The Skyline 29: Every Band, With the Height to Wake Up 40
Every band, 160 through 6, from one feedpoint and no radials. This is the balanced build: take the 20-foot DX Vertical, add the 9-foot DX Whip, and you stand 29 feet of aperture — enough height to wake up 40 meters, with bonus gain across 30 through 15, strongest on 17 at about +3.5 dBi, and a pattern that stays clean further up the dial than any taller Skyline.
Here is what that height buys you, band by band, with no marketing fog.
What 29 Feet Is For
Every band on the dial. Enough height to wake up 40. Strong through 20, 17, and 15. The band-hopper's combo.
Why Add The Whip At All
A bare 20-foot vertical is a proven performer — compact, stealthy, every band, with its strongest bonus on 10 meters. So why nine more feet on top? Because length is aperture: it moves the bonus gain down the dial, from 10 meters toward 17, and adds radiator on 40 and 80, where every backyard vertical is electrically short. For the 20-foot base, 40 meters stops being a stretch and starts being a working band.
The Gain, Band By Band
We model our antennas rather than guess at them. In NEC modeling over average ground — total height, feedpoint section included — measured against an ideal quarter-wave standing on a full field of buried radials, which sits at 0 dBi, here is the Skyline 29:
| Band | Modeled gain |
|---|---|
| 40 m | −0.5 dBi — within half a decibel of a full-radial quarter-wave, with no radials; about 1 dB over the bare 20-foot |
| 30 m | +1.1 dBi — ahead of the quarter-wave |
| 20 m | +2.3 dBi |
| 17 m | +3.5 dBi — the strongest |
| 15 m | +2.5 dBi |
| 12 and 10 m | Multi-lobe pattern (see below) |
How to read these numbers: 0 dBi is the textbook quarter-wave on dozens of buried radials — the antenna almost no small lot can hold. A decibel is about the smallest change an ear can hear; 3 dB doubles your power. So do not be afraid of a half-decibel minus on 40. It is a lot of antenna. How to read antenna gain →
Where the bonus lives, 30 through 15 meters. On 40 it sits within half a decibel of the full-radial quarter-wave. The gain climbs through 30 and 20, is strongest on 17 at about +3.5 dBi, and is still a healthy +2.5 on 15 — the 29-footer's quiet advantage, where its taller siblings have already gone multi-lobe. Fewer feet, better manners. And on 80 and 160, small-lot operators working 500 to 1,000 miles are delighted to be in the game.
Where it gets interesting, 12 and 10 meters. A radiator this tall on those short wavelengths develops a multi-lobe pattern, some lobes at useful angles and some not. That is physics, not a defect — plenty of that energy still lands where DX and regional contacts live, and it arrives later on the dial here than on any taller Skyline.
How We State A Claim
We model the gain, we name the bands where the pattern gets complicated, and we say so out loud. That is the difference between a spec sheet and a sales pitch.
Who This Is For
Reach for the Skyline 29 if you hop bands all week — 40 for the evening nets, 20, 17, and 15 for the daylight DX — and you want one antenna that behaves everywhere. It is also the natural pick for the smaller lot: the least conspicuous Skyline in the ladder, with a higher wind rating than the taller builds.
The open vertical configuration is the taller, cleaner build. If you are in an HOA and need the antenna to read as a flagpole, the Skyline 29 comes as a flagpole too — same height, same physics, with the flag hardware that keeps the peace with the neighbors.
The Build // 29 Feet, Two Pieces
Base: 20-foot DX Vertical, 160-6M, no radials, the compact workhorse of the Greyline line.
Top: 9-foot DX Whip, installs in about two minutes, no tools, field-upgradeable any time.
Total height: 29 feet of aperture, the balanced number.
Bonus bands: every band works; in NEC modeling it also runs ahead of a full-radial quarter-wave on 30 through 15 — 17M (about +3.5 dBi), 15M (+2.5), 20M (+2.3), 30M (+1.1) — and within half a decibel on 40M. Multi-lobe on 12M and 10M.
FT8 / digital: Full duty cycle at rated power — a solid radiator with no traps or loading coils to heat.
How it ships: 4-foot, 2-inch sections with the couplers already bolted on — no loose hardware — bagged and boxed, plus the whip.
Configurations: Open DX Vertical (taller, no flag) or Flagpole (HOA-friendly, flies a flag).
Complete The Station — Priced As A System
The Tilt-Up Base — at 29 feet, this is what keeps the antenna a one-person job for life. Walk it down to waist height for the whip, a hardware check, or a storm, and walk it back up alone. $50 off automatically with any Skyline.
Assembled coax and hardline — genuine Times Microwave LMR-400 and LMR-600 and Andrew Heliax, cut to length, terminated, weatherproofed and labeled. The antenna is only as good as the line feeding it. 10% off the feedline automatically with any antenna. Measure radio to feedpoint and add about 15%.
A tuner, in the shack or at the antenna — both work, and almost any decent-size ATU will do. The LDG RT-100 remote is the easy, affordable starter; see the whole tuner shelf.
Add The Height, Work The Bands
The balanced build does not chase one band, it shows up on all of them. Twenty-nine feet of aperture, modeled and stated with its reference, waking up 40 meters with bonus gain through the middle of the dial — one antenna for the operator who refuses to pick a favorite. The masters teach the physics. Greyline ships the height. Now go work the bands.
Build Your Skyline 29
Open DX Vertical (taller, no flag) — 20' DXV plus the 9' DX Whip.
Flagpole (HOA-friendly) — 20' DX Flagpole plus the 9' DX Whip, with the flag hardware.
Current pricing is shown at the top of this page and on the Skyline Series page. Antennas ship within days, free to the USA and Canada.
The Skyline Ladder + Keep Reading
The Skyline 33 and Skyline 37 — the 33 at the classic 40-meter quarter-wave height; the 37 with the most length in the line, bonus gain up to about +4 dBi on 17.
What Height Should I Buy? — every height works every band; here is where each one earns its bonus.
The Antenna Selection Guide — tell it about your lot, and it finds your height.
