The Skyline 33: Every Band, From the Classic 40-Meter Height
Thirty-three feet is not an arbitrary number. It is the textbook quarter-wave on 40 meters, the height operators have been building toward for a century of low-band work. Take the 24-foot DX Vertical, add the 9-foot DX Whip, and you stand exactly there — no tower, no radials, no guy wires — working every band from 160 through 6, with bonus gain across 30 through 15, strongest on 17 at about +3.5 dBi.
Here is what that height buys you, band by band, with no marketing fog.
What 33 Feet Is For
The classic 40-meter height, every band above it, and a bonus riding on 17. The working DXer's build.
Why Add The Whip At All
A bare 24-foot vertical already works every band, with its own bonus up high and real reach below. So why nine more feet on top? Because more aperture moves the bonus down the bands and adds radiator on 40 and 80, where every backyard vertical is electrically short. The whip does not take a band away; it gives you more antenna on the low ones.
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 33:
| Band | Modeled gain |
|---|---|
| 40 m | 0.0 dBi — equal to a full-radial quarter-wave, with no radials; about 1 dB over the bare 24-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 and up | Multi-lobe pattern, still working (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 zero or a small negative here. It is a lot of antenna. How to read antenna gain →
Every band, 160 through 6. On 40 it matches the full-radial quarter-wave at the classic quarter-wave height. The gain climbs through 30 and 20 to its strongest on 17. On 80 and 160, the added length is aperture the band rewards: small-lot operators working 500 to 1,000 miles down there are delighted to be in the game.
And up top, 15 through 10 meters. A radiator this tall on a short wavelength develops a multi-lobe pattern, some lobes at useful angles and some heading higher. That is physics, not a defect — plenty of that energy still lands where DX and regional contacts live, and the antenna works those bands every day.
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 33 if your lot can hold 33 feet and you want the classic 40-meter height with every band above it. The founder, who has every Greyline height to swap between at home, runs his tallest with a whip on top — and reaches for a bare 24-foot when 10 meters opens. Height is the lever; the whip is how you pull it.
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 33 comes as a flagpole too — same height, same physics, with the flag hardware that keeps the peace with the neighbors.
The Build // 33 Feet, Two Pieces
Base: 24-foot DX Vertical — every band, 160-6M, one feedpoint, no radials.
Top: 9-foot DX Whip, installs in about two minutes, no tools, field-upgradeable any time.
Total height: 33 feet — the classic 40-meter quarter-wave.
Bonus bands: every band works; in NEC modeling it also runs ahead of a full-radial quarter-wave across 30 through 15 — 17M (about +3.5 dBi), 20M (+2.3), 30M (+1.1) — and matches one on 40M. Multi-lobe 15M and up.
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 33 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
Thirty-three feet of aperture, modeled and stated with its reference: the number 40 meters was practically designed around, every band above it, and a 17-meter bonus riding on top. The masters teach the physics. Greyline ships the height. Now go work the bands.
Build Your Skyline 33
Open DX Vertical (taller, no flag) — 24' DXV plus the 9' DX Whip.
Flagpole (HOA-friendly) — 24' 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 37 and Skyline 29 — every band on both; the 37 carries the most aperture, with bonus gain up to about +4 dBi on 17, and the 29 is the shorter pole with a higher wind rating.
What Height Should I Buy? — aperture, the bonus, and why every height works every band.
The Antenna Selection Guide — tell it your lot, it finds your height.
