AF1RO: Every Continent on FT8 — 50W, 20' Flagpole

von Greyline Performance 29. Januar. 2024

Customer Spotlight

Andrew, AF1RO/4 · Melbourne, FL

Every Continent on FT8 — 50 Watts, 20-Foot Flagpole, HOA Lot

A model install from Melbourne, Florida. Drew runs a 20′ Greyline DX Flagpole with an MFJ-998RT remote tuner — and works the planet at 50 watts. His logbook and DX map tell the story better than we can.

In His Words

"I've communicated with every continent and am able to use almost all bands with a 1:1 SWR ."

Map showing global contacts made by AF1RO with a Greyline flagpole antenna

AF1RO's transmissions across the globe — from Florida to deep Asiatic Russia, Europe, and all parts between. Click for a live or current map.

The Logbook

50 watts, the whole planet

"Here's a screenshot of my logbook so folks can see the performance of the 20′ flagpole. At 50 watts, you can literally connect to the entire planet. This shows 10m, 17m, 20m, 30m, and 40m over a two-day period, from Melbourne, FL."

10–40M logged contacts. Note the countries.

The Install

Stealth, with style points

Back in September 2023, Drew wrote in the night he got on the air: "MFJ-998RT installed, 20′ flagpole working as advertised. First night on the air and already worked S51DX in Slovenia on 20m."

AF1RO 20-foot Greyline DX Flagpole antenna install

The 20′ Greyline DX Flagpole — 160–6M operation.

MFJ-998RT remote tuner installed beside the Greyline flagpole

MFJ-998RT remote tuner (160–10M) mounted on non-conductive PVC support, with a Mix-31 snap-on choke at the ATU exit.

Stealth rock covering the MFJ-998RT remote tuner

A stealth rock over the tuner keeps the whole installation tidy and neighbor-friendly.

Andrew, that install has plenty of style points — the rock over the 998RT is a clean touch. Great show.

Keep the Neighbors Happy Like Drew

20′ DX Flagpole + MFJ-998RT Bundle

The same setup that put Drew on every continent at 50 watts. Antenna and remote tuner, matched and ready. No radials. Free shipping.

View the Bundle ›

The Greyline Standard

7-Year Warranty — we believe in the build that much.
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From the Field

What operators tell us

"Real DX, 160–6M, at my HOA."
"4-Band DXCC in 3 months at my HOA."
"So pretty my XYL approves."
"If I can hear it, I can work it."

Keep Reading

73,

Jon, KL2A — Greyline Performance

Sun Valley, Idaho · 435-200-4902

Ham radio is fun again.

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24 foot flagpole antenna review

First I would start by thanking Greyline for excellent communication and support. Any questions I had were promptly answered and addressed.
The antenna assembly went quick and was pretty easy to follow. I can tune <1.5:1 for 10m to 40m. 80m is hit or miss but is probably due to my older antenna tuner as it tunes 80m some of the time. WSPR tests show good propagation with some contacts in Australia and South America from California (QTH). Made some FT8 contacts with East Coast US. Ran some high power SSB tests and all good. Overall very happy with the antenna. It is well manufactured.

reply to your request for an update.

Recieved the antenna in good shape. Checked out the video and manual for assemble. Worked on where the best place to install it. In the process of Ordering support items. ladder antenna and then I got sick. Currently I am on the mend and will keep you updated.
I do have a question regarding in ground laterals that many verticle antenna need. I did not see instructions for ground laterals?
Probably a few more questions, however both the video and manual are great.
Thank You
Roger Lutz [****]. [****]

Very Happy

I'm very happy with this antenna. It looks great as a flagpole. Easy to setup and get on the air. Works and performs very well.

I was really surprised

I am not your normal Flagpole user. I was running an Icom 7610 when I bought it, 24' + 4' extension with LDG tuner, and it was the best vertical I have used. I then went digital and upgraded to a Flex 8600 with an Antenna Genius and a Tuner Genius. I was having a lot of trouble getting the LDG to work consistently with the 8600 system. In desperation I removed the LDG from the equation and installed a Balun Design 4115T 4:1 Balun to the ladder wire from the Flagpole. I was amazed that I could tune most bands to less than 1.5 to 1, but I could not tune 160m, 12m, and 10m. I then added the extension. I took the kit apart and used galvonic grease on all of the connections. I then set the length to 138 7/16 inches and use shrink wrap on all of the connectors. I had to rent a lift truck to get the extension on the Flagpole and used galvonic grease on the connection. The extension made the Flagpole not tune on 6m, but everything else was great. I do not believe in a perfect world so having a 160m to 6m antenna that did not do well on all bands in-between was not a surprise. When I cranked up the new system with the Flagpole feeding the 8600 I was stunned. I know that you might think that that is just marketing talk, but it is true. I run WSJT-X and JTAlert. Yesterday, a Thursday, I started a session around 3:00 Pensacola, FL time. I started on 30m with the Tuner Genius giving me a 1.19 to 1. I was able to get a QSO from every contact In my JTAlert list. Anyone I could see I could receive. I then tuned to 20m. For whatever reason the pattern was full. I started making contacts and was able to make 20 straight QSO's in a row, all from outside of the USA. The average distance from Pensacola to the QSO's was around 4,000 miles. They spanned from South Africa to Australia to Finland. That is a coverage area of around 18,000 thousand miles. Do atmospheric conditions work that way? If they do I have never experienced it before. You should be the judge on just how good this Antenna - Radio combination is.
73
Bill - NO4ON

Works Great

Easy installation and work even better than expected. WX4DX

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