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
