Customer Reviews

Customer Reviews Submitted to Greyline directly

Greyline YouTube Channel + reviews by various Ham Radio shows

eHam Reviews for Greyline Performance Flagpole Antenna & HF Vertical Antenna

YouTube Review by Ham Radio Crash Course 

 


We have learned much the past 7 years in business and continue to improve our offerings to our peers in the Radio world. Posted below you'll find various Review boards and direct feedback that we have collected and posted (pictures of installations, etc.) for your enjoyment. Have questions, give us a call or write to us. We are honored to serve you.

Below you'll find a sampling of our customer install pictures, videos, and stories covering many topics in our various topic collections:


We are honored to serve you, our peers. We are delighted to play a small role in your enjoyment of short-wave HF radio and we do hope that we inspire you to get on the air with Real DX confidence.

7 YEAR WARRANTY

We offer a 4 Warranty, no questions asked. We use the honor system and know you do as well. Hey, we want you on the air and are proud to offer this 7-year service or replacement offer. 

100% GUARANTEE

We also offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If for any reason you aren't happy with your purchase, send it back for a full refund. We know circumstances change. We want you happy.

One Customer Used our Warranty offer saying, "It Works & Greyline Warranty Is For Real - de AA5DVJust wanted you to know --- Greyline replaced my Vertical Antenna --- No Questions asked!" 

More Customer Reviews

 

Based on 34 reviews
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I am providing my first impression report regarding my 24FT HOA antenna. Installation was easy once I was able to figure out the instructions. The twin lead spacers were missing so I inserted a section of PVC into the lower section to insulate the twin lead. I’m using an IC7300, MFJ 993brt remote tuner, Balun Design, Inc model 117t balun which takes coax as input and twin lead as output. I then feed it through an Array Solutions model AS309H arrestor which takes twin lead as both input and output. With the remote tuner: SWR readings are 1.2 in the cw portion of 40 meters and 1.5 in the ssb portion SWR readings are 1.1 all the way across 20 meters (my favorite band) SWR readings are 1.2 in the cw portion of 15 meters and 1.4 in the ssb portion I am a cw guy and have worked all over Europe and South America as well as New Zealand and am getting very good signal reports. Needless to say, I am very pleased with this antenna so far. It works way better than I expected I haven’t yet had to operate in windy or rainy conditions so there is more to learn. Howard Glassman K4OBC

Great pole, excellent service and communications.

I purchased the pole without the antenna and am very happy with the quality and ease of installation.

Great addition easy install

Added this to my 20ft flagpole for 160 m work. Able to make contacts, looking forward to up the power. Great flagpole!

DX and the Greyline antenna

What a wonderful Antenna I have made contacts in over 50 country's so far in less than three weeks easy to assemble and works.

24' Flagpole does the job.

I purchase a 20’ Flagpole antenna that also included the 4’ extension. I installed the flagpole the end of January here at my home in central Florida. The install was easy with only a couple of small issues that were easily resolved by just thinking things through. I installed the antenna in the back yard in the HOA and have not had any complaints.

The performance of the antenna has been very good. The SWR on most band has been =< 1.5 except the 12 meter band. The SWR is just under 2.0. The DX into Europe and Africa has been good. Have done a lot of FT4 and FT8 with good reports. SSB has been good with good signal reports depending on propagation. All of my contacts have been made on 70 – 100 watts. I am using a SGC 230 tuner mounted at the base of the antenna

Most of my contacts have been 10 MHz – 28 MHZ. I have done some work on 40 meters but not much. Not much of an night owl so I don’t get very much of a change to use the antenna on 40 – 160 meters. The SWR is on these bands is 1.0 – 1.3, so I would expect good performance if I had more power.

