Simple antenna aero mod

[RP-CLMBR]

I was told that you could hook into the rear defrost for a window anttena,also there are vortex generator antenas on ebay like the insight but shorter I plan on shaving mine on my crx hf will probably put oem ant. in side like you have done johnny

[lunarhighway]

i've seen amplifiers on sale that allow the rear defroster to be used a an antenna, but i don't think you could just hook them up directly... however a separate FM antenna wire might work when placed along the edge of a window

[Gregte]

Originally Posted by lunarhighway

i've seen amplifiers on sale that allow the rear defroster to be used a an antenna, but i don't think you could just hook them up directly... however a separate FM antenna wire might work when placed along the edge of a window

Just connect a 0.01 or even 0.001 microfarad capacitor between the antenna's coaxial center conductor and the defroster element. This eliminates the possibility of the defroster's DC signal harming the radio receiver and yet it will not attenuate the radio signal any significant amount. In fact, the receiver may already have an internal cap of even smaller value in the antenna input line, but if you don't know if it does, inserting the .01 externally covers that base.

[Gregte]

Any old piece of wire of similar length will work every bit as good as a stock car radio antenna. The location (inside, somewhat shielded from radio signals, or outside in the clear) and to a lesser extent, orientation of the antenna (vertical or horizontal) are the important factors. If your desired stations' signal strengths are strong enough then virtually any hunk of wire, placed anywhere in the car, will do the job.

[lunarhighway]

virtually any hunk of wire, placed anywhere in the car, will do the job.

quite right... when the antenna wire of the radio at work disappeared (boss took it home for personal use... ), we took a broken charger from the recycle bin and cut the wire off, stripped of the end and incerted it into the FM plug... reception is better than before

[wagonman76]

How well does the relocated antenna work, being inside the car steel? Any noticeable reduction in reception?

[cfg83]

Johnny M -

After reading your thread I got my act together and copy-catted this one from saturnfans.com :

Free Stealth Antenna Mod w/ Pics - SaturnFans Forums

Here is a stealth antenna mod that costs nothing and works very well. (done on a '96 SL2)

Tools needed:
1. #15 torx driver
2. 10mm wrench
3. pliers
4. flat head screw driver

Step 1: remove door jam shield (in front of the side mirror) by unscrewing the torx screw inside the door jam.

Step 2: remove weather panel by unscrewing the five torx screws just above the weather stripping around the top of the door.

Step 3: Unscrew antenna with pliers (or adjustable wrench). Remove the screw on the antenna bracket closest to the rear of the car with 10mm wrench. Force the bracket downward on this end using the screw driver. After the bracket is at desired angle (mine was about 130 degrees) re insert the bracket screw (easiest to do with a 10mm socket wrench). Screw in the antenna.

Step 4: re-install the weather panel with the antenna underneath (careful not to harm the weather strip) and the door jam shield.

Step 5: Test your radio reception and enjoy.

I noticed no real difference in FM reception after doing this mod.

...
allc0re

I was afraid of reception problems. The first day I thought I was going to have problems, but I think it was in my head. It's worked fine for over a month now. This is another "S-Series only" mod that works like a charm.

CarloSW2

[Johnny Mullet]

My original antenna was broke, so I am not sure about reception, but I get all the local stations with no problem.

[FunkSkunk]

An aftermarket receiver does more for radio reception than your stock antenna will ever do! Change out to a decent name brand and you'll have a whole new world of radio stations to listen to. OR just go satellite!

[2000mc]

cfg83 - thanks for the saturn mod post. read it last night, did it today in about 10min. aside from the aero benefit, it will also be a nice mod for faster snow and ice removal