Greyline Antenna Reviews | Real Ham Operator Field Reports

Real Hams · Real DX · Real Reports

Hear What the Community Is Saying

We build antennas for operators, not consumers — so the proof that matters is the proof from the field: the signal reports, the SWR numbers, the first DX after years off the air. What follows are real customers, in their own words, working the world from home and HOA lots with a Greyline.

★★★★★

4.8 out of 5 average — 60+ verified reviews and counting. The overwhelming majority: five stars.

Live feed at the bottom of this page. Unedited. Good, great, and the occasional gripe — all of it.

Want the deep dives?
These are the broad reviews from across the community. For full operator case studies — verified callsigns, install details, SWR by band, and contest logs — visit the Greyline Field Reports.

Field Reports: Signals, SWR & DX

Operators around the country send us the numbers that count — match, bands, power, and where the signal landed. A sample, by state:

FLORIDA · 20′ DXV · Craig, W3GF

“After several months I wanted to tell you how happy I am. With a little tweaking I now have matches no greater than 1.8:1, 75M through 6M. Even in poor conditions I’ve worked Albania, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Italy, Spain and most of Europe — great reports on 100 watts. If I can hear them, I can work them, even through serious pileups. I’m particularly impressed with 6M performance.”

DELAWARE · 20′ Flagpole · Stuart

“Installation is complete and on the air — performance so far is fantastic. 40 through 10 meters are alive, especially 30 and 20M into Europe, Africa, Scandinavia, Russia, North and South America. FT8 on 10 to 30 watts. It looks great and performs great — compliments from several neighbors.”

OREGON · Flagpole

“Yup, 80 years old and got it up by myself! Tuner on the back of the shed, 100 feet of buried coax to the house. It tunes on all bands under 1.5:1 — gets on 160 with a little help and takes 1kW just fine.”

PENNSYLVANIA · 20′ Flagpole · Kevin, N3VZI

“I made many contacts with great reports, including Europe and all over the US. What amazes me is how quiet it is for a vertical — my EFHW wire brings in a lot more noise at about the same signal strength. I can hear weak stations I’d never hear on the wire. It runs 5-9 plus 10dB reports from most contacts on 20M. The main reason I like it? It doesn’t look like an antenna, and my wife likes it when the flag is flying. This gave me the incentive to go for my Extra.”

NEW MEXICO · HF Vertical · Ron

“I have no other antenna up, so there’s nothing to compare it with — but I’ve had good reports about strong signals from time to time. Here’s hoping propagation keeps improving.”

In the Operator’s Own Words

24′ DX FLAGPOLE · Howard Glassman, K4OBC

“With the remote tuner my SWR is 1.2 in the CW portion of 40M, 1.1 all the way across 20M, 1.2–1.4 on 15M. I’m a CW guy and have worked all over Europe and South America, plus New Zealand, with very good signal reports. It works way better than I expected.”

24′ DX FLAGPOLE · Greg Newman, K7GAN

“I installed a 24′ DX Flagpole in my covenant-restricted area about 3.5 years ago and made several thousand QSOs. Super-quality material, easy to install, and it performed better than expected from my noisy locale. When I refurbished it, it fired up first time with no issues — I’m seeing S-levels I haven’t seen in a while. Longest QSO was about 12,500 miles on FT8. Super awesome.”

24′ & 28′ (with 4′ extensions) · Marvin

“I have two Greyline antennas, both with 4′ extensions. I’ve made contacts all over the world — an all-continent award, plus friendship awards on all bands 80 through 6M, and I can tune 160M as well. These are aircraft-quality aluminum and hardware, very lightweight, with thick-sidewall tubing that will stand a lifetime of weather. No problem working worldwide on 100 watts.”

20′ DX FLAGPOLE · Charles Miller

“I got HOA approval even though they require white fiberglass flagpoles — I explained it was a genuine flagpole that also provided emergency comms. Living in hurricane country, that’s a good thing to have in the hood. As someone who has built their own flagpole antenna, this is a great design. The machined parts and hardware are first-rate, and the performance is superb — I’m working FT8 points 1000+ miles on 20W.”