At this point in time the only negative I have to report is the flag. It has been flying on most days in 5 to 15 MPH winds. I have taken it down when we had higher winds had exceed the 15 MHP. I noticed this morning the flag was torn and shredded. I took the flag down and noticed the flag was made by Anley and it was manufactured in China. I wouldn’t expect a flag to be in this condition after 3 months. I had USA made flags last over a year flying in much stronger winds that this one.

I'm only giving a 4 because of the flag issue. I will reach out to Greyline to see what they have to say.

We are so glad to hear that your Antenna has FB SWRs from 160-10M and congrats on the great DX! Fun... We buy our flags from several USA companies one of which is Anley, Inc., which is also a US company based in California. We are happy to replace the flag.

US GOV reports 90-days is the expected Flag lifespan. 'The U.S. Government generally expects a nylon or cotton flag to last 90 days based on being flown daily from sunrise to sunset - but not during periods of inclement weather. Tests have shown that, in some cases, a flag flown 24 hours a day will last only one-fourth as long as one flown only during the daylight hours.' - again, happy to help and we will contact you directly for a replacement.

Remember, Ham Radio is fun again, Please pass it on to your friends and family. - 73m Greyline Performance

Thank you so much!!!

It has taken me a while to get it put together and up, but with the help and patience of two of my sons, my beautiful flag pole antenna is up and operational. I am still learning how to use my radio, just found out my microphone has an on/off switch for example. The install is complete but it is working already. I will send some pictures. I am thinking about a 4' extension for my 16' flagpole antenna. Does the extension go on the bottom? If it does, i may do that.

IMPRESSIVE IMPROVEMENT

This is an antenna I wish I would have purchased sooner. We live in an HOA with a small lot and some restrictions on antenna placement and height. We had a small vertical antenna mounted to our fence, but had limited places to install grounds and could only put two in place along the fence line. We could only receive 40M, sometimes 20M, and both had to be tuned and adjusted at the antenna. This year, those bands began generating high SWR. I was able to determine the wiring and connections were all good but the antenna was failing and we would miss out on the new solar cycle. We ordered a 20' Greyline, without the flag mount options, along with an LDG 100W external tuner. Due to a backlog in supplies, it took many months to process my order, and when I paid with a credit card it was cancelled the following month because they could not ship it within 30 days to process my credit card. I called and they no longer had any 20' antenna packages to ship at that time, but they agreed to ship me a 24' for the same price without further delay. That was still not going to be visible from the street above my home which is an HOA requirement, so I agreed. After receiving the equipment and installing it, I was amazed. 40M, 20M, 12M, and 10M bands were all below 1.5 SWR. 30M was an impressive 1.1 SWR. Unfortunately, I could not tune 80M, 17M, or 15M due to high SWR. Quite possibly this is an issue with the LDG tuner. We have reached far away with this antenna, and my wife began using FT8 and collected QSOs with 29 countries on multiple bands within a week. I was able to reach Australia, which showed a distance of 10,000 miles. The antenna is in my back yard, close to my house and neighbors say they don't notice it. While I could have installed it in the front as a flagpole, I would have to re-rout all of my wiring to the front of the house. This is an impressive antenna. If I were to do this again, I would like to have purchased an already assembled ladder-line to PL-259 adaptor as assembling the provided kit proved somewhat challenging without a drill press which I no longer have after downsizing a few years ago, and having to modify the clamshell case so that it would fit over the PL-259 component. The RF-choke required weather proofing so I ended up purchasing 1-1/2" waterproofed shrink tube that seemed expensive for the length needed. In the end, it all worked well when connected. I fully recommend this antenna.

Wow! So great to hear that you and the XYL both are enjoying the bands together. Let's get those other bands working. Likely a ground issue we can resolve. *We've already called him for a few testing exercises to get things dialed in. Ham Radio is fun again! Pass it on... 73 Greyline Performance

Proudly displaying "Old Glory" and working the world!

