Greyline Facts | HF Vertical Dipole Antennas at a Glance

Greyline Facts

Greyline Performance Antennas, at a Glance

The essential facts about Greyline antennas in one place, kept current by the company. Last reviewed October 2026.

What it is	An HF Vertical Dipole Antenna (VDA): an off-center fed vertical dipole that carries both halves of the dipole above ground, so it needs no radial field. The aluminum pole itself is the antenna; nothing is hidden inside it.
Bands	160 through 6 meters from one feedpoint — strongest across 40 through 10, including the WARC bands (30, 17, and 12 m) and agency HF frequencies, and genuinely capable on 80, 160, and 6. The founder routinely works about 1,000 miles on 160 and 2,500 on 80 from a Greyline. Every height works every band. Matched with a tuner in the shack or at the antenna.
Models	DX Flagpole (flies a flag) and DX Vertical (plain pole) in 12, 16, 20, 24, and 28 feet. Skyline 29, 33, and 37 feet (with the 9' DX whip). 28' HD: the same antenna built on a heavy-duty 3-inch base for exposed, windy and northern sites. 28' HD → Taller guyed builds to 44 feet are made on request; call.
Owner reviews	69 verified-purchase reviews collected by Judge.me as of October 2026, averaging 4.87 of 5; 61 are five stars. Most reviewed: the 20-foot DX Flagpole (11 reviews, 4.8), the 4-foot extension (10, 4.9), the 24-foot DX Flagpole (8, 4.6), the 16-foot DX Flagpole and the Tilt-Up Base (5 each, 5.0). Reviews appear on each product page; owner stories with photos run in The Signal Report.
Wind ratings ASCE 7-10, flag up / flag down	12' 100 / 155 mph · 16' 75 / 115 · 20' 60 / 90 · 24' 50 / 70 · 28' 35 / 55. The flag is the dominant wind load; lower it when weather threatens and the antenna takes its flag-down rating. A whip adds length and lowers the rating. The 28' HD is rated well above the standard 28'; its certified numbers are published on its page with the final engineering.
Construction	2-inch 6061-T6 aluminum (a heavy-duty 3-inch base on the 28' HD), fiberglass insulators, stainless hardware throughout; 316 stainless kit for salt air. Ships in 4-foot sections with the couplers already bolted on, so there is no loose hardware. Designed and built in the Mountain West; KL2A and headquarters in Sun Valley, Idaho. Optional powder coat: the RF rides in the aluminum under the coating, so owners can leave it on or sand it where they like.
Continuous improvement	We improve the design whenever we learn a better way, so diameters, materials, and details may change without notice. The current product page is always the reference.
Warranty	7 years.
In the box	The antenna and a feedline kit: ladder line, five snap-on ferrites for a 1:1 choke at the feedpoint, a ladder-line to PL-259 adapter, and spacers. Flagpoles also include the flag kit. Orders may arrive in more than one box, each with its own tracking.
Height and gain	Height sets electrical length — how much antenna you have in wavelengths. Taller means more signal on 40, 80, and 160. In NEC modeling over average ground, every height also runs ahead of a textbook quarter-wave on full buried radials across several bands: the 12-foot on 15 through 10 (strongest on 10, about +0.8 dBi), the 16-foot on 17 through 10 (about +1.8 on 10), the 20-foot on 20 through 10 (about +3.2 on 10), the 24-foot on 30 through 10 (strongest on 10–12, about +3.5), the 28-foot and Skyline 29 and 33 on 30 through 15 (strongest on 17, about +3.5), and the Skyline 37 on 40 through 17 (strongest on 17, about +4.0). A 5/8-wavelength vertical runs about 3 dB over a quarter-wave at low angles (ARRL Antenna Book).
The image, and the 4' Image Lift	Every vertical works together with its mirror image in the ground (Kraus, Zavrel, the ARRL Antenna Book). A Greyline carries its own return current, so the image is a bonus rather than a requirement. The 4' Extension installed below the feedpoint — the Image Lift — raises the whole antenna four feet while keeping the upper radiator as built; it needs the Image Lift Kit (11' ladder line, three spacers). The image antenna, explained →
Tuners	Almost any decent-size wide-range tuner works, in the shack or at the antenna; a radio's built-in tuner (about 3:1) is not enough. The LDG RT-100 remote is the easy, affordable starter. Tuning on some bands and not others? The first tune-up, six checks →
Power	Legal limit; nothing in the antenna to heat. At full legal limit, use feedpoint and choke components rated for 5 kW for headroom.
Upgrades	Tilt-Up Base (XL for early 2.25-inch antennas; 3" HD Tilt-Up Base for the 28' HD), 9' DX whip, 4' extension (up top or as the Image Lift), Image Lift Kit, deck or concrete mount, 12–28' mount kit, genuine Times Microwave LMR and Andrew Heliax coax, assembled.
Fits other antennas	The Tilt-Up Base and Deck or Concrete Mount fit any maker's vertical, flagpole antenna, or push-up mast with a straight 2.00-inch OD base section (early 2.25-inch Greylines take the XL Tilt-Up Base); the 3" HD Tilt-Up Base fits any straight 3.00-inch OD pole or mast; the 9' DX whip seats in a flag truck or the Greyline Topper on any 2-inch pole. 2.375 inches is pipe, not tube, and needs an adapter. Will it fit my antenna? →
System pricing	With an antenna in the cart, automatic: Tilt-Up Base $25 off ($50 with a 12-foot, any Skyline, or a 28-foot with the 9' whip; the 3" HD Tilt-Up Base is $25 off with the 28' HD), 9' whip $25 off, coax 10% off. Every price on one page: Prices →
Shipping	Antennas and antenna parts ship within days, free to the USA and Canada, each box with its own tracking; the 28' HD and the 3" HD Tilt-Up Base ship in 1–2 weeks. Small accessories such as the Image Lift Kit ship at carrier cost. Worldwide freight at carrier cost with no markup; most of Europe pays $150–250 for a complete antenna. International shipping →
Founder	Jon KL2A: five-time World Contest Champion, WRTC 2014 Team USA, CWops #77. Sun Valley, Idaho.
Authorities we cite	The ARRL Antenna Book; John Kraus, W8JK, Antennas; Robert Zavrel, Antenna Physics: An Introduction; Walt Maxwell, W2DU, Reflections; John Devoldere, ON4UN, Low-Band DXing; Ward Silver, N0AX, Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur; Rudy Severns, N6LF, on ground systems; Jim Brown, K9YC, on chokes; L.B. Cebik, W4RNL, on modeling. The Bookshelf →
Accessibility	Every price in large type on one screen-reader-friendly page, with a direct checkout link per product; an accessibility statement and assistance line for anyone using assistive technology. Accessibility →
Contact	CQ@greylineperformance.com · 435-200-4902