XYL-Approved, HOA-Approved

A recurring theme in the mail: the antenna that earns a second look from the neighbors — and a thumbs-up from the household.

High-performance Greyline flagpole antenna at a beautiful lakefront home

“It’s so pretty my XYL asked me to install it in the front yard. Imagine that — the front yard!” (after he’d installed it in the back)
“Looks great and works even better. I hear more stations on my regular nets than I normally do. A beautiful addition to my HOA property.” — Robert Schrader
“My wife appreciates the compliments from the neighbors, and it reminds her of her father’s flagpole.”
“Happy wife, quiet bands & loud signals — and I’m going for my Extra.” — new ham, Pennsylvania

On the Build Quality

“OUTSTANDING fit and finish of the highest quality. Went together like a charm. Absolutely NO issues. Excellent instructions.” — Peter Dehman, W4ISA · 20′ DXV
“Not the normal aluminum used by other manufacturers — precision-machined tubing that fit together tightly with thick fiberglass insulating sections. My QSO and country count really started accelerating. I can now reach Australia and the South Pacific with ease from the East Coast.” — Christopher Souris · 28′ ground-mounted DXV
“The pieces went together like hand and glove. Really appreciate the fine workmanship.” — Earl Ritchie · 20′ Flagpole

First Contacts & Back on the Air

“What a wonderful antenna — I’ve made contacts in over 50 countries in less than three weeks. Easy to assemble and it works.” — Dean Breaux · 24′ Flagpole + ATU
“Night and day difference. My radio came alive — already connected with Australia, Japan, and all over the states.” — Bill Cassidy · 24′ Vertical, Arkansas
“Made significant DX contacts over the past nine months. Straightforward installation with very good support from Greyline.” — Dean Oakley · 20′ Flagpole
“First three HF contacts were Japan on 10 & 17 meters from Tucson, AZ. Very sturdy with beautiful looks.” — Andrew Croft · 20′

WHY WE PUBLISH THE WHOLE PICTURE

Honest feedback is the cornerstone of how we improve. Our live review feed below is unedited — including the four-star notes and the occasional issue. When a customer flagged a worn flag after three months, we replaced it and explained the U.S. Government’s own 90-day expected lifespan for a flag flown daily. When parts have been missing, we’ve made it right.

We’re radio operators too. If something isn’t right, call us — 435-200-4902.

Where Operators Talk — Off Our Property

The reviews on this page live on our servers, and healthy skepticism says you should want more than that. Operators also review Greyline in places we cannot touch — independent venues with their own screening, their own rules, and no microphone for the manufacturer. That is exactly why they matter:

eHam.net — the hobby’s independent review database, written by operators and screened by eHam. Read the community’s verdict on the DX Flagpole Verticals and the DX Verticals.
Better Business Bureau — read customer reviews on our BBB profile.

If a Greyline has earned a place in your station, your honest experience — in your own words, wherever you are comfortable sharing it — is the most useful signal in this hobby. Good, great, or a fair gripe: all of it makes the next operator’s decision easier.

See & Hear It on the Air

Greyline Performance on YouTube — customer installs, product deep-dives, and on-air action.
Schoolkids build a DX Flagpole in 90 minutes — with on-air audio of a 20′ OCF working Europe on 50W from the Seattle area.
Featured on Ham Radio Crash Course and Ham Talk Live (“Stealth Antennas & HOAs”). Greyline made the cover of CQ Magazine from Montenegro, September 2021.

Ready to put one up yourself?

No radials. No wires. The pole is the antenna. 160–6M.

SHOP HOA FLAGPOLE ANTENNAS → SHOP HF VERTICALS →

Have a story or signal report? Send it in — you could be featured here.

Great Improvement!

Living in Florida, prepping for high winds and hurricanes isn't uncommon. Now that I have the tilt-up base installed for my DXF-24 flagpole, that preparation just got so much easier. Remove one bolt, loosen the other, and the antenna comes down easily and goes back up just as easy. It's now a one person job. Besides storm prep, it makes any preventative maintenance less of a chore.