At the age of 79 was able to install the 20ft flagpole antenna without help, which surprised me. I installed solar lights above and below the flag and it's a beautiful sight at night. I attached the ladder line directly to the ground and long wire terminals on the MFJ tuner and it works perfectly. Very low SWR on all bands. In spite of poor band conditions I have been having a blast. Frankly, it tickles me to have my antenna sticking up in my front yard in plain site. My neighbors love it and the HOA is clueless. 73's, Kelly K4SLE

Latest review

Band conditions have been tough running barefoot, but I have been working DX on 20 meters! DL, SM, YU, RU, ZS, TI all in a single morning with only 70 watts. In fact i have had so much fun being back on the air i have made the decision to replace my aging 30+ year old Kenwood with a new radio. I been pleased with the antenna and my neighbors have been pleased with the look of the flagpole.

A Worthy Investment

I purchased two chokes, the coax to ladder line choke from the tuner output to the antenna ladder line and the coax to coax choke that I have installed at the radio. These work very nicely to tame noise. It's a worthwhile investment. The mini choke works better than the MFJ one that I originally was using.

My new DX 28 flagpole vertical antenna

The weather finally allowed me to complete the installation of my new DX-28. During the many storms, I was able to build and piece the antenna into three separate sections, preparing it for final installation once the ground dried out. After several weeks of poor weather, I was able to finish the installation which only took an hour. The machining quality and materials of this antenna is impressive. I used the LDG RT-100 ATU, ladder line to PL259 500 watt line isolator, with LMR400 coax. Within the first hour of operating, I made 15 contacts with 5-9-9 signal reports. I gave this 4 stars only because there was a few missing parts which greyline resolved quickly with a phone call.
WB8UIN

Great Option for HOA restricted Amatuers

This is a great solution for HOA restricted Amateurs. No one in my neighborhood realizes it's an antenna, except for the neighbors I've actually told - otherwise they would never have known. Having a helper insert the assembled flagpole inside the PVC sleeve (that's in the concrete) is a good idea. It's not heavy, just a little awkward alone.

The assembly of the antenna was relatively easy, but the documentation is spread out between a couple files and different locations on the website. While Jon was always helpful, it would go a long way to improve the documentation in a single concise file. I would be happy to assist Greyline in making this update or providing feedback.

One item of note, is the modification of the PL259 boss for soldering the ladder line. Ideally, this should be done on a drill press, it wasn't the easiest task with a hand drill and not having a vice. Greyline should consider pre-drilling the boss. The other issue I had was the supplied heat shrink with heat activated glue. It simply wouldn't work. I ended removing the glue, cutting the heat shrink, and taping it on... I'm not convinced this is even required if good precautions with No-Ox are made at the feedpoint with soldered terminals. I may be removing this.

Another update to the antenna would be to include Dacron rope - or perhaps as an upgrade option to alleviate rope replacement in a year or two.

The 3D printing of the stand-off insulators for the 450 ohm ladder line inside the aluminum is a novel idea and worked very well. However, it should be noted that the 3D printed ladder line to PL259 housing should be protected against UV. A short note in the manual would be a good idea, as well as protecting the snap-on chokes for the balun at the tuner input. This should be common sense, but a note would be helpful. I'm also wondering how long the flag hooks will last, they are plastic and appear to be 3D printed as well.

On-Air performance is very good, it compares well to a multi-band trapped dipole I have in my garage attic. Notably, it fills the gap in the dipole nulls off the tips. I am using the MFJ-993BRT tuner, as I already had it on-hand. I am finding that the tuner has some difficulty resolving a match to the antenna, and will not find a solution on 160M. I plan to take impedance measurements before winter. I believe this to be a tuner deficiency. I've made many contacts, domestic and DX (EU, SA, NA) on several bands.

The reason I'm giving the antenna 4 stars and not 5 stars is for the documentation deficiencies, the difficulty drilling the PL259 boss, and the work-around of the heat shrink / glue. I have more work to do regarding the tuner / impedance. I recently noticed that the screws for the bottom insulator were loose. This may have been an assembly issue on my part, but I will continue to monitor them, and apply blue Loctite if they loosen again.