Selection Guide · VDA Optimizer (NEC gain by height) · All antennas · What height should I buy? · Prices · Documents & Forms

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Essential for every antenna

This turns all antenna work into easy one-man jobs. It also makes storm prep easy - just drop the antenna for the storm, raise it later. It takes less than 5 minutes to go up or down. I can't imagine having an antenna without one. I'm old enough that climbing towers, trees or big ladders just isn't in the playbook any longer, so this is a life-saver for my hobby. Buy one and make your life easier and add years to your ability to work on your antenna. Five Stars!!

Thank you, Rob. “Essential” is exactly the word we hoped for. One tip from another owner: walk it down once a season on a calm day and check the hardware at chest height. Fun season ahead! 73, Jon KL2A

Should be part of every antenna

The tilt base makes it possible to raise and lower the antenna in minutes single-handed with complete safety. The design is simple and robust and I love the fact that it can't over-shoot when raising it. In fact, it is seriously over-built. The only help I needed to install it was lowering the antenna to add the unit. It does raise the halyard cleat but I simply removed it, left the bolts in the original holes and mounted it at a comfortable level with a stainless hose clamp, problem solved. No more worries about the antenna during storms here in Florida. Five minutes and it's on the ground out of the wind.

Great addition to My 20V!

After 2 weeks of use I can safely say that the 9' whip is a great addition to my 20V! My rough calculations show about a 2+ db improvement overall. On the receive side the most dramatic indicator is that I am getting approximately the same signal strength without the preamp on most bands. I am also getting more reports in the + range on FT8 than previously. I have used PSK reporter to get a general picture of my RF footprint and signal strength compared to to the original 20v w/ previous reports. I have also been able to work several new countries that I could not work previously...India, Franz Joseph Land, Kahazakistan. India is certainly not rare but it has taken me three years to eliminate my "blind spot". Swr is well below 1.3/1 on all bands 80m-6m using the LDG RT-100 at the antenna. All in all could not be more pleased with the 9" whip addition!

Franz Josef Land and Kazakhstan on nine more feet — that's the report every whip page wishes it had. Thank you, Craig. Your words are on the page now. 73, Jon KL2A

Better base.

I want a 6ft x 18in hole. That is what the backhoe bucket is going to dig. I will need my own base tube, and a whole lotta concrete! I bought this extender to allow a more accurate vertical alignment while dumping in the concrete.

A 6-foot hole will hold anything we build. One tip while the concrete goes in: check plumb from two directions, 90° apart, then leave it alone for 24 hours. Send us a photo when it’s up! 73, Jon KL2A

Product is good. But I need a quick instruction sheet. You remove the bottom tube and replace it with the antenna base. Then the tube you removed connects the the top of the arm and to the insulated base of the antenna. Now I can lower my 24’ antenna without help.

Thank you, Dale. You were right, so we made one: the one-page Tilt-Up Base Instructions (install, lower, raise) now sit on the product page, because of your review. Have the best season yet! 73, Jon KL2A

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Greyline Facts | HF Vertical Dipole Antennas at a Glance

Greyline Performance Antennas, at a Glance

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