Like the Greyline antenna hardware, the tilt-up base is beautiful. Added bonus; the flagpole just got a little taller! 73, N3EQF

Thomas — you described that base better than our own product page does. 'One person job' is exactly the design goal, and hearing it from Florida during hurricane season means more than any spec we could publish. Thanks. 73, Jon KL2A

Flag pole

I enjoy having my 24 foot flag pole antenna. It looks great and with the pivot bottom it will be easy to repair or maintain if needed. Great job.

Thank you, Don. The 24 is the height where the low bands start paying you back — try 20-30-40 after as darkness approaches. Have fun. 73, Jon KL2A

20' antenna with 9' whip

Fit and finish is top notch. First contacts once installed were Vietnam and Tuvalu (4 bands) from Eastern NC! I ordered the 20' DSV with the 9' whip. No HOA (rather I'm the HOA on my farm:). Talked to Jon K2LA about the truck between the 2" section and the whip and he told me they're developing an aluminum cap for the transition rather than using a truck. I'm looking forward to swapping for that.

I am having difficulty tuning 6m and 160m; all others work fine with my LDG AT1000Pro2 tuner. I also notice the receive is around 2 S units quieter than my OCF Dipole. Still readable but leaves me scratching my head as to why. Perhaps it's me or the conditions in my yard. I am using LMR400 and a Polyphaser. Could be the loss introduced by the added connections.

I ordered the 4 foot extension and the tilt whip. They shipped today. I'm hoping they will make an operational difference aside from the ease of putting it up and taking it down.

Busy company. You need a little patience when communicating with them. Automated answering service picks up when you call. Best to send a clean e-mail from their "contact us" link on the web site.

Edited my review (5 stars) after Jon K2LA's very thorough explanation.

Christopher, Vietnam and Tuvalu on four bands from Eastern North Carolina --
those are serious Pacific paths, and they answer most questions about this
antenna before I type a word. Thank you for the detailed report. Let me take
your three puzzles in order, because the next reader will have them too.

The quiet receive is the one to reframe: quieter is not deafer. Your OCF
dipole is a horizontal wire using its coax as part of the antenna -- which
means it hears your house, your neighbors' switching supplies, and every
bit of common-mode trash along the feedline. The vertical, choked at the
feedpoint, hears less of all that. The honest test is never the S-meter --
it is signal-to-noise. Same station, both antennas: if he is as readable or
better on the Greyline while the meter reads lower, your noise floor
dropped, and that is the feature, not the fault. You already wrote the
evidence yourself: 'still readable.' Watch FT8 SNR numbers side by side
for a week and the meter mystery usually solves itself.

Six and 160 are the two ends of the rope. First check that your tuner
covers 54 MHz at its rated range -- not every desktop auto does, and 6
meters is outside several of them. On 160, a 29-foot radiator is working
hard; dress the ladder line straight and clear -- no coiled slack, off the
ground, off metal -- because coiled balanced line is exactly what pushes a
marginal 160 match out of a tuner's reach. Your 4-foot extension, shipped
today, helps the low end honestly but modestly.

The aluminum transition cap: you are on the list, as promised.

And the fair hit on patience: guilty, with an explanation. Every antenna is
hand-built to order by a small shop, and the same hands that answer the
phone are on the bench. Your instinct is right -- a clean email through the
contact page gets the fastest, most complete answer we can give.

Enjoy the tilt base -- and when the extension goes on, I want the Tuvalu
rematch report. Bands are up and down this month as Cycle 25 slides
down the other side of it's world class peak. The pleasure is ours, Christopher.

Ham Radio is fun again!
73, Jon KL2A -- Greyline Performance
435-200-4902

The only thing you could change is the length of the threaded stud to incorporate flag pole lights. It is not long enough.

Patrick, fair engineering note -- but that stud is prime real estate, and
the penthouse only sleeps one: whip, lights, or gold ball, pick your
tenant. We give the spot to the whip because it is the only one of the
three that pays rent in decibels.

The smart trade is whip up top, lights down low: a pair of solar spots
staked at the base washes the whole flag evenly all night -- which is
exactly what the Flag Code asks for -- and keeps the aluminum overhead
doing its one job, which is Tuvalu after dinner on 20M for you!

Four stars for a part doing double duty as your DX aperture and your
flag truck? We will take that trade too.

