Common Questions | Greyline Performance

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Common Questions

The questions operators ask most. If yours isn't here, call us at 435-200-4902 or use the contact form.

Ordering & Products

Which antenna is right for me — DXF or DXV?
The DXF is the flagpole version: it looks like a residential flagpole and flies a full-size flag, which suits HOA neighborhoods and anywhere aesthetics matter. The DXV is the bare vertical: same physics, no flag hardware, for rooftop, commercial, or rural installs. Both are the same vertical dipole and both cover 160 through 6 meters. The Selection Guide walks through the full decision.
What height should I order?
Every height works every band, 160 through 6. So choose by your lot, your wind, and your HOA, then buy the tallest those allow: height is aperture, and it pays most on 40, 80, and 160. Shorter heights carry the higher wind ratings; taller heights add low-band signal and move the bonus gain down the dial. What height should I buy? has the numbers for every height.
What comes in the box?
The antenna, in 4-foot sections with the couplers already bolted on, plus a complete feedline kit: ladder line, five snap-on ferrites that make the 1:1 choke, a ladder-line to PL-259 adapter, and spacers. Every DX Flagpole also includes the flag kit. In the standard installation, the ladder line lives inside the pole and the adapter at the base joins it to your feedline. You do not need to order either kit separately; the listings in the store are spares and conversions. Print the Assembly Quick Card → · The feedline kit install guide →
Do I need the ATU bundle or can I use my own tuner?
You can use your own. Almost any decent-size tuner works, in the shack or at the antenna. Match its power rating to your station, use quality feedline, and give it room to reach the low bands. The LDG RT-100 remote is the easy, affordable starter.
What is the lead time?
Antennas ship within days. As a default we ask for up to three weeks, because things happen in a hand-built shop — this season we are caught up and shipping fast. Tracking reaches your inbox the day each box ships. Current status is always on the Order Status page.
Is shipping free?
Every antenna ships free to the USA and Canada, and anything shipped with an antenna ships free too — tilt bases, whips, feedline, hardware, tuners. Accessories ordered on their own ship at carrier cost.
Do you ship outside the United States and Canada?
Yes, worldwide, and we do not mark up freight: you pay what the carrier charges us. Most European operators pay between $150 and $250 for a complete antenna, depending on model and destination. Duties and import VAT are set by your country and paid on arrival. If the number at checkout looks wrong, stop and call us and we will quote it by hand. Full details on the International Shipping page.
What is the warranty?
Every Greyline antenna carries a 7-year structural warranty for the original purchaser. If something is wrong in those 7 years, call us and we will work it through with you and repair or replace what needs it. Returns within 30 days of delivery are covered by our refund policy.

