return, Iād be looking at half wave verticals.
Having a few options you can choose amongst seems the best bet, especially depending on whether you just need local or really need good dx performance. The dual band loaded EFHW does give me a number of options in constrained spaces and is fairly simple and quick to setup, hence itās been my preferred antenna. I am building a second trapped EFHW for 20/30/40 to utilise space when I have it and to better suit the MTR.
After some of my recent summits, I am looking forward to a nice rolling hill with nothing but grass on top. And sunshine too please.
Andrew