As I understand it, my dipole shoudn't work - it's flat
(non inverted V), it's laid out running east / west so
the radiation should be going north and south and it's
only 20-25 feet above ground.

Hello Ken ....My OCF dipole at the same height can only be categorized as a
real piece of crap.
Hopefully I can get something up better in the near future but that depends
on the neighbor's cooperation
with using a maple tree in her yard. I ran inverted vees for 30 years at 40
to 50 feet and have had excellent results
on 80 and 40. I am glad to hear that your set up is working.

God Bless ... 73 Tom Popovic KI3R Belle Vernon Pa.