Installation & Setup

Does it really work without radials?
Yes. The Greyline is a vertical dipole: return current flows through the lower element instead of a buried radial field, so there is no radial field to lay and no ground loss in series with the feed. Rooftop, asphalt, concrete, or frozen ground all work. The ground is still there, and it still shapes the far-field pattern for every vertical, which is why a Greyline over salt water does better than one over dry rock; but performance depends far less on soil than a ground-fed vertical's does. A traditional vertical's radial field can run hundreds of feet on 160 meters, toward every noise source on the property; a 2-inch pole goes wherever your lot is quietest. Full physics explanation here.
How long does the install take?
Two separate jobs. Assembling the antenna runs 30 to 60 minutes — one person, one Allen wrench. The site work is its own timeline: one post hole, a concrete-set ground sleeve, and a cure of 24 hours or more before you load the pole. Dig and pour before the antenna arrives and you can raise it the same week it reaches you. The Assembly Quick Card puts every step on four printable pages.
What feedline and choke do I need?
The 1:1 choke comes in your box: five snap-on ferrites that keep RF off the outside of the feedline and out of the shack. It goes at the feedpoint — unless you run a remote tuner at the antenna, in which case it goes on the radio side of the tuner. Always a 1:1 choke, never a 4:1. For the run from the pole to your tuner you have real options: low-loss coax such as genuine Times Microwave LMR-400 or LMR-600, Andrew Heliax for long runs, ladder line all the way on an aerial run, or balanced twisted pair buried in metallic conduit. Most owners default to coax, but the most common choice is not always the most efficient one for a given run — the Feedline Loss Calculator compares them for your length and bands. Feedline System Kits lays out every option, and Your RF System, End To End shows how it fits together.
The ladder line is 450 ohms and my coax is 50. Do I need a 9:1 (or 4:1) to match them?
No — and this trips up a lot of new operators. The "450 ohms" printed on ladder line is the line's characteristic impedance, not the impedance your antenna presents. A multiband antenna shows a different impedance on every band, so no fixed ratio like 450:50 describes it, and no fixed 9:1 or 4:1 transformer can match it; it would only move the mismatch around and add loss. Matching is the tuner's job: in the shack or at the antenna, it transforms whatever the antenna presents, band by band, to the 50 ohms your radio wants. The choke's job is common mode: the 1:1 choke keeps RF off the outside of the feedline. Tuner for the match, choke for the common mode. Want to see what each feedline actually costs you on your run? Put your line, length, and bands into the Feedline Loss Calculator and compare coax, ladder line, and hardline side by side.
Where is the best place to install the antenna on my property?
Run a noise audit before you dig. With no radial field, you can place the pole wherever your lot is quietest. Grab a battery-powered AM radio, tune off any broadcast station so you hear just noise, and walk your property. Near the utility meter, HVAC units, the neighbor's panel, and LED lighting are typical loud spots. Install in the quietest zone you find. Ten minutes of walking pays off every day you operate. Where to mount it →
How much concrete do I need for the ground sleeve?
One standard 50-lb bag of fast-set concrete is sufficient for most residential installations. Dig the hole 3 feet deep, set the sleeve, fill with concrete, check plumb with a level, and allow 24 hours cure time before loading the pole. For decks and existing concrete pads, the Deck and Concrete Mount is a no-dig alternative.
My tuner will not tune on 160 or 80 meters. What do I check?
In order: (1) Check the connections at the ladder-line adapter and confirm the ferrites are on. (2) Reset the tuner memory and retune each band from scratch — a band that has never been tuned looks dead, and it is not. (3) Consider the tuner itself: small tuners often cannot reach 160, and sometimes 80, on a non-resonant antenna. A tuner with a wider matching range, at the antenna, is the fix — not a 4:1 or 9:1 transformer. If you are still stuck, call us.
Does the antenna need to be grounded?
The antenna floats: it is a dipole, and nothing in its RF circuit connects to earth. Your station should surely be grounded, and our recommendation is the ARRL's: follow its guidance for station grounding, bonding, and lightning surge protection. In practice that looks like a grounded bulkhead entry panel where the feedline enters the building, bonded to your service ground, and surge protectors along the coax — at the base, the entry, or both — each bonded to ground. If a remote tuner takes power over the coax, use DC-pass protectors. Ward Silver's Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur (ARRL) is the reference we point every owner to.

Performance

What bands does it cover?
All of them — 160 through 6 meters from a single feedpoint with a tuner. No band switching, no separate antennas. That includes the WARC bands, MARS, and military and commercial HF allocations; with a tuner rated there, coverage runs from 1.5 to 54 MHz.
How does it compare to a wire dipole or end-fed?
Favorably in most residential situations. A wire dipole has to be hung high to match a vertical's low-angle reach, and horizontal wire needs far more space and is visually obvious. With the 1:1 choke keeping the feedline quiet, and a small footprint you can place away from the neighbor's noise, operators consistently report a cleaner received signal than their previous wire antennas.
Will it handle my power?
Yes. The antenna itself comfortably handles the full legal limit, including digital modes at sustained power. What sets your system's rating is the tuner and the choke, so match them to your station: the LDG RT-100 is rated 125 watts SSB and CW, and amplifier stations need a higher-rated tuner and a dedicated current choke. Call us with your amplifier and duty cycle and we will spec the right system: 435-200-4902.

HOA & Aesthetics

Will my HOA approve this?
We cannot promise any board's answer, but many CC&Rs permit residential flagpoles, and a DX Flagpole is a real commercial-grade flagpole that flies a full-size flag. Being straightforward with your board tends to work best. We give you the documents boards ask for: the Architectural Brief, the Neighbor FAQ, and the Commercial-Grade Guide. The HOA Approval Hub →
What does it look like from the street?
A premium residential flagpole: polished aluminum, clean lines, a full-size flag. The pole itself is the antenna, so there is nothing added to see — no stubs, no loading coils, no radial wires. Operators regularly tell us their neighbors compliment the installation.

Question not here?

Call 435-200-4902 or use the contact form. We are operators — we are glad to help.

Ham Radio is fun again! Pass it on… 73, Jon KL2A