Ham Radio is fun again!
73, Jon KL2A -- Greyline Performance
435-200-4902

Satisfied Customer

Upon receiving the 24’ vertical, I was impressed with the overall quality of the antenna. All parts are made with the finest material and the fit and finish of the antenna is exceptional

I did not get the installation done until the 30th of July and I am having some difficulty tuning until I removed the 1:1 balun I had purchase for it. It appears to load nicely on all bands except 6 meters and 80 meters. This may be an issue with my MFJ 998 tuner. (More to follow on that)

I did notice the latter line to coax black plastic box does not like direct Alabama Sun in late July! It got hot enough to show deformation from the heat!

Update from Charlie WB4MFF: resolved with a tuner reset — now loading the full 160–6! Great work. Ham radio is fun again!

25' VDA Flagpole

I was I little disappointed with the length of time to receive my order, however the product delivered was very high quality and very easy to assemble. Great DX right from the start. Strong signals into Europe on 100 watts.
Even broke in on a contest station in Kuwait with my first transmission. Definitely need the whip for 160 and 80 meters, but great performance 40-6 meters.
John was a great help with my technical questions.
Thanks for a gre

Mark, this is the first week we build for — strong signals into Europe on 100 watts and breaking into a Kuwait contest station on your very first transmission. That's the antenna doing its job for an operator who knows how to drive it.

Fair hit on the lead time, and we'll own it: every antenna is hand-built to order in small batches, and the wait is the honest cost of that. Current build status is always posted on our Order Status page so it's never a mystery — but we hear you, and shortening it without cutting corners is the part of the artisan model we work at hardest.

You're right about the low bands: the 9-foot DX Whip is exactly the 160/80 aperture the 24 is asking for, and it threads on in minutes.

And your review cut off mid-sentence at 'Thanks for a gre—' — we'll take the liberty of assuming it ended well.

73, Jon KL2A

Purchase & Assembly

I was very pleased with the purchase of my 16ft Flagpole Antenna. The assembly went very well. I had questions about setting everything up but was helped by staff and am up & running.

20' Flagpole review

We are very pleased with our 20' flagpole with the 9' whip. We are able to FT8 all over the world with it. I love that we didn't have to put in radials. I haven't done a lot of voice contacting but have been able to reach over 1300 miles into Oklahoma, NW Montana, and Washington state from Arizona. I'm sure I will be able to reach farther than that with a little more time doing it.

Thank you for the report — and congratulations on the contacts. Arizona to Oklahoma, Montana, and Washington on the 20' DXF with the 9' whip is exactly the kind of all-band performance the system is built for, and FT8 worldwide is the proof of concept. The no-radials part isn't a shortcut — it's the design choice that lets the antenna work where most verticals can't. More time on the bands and you'll see the DX windows open up. Welcome to the Greyline community.
73,
Jon KL2A
Greyline Performance

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.

Hi Phillip, thank you for sharing your detailed experience! We're thrilled to hear you're happy with the antenna's performance and our support. Enjoy your amateur radio adventures! Thank you — and that's a strong report. California to Australia and South America on WSPR is the kind of low-power-out, real-propagation evidence that tells you the system is working as designed. East Coast on FT8 and clean high-power SSB rounds out the picture. On 80M: you're right to suspect the tuner. The DXF is non-resonant by design and asks more of the ATU on the lowest bands; a tuner with a wider impedance range will close that gap. Worth a conversation if you want to chase it. Welcome to the Greyline community. Ham Radio is fun again!
73,
Jon KL2A
Greyline

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 [****]. [****]

Roger, thank you for the update, and glad you're on the mend. To answer your question for everyone reading: no ground radials, ever. The Greyline is a vertical dipole — both halves of the antenna are the pole itself, above ground. The return current that a conventional vertical pushes through buried radial wire flows through the antenna's own lower section instead. Plant it, feed it, tune it. When you're back on your feet, we'd love the on-air report. 73, Jon KL2A