In summary, I do think this is a great solution for HOA restricted Amatuers, and will get many people on the air that would not be otherwise. Some minor updates, in my opinion, would go a long way from making this a really good product to a great product.

Dennis KT8X

We are delighted for this review. Thank you for the detail and list format. We will implement many (or all) of these at our next meeting and revise some of our documents too. Appreciate this very much. Surely our peers and customers will appreciate your efforts for years to come. Thank you, sir! Ham Radio is fun again.... 73 Greyline

RF CHOKES

Very nice product! Worth the wait! I highly recommend Greyline Performance.

Performs as expected

A good station accessory to have. The CM choke performs as expected.

Great Antenna for HOA

All workmanship is really great. Flag is very good and made in the USA. It is not an all weather flag but still of good quality. Instructions are great. I had read from notations from from other owners on the Greyline site that on the ladder line the center conductor went on the top portion of the vertical antenna and the shield on the lower section. I’m glad that this was in the customer pointers. I used anti-seize on connector screws. I the components are stainless steel and anti- seize is normally used especially if going to remove antenna in the foreseeable future. I had some screws loosen (and they were tightened down well. I have since taken all lower section screws out and out on blue lock tite. SinceI have done that I issues. Due to supply issues I could not get the 600 watt tuner so was given some options and I took the 200 watt remote tuner version. It has worked very well. Later I want to get a full power remote tuner.

Very Happy, Works Great!

I am very pleased with my 24' Flagpole Antenna. Jon helped me over the phone to place my order and it took about 5 weeks for everything to arrive. The Flagpole, LDG 600 Tuner, and the Feedline and flag kit arrived in 3 separate shipments.

Assembly was fairly easy although I found some of the written instructions a bit ambiguous but Jon always answered my emails with either an email reply or a phone call. I was surprised on how strong the Flagpole is considering how light weight it is. Make sure you wear gloves when handling the fiberglass insulators. I decided to add the Palomar Engineers 1:1 Mini Balun and Maxi Choker to my assembly which I ordered directly from Palomar. My typical SWR readings are less than 1.3 or better on all bands and I am getting great signal reports! I plan on getting a 600 Watt amplifier this summer.

I ran LMR 400 Coax to feed the antenna and a heavy duty extension cord for powering a light to luminate my flag at night through conduit that I buried under ground (with my Echo Dot and a smart plug, it allows me to tell Alexa to turn the Flagpole light on and off). I purchased a concrete form tube to aid in concreting the PVC Sleeve in the ground. The antenna weighs less than 30 lbs. so it was very easy to set in place once the concrete cured. Hooking up to the ladder line and antenna was a breeze. Currently I have a nice planter placed upside down to cover the remote tuner. I think it looks great and my neighbors have commented on how nice my "Flagpole" looks. In my HOA , I would not be able to be on the air without my Greyline Performance Flagpole Antenna!

Dave KC7WEZ

No Questions Asked

I ordered Greyline’ 28’ OCF Vertical Dipole October 25,2018 (Order #FP-55221014) I erected antenna in Happy Valley, Oregon (there is pix on their website). I am an 82-year-old Retired Episcopal Priest and did assembly myself which is good for this Extra Class ‘appliance operator’. This year we had a strange wind/ice storm which brought down some trees and large tree limbs, including all my antennas. It was a unique happening for ice formed very quickly and I could not lower flag which turned into a huge block of ice contributing to taking down my vertical flagpole antenna. I contacted Greyline about purchasing several sections and hardware for an attempted repair. Before getting any specific answer concerning needed parts, I got e-mail that package had been sent from Greyline. I was confused until a thirty-pound carton appeared on my front porch. Greyline had replaced my 28’ Flagpole Antenna, no questions asked. I never thought about this on Greyline’s first page of advertising for 28' DX Flagpole Antenna, Stealth HOA Vertical Antenna No Radials 160-6M
• Industry-leading 4-year warranty
Just wanted you to know --- Greyline replaced my Vertical Antenna --- No Questions asked! By the way it also Works!