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

Fantastic alternative to HOA Karens

I finally got around to install the Antenna... Err... Flagpole!
It's great! If the signal is around, the flagpole can capture it. I also tested it with my small 200mw WSPR transmitter on many bands, and I could reach as far south as Antarctica, Australia, and more. Awesome.
OH! And I also got compliments on the overall aspect of the flag and flagpole.
I am very happy, and I highly recommend it

24' vertical in Arkansas

I thought I was getting great reception from my end feed wire.
I installed the 24' vertical with the remote tuner and connected it to my Icom 7300. What a night and day difference! My radio came alive. I've already connected with Australia, Japan, and all over the states.
NOW I'm being teased with a 9' additional whip new to Greyline. I may pull the trigger for it in a couple of months.
Overall you can't go wrong with this antenna.

20' HOA Antenna - Great Product

Excellent antenna. Made significant DX contacts over the past nine months. Straight forward installation with very good support from Greyline.

Quality Workmanship

I submitted a very positive review on the performance of my 20" flagpole but neglected to mention the high quality of the machining on the pieces and hardware. The pieces went together like a hand and glove.
Really appreciate the fine workmanship.

4’ Extension Review

The 4’ extension arrived in a reasonable amount of time. Construction was excellent and assembled easily with my existing 24’ flagpole antenna. I have noticed improvement in reception and signal reports on the air, and look forward to continued experimenting on the air with this addition to my station.

20ft flagpole

Looks tremendous with Uk flag and works superb Highly recommended

Preliminary Review of 24' Flagpole Antenna

I purchased the 24' flagpole antenna with 4' extension added later. The materials and construction are very good. Parts fit together very well. Antenna aside, this is a handsome flagpole with flag.
I had no expectations for 160 meters. I purchased the antenna to supplement my EFLW antennas for 40 and 80 meters. Initially all tuned well from 10 - 40 meters using an LDG RT-100 remote tuner, but unable to tune on 80 meters. I upgraded to a Chameleon CHA-URT-1500 1.5 KW remote tuner, but still unable to resonate on 80 meters. I added a Palomar 4:1 balun between the remote tuner and the antenna and now am able to tune antenna well on both 40 and 80 meters.
I have had impressive domestic and DX contacts on 10-40 meters so far. I am hoping that with a little more effort, I can eventually get DXCC on both 40 an 80 meters. Will keep you updated.

5 STARS!

The build quality is excellent with tight tolerances. The buyer must be aware of a complete system antenna design. The includes environmental concerns of your QTH such as rain sprinkler system heat and lightning. Hear in California we have the extremes The website addresses some of the along with YouTube videos but the buyer has to put it all together.
Digging the 3 foot hole and finding the best pvc sleeve to use was a challenge along with compliance with QTH environmental concerns. I am happy with this purchase but there are challenges to deal with to make it work!

Flagpole

Superbly made quality antenna Recommended to all. Ordered 4ft extension out of curiosity Top class

Thanks, Robert! FB to see UK signals rising! Your 4' extension flew over the North Pole to Europe yesterday. Let us know how it goes. Ham radio is fun again! Pass it on... 73

Greyline 20’ flagpole antenna

Very sturdy with beautiful looks! First 3 hf contacts were Japan on 10 & 17 meters from Tucson, Az

Great line antenna and 4 foot extension are awesome

I have two gray line antennas both with 4 foot extensions on them. I have a 24 foot with a 4 foot extension making 28 and a 20 foot with a 4 foot extension making 24. I have used both of these antennas and made contacts all over the world. I have an all continent award. I also have friendship awards on all bands 80 through 6 m I can tune 160 m as well. Only one contact on there because the band conditions have been poor not the antenna’s fault. These things are fabulous if you live in an HOA or an area where you just need a vertical Off Center fed dipole. Grayline , customer support and antenna quality are unsurpassed. These are aircraft quality, aluminum and hardware unmatchable in the regular antenna industry. These things are Support poles very lightweight. You can install it yourself but extremely thick sidewall tubing. This antenna will stand a lifetime of weather very inconspicuous and no problem working worldwide with only 100 W With an amplifier this thing would be unbeatable in contesting.

24' Fag pole antenna

I'm very happy with the Greyline Flag pole antenna, easy to install and the shipping was fast with all the parts arriving at the same time.