Great Quality!

Just now getting started with the project (due to Pittsburgh winters). So far, the quality of materials far exceeds expectations.
Can’t wait to get this thing up and running.

Very Pleased @ DX is working very well

I'm very happy with my flagpole antenna. It took a little doing to get it in the ground with all my nosy HOA neighbors. No complaints from them. I have been making many contacts and yesterday I made a contact on 17 meters @ 8,632 miles- India from South Florida. It didn't last long but good enough to make it into my log. I hung a wire dipole for an alternate, but the Flagpole antenna was 2 S units above. John at Greyline has responded quickly to my many questions and got me up and on the air. I am new to Ham Radio so Johns help was very valuable.

I would very much recommend this flagpole antenna. Especially to those living where the HOA gestapo watching.

73

Bill Whittaker
USMC retired
Semper FI
KO4IOE

28’ flagpole antenna

I was positively surprised with what strong and solid elements the mast was made of.

Finally have the antenna

I really glad that I have my antenna now. It fits in perfectly with my house and available space for an antenna.
I have the antenna mounted in a 4 foot long 12 inch diameter sonotube, with about 8 inches of gravel in the bottom and the rest in concrete. We have had winds of 30 MP/H this month and the antenna has been fine.

Here is the good stuff: After discovering and correcting that I was feeding the bottom 4 feet, and not the top 24 feet, this antenna can really transmit. I have been received on FT-8 as far away as Antarctica and Zambia transmitting at 40 watts. I have SWR readings mostly below 1.1 across 80 meters to 10 meters, thanks to the LDG antenna tuner. On 160 meters my SWR stays below 2. On 6 meters, the SWR gets up to 3, which is still usable.

I am still having issues with reception. I think it is mostly due to noise, and I am not blaming the antenna for this. The antenna sits 3 feet from my house, 18 inches from the eve. My local ordinances require the antenna to be set back from the property line by the antennas height, so not a lot of options for location at my house.

I recently added MFJ-915 common mode chokes to both ends of my feed-line, in addition to the Palomar unit provided by Greyline. This has significantly reduced my noise, at the cost of slightly worse SWR readings. I have not had much time to test with this new configuration. So far, my most distant SSB QSO has been 2 miles. I have more than a dozen FT-8 QSO's across the USA.

My only outstanding issue with the antenna is the flag pulley which goes at the top of the antenna. The one I received is twice the diameter of the antenna, so it won't clamp down on the antenna. I am still waiting to here back from Greyline on this issue.

In summary, this is a really nice antenna. It takes some time to get one, but I am happy now. I hope to resolve my noise and sensitivity issues eventually, but based on my transmissions, I don't think it is an antenna problem.

Les Hildenbrandt N1TS

G
20' DX Flagpole Antenna + LDG RT-600 Stealth Ham Radio in HOA
Greg Weber
20' DX Flagpole Antenna with LDG RT-600 Tuner

This antenna was easy to install and looks very good in my HOA environment. The SWR from 6M to 80M was typically 1.5 or better. So far I have been able to work FT8 in the US, Canada, Europe and South America. I'm very pleased with the performance of this antenna.

Working Great

Great SWR 40M thru 6M but not so good on 80M & 160M but it still makes contacts. I have worked 63 countries in my first month on FT8

63 DXCC’s in 1 month! Impressive result and beautiful antenna site! (See Reviews page for pics)

Note: We are in contact with James regarding 40-80M SWR. We believe 1.5 or better is routine and expected with this system arrangement. Ham radio is fun again!

4 Ft flagpole extender

Adding an additionial four feet radiating area to 20 ft antenna adds a statistically significant increase in total antenna efficiency. The antenna simply performs better. Glad I bought it.