Simple antenna aero mod

[Deezler]

Originally Posted by crexcrex

You read? that after market are worse? give your head a shake, you obviously know nothing about antenna's...........lets see if you know where the best place is for any antenna? Duh!

crex, you are strange. pay attention before you talk out your a$$, winkosmosis was talking about the HEADUNIT, not the antenna. And I happen to agree with him, most after market head units I've installed for people tend to end up with slightly worse reception than the oem unit.

Furthermore, your sales pitch is retarded. Perhaps post a link, or photo of this magical antenna instead or just ranting for multiple paragraphs about what an expert you are. Seriously though, you don't really seem to contribute useful knowledge, or even opinions on this site, just rants about your expertise. Sorry for the personal attack here, but well, whatever.

Per the original topic, I swapped my 2' dancing antenna with a 5" stubby.... must be less drag, though my reception did fall off a little. I can live with it.

[MetroMPG]

I'm so glad to see a return to civility!

People: sheesh.

[crexcrex]

In keeping with a genuine apology to frank and whoever else i have offended, i hereby will no longer continue to be a member of ecomodders and wish all of you modders my vert best.

There you have it Frank when i apologize i go the extra mile and once again, my apologies Frank~
crexcrex

[dcb]

omglolwtfbbq?

[Deezler]

oOPS, did I do that?

Crex, no need to get your feelings hurt. This is the internet. You didn't offend anybody, I was just calling you out for a mis-statement. Frank is certainly not sitting at home feeling offended. Just as I would assume any one else here does not need a sincere apology from you, just some relevant contribution to our cause.

I wish, in fact, that you would stick around the site, and help us all to better mod our vehicles. You mention how revealing your "secrets" would only enable other to turn a buck.... except that eco-modding is a very, very DIY type of hobby. If you want to market convenient solutions to us, be my guest, but you'll have to show us some pics or details; otherwise its just annoying.

So calm down, open up, and show us why we should listen to your wisdom.

[cfg83]

winkosmosis -

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

To cover the antenna spot you can use those plugs they put on faucet holes. Someone on miata.net did that.

BTW, I'd try to put the antenna somewhere that it's not next to metal, because the steel of the body will block the signal from that direction.

That's a good idea, but I'm not sure it would work for the conical antenna spot in my Saturn. I got a black marshmallow shaped "foamy" from Michael's arts and crafts and used that as a plug :



The foamy worked well for me because it was able to compress-to-fit. No UV degradation as far as I can tell.

Another option would be a rubber plug that you can get in the specialty fastener section of hardware stores (I love the specialty fastener section, great place for ideas).

CarloSW2

.

[Piwoslaw]

After reading about internal antennas I decided that pulling mine would further smooth my roofline once I get rid of the railings. But life isn't that easy
antenna.jpg
I found out that my car has a 3-in-1 antenna: the stick is an FM antenna, while the base houses a GPS/GSM reciever for the car's navigation and phone. The FM can be unscrewed, leaving just the bulge. While we don't use the built-in phone (too much hassle transfering a SIM card) or the navigation (we plan on buying an external with a larger screen, so that it can be used in other cars), my wife probably wouldn't let it go. I haven't talked to her about it yet, but I can hear her asking "But what if we need to use it?" Plus, getting rid of it lowers the value of the car, unless I can put everything back on when we sell it.

There are some Peugeots without any external antenna (certain versions of 607). Those have an interal FM, while the GPS/GSM is somehow integrated into the rear hatch or window. But that's a little too much for me.

[90crxHF]

Just removed my antenna yesterday. I didn't feel like chopping it all up, so I ran the antenna wire underneath the center console (if it can be called a console, it's not concelling anything ) and the antenna is inside my storage compartment behind me. This way, if I want to hook it back up I can and it's not all chopped up.

Oh and BTW, with my 10+ year old Alpine my reception is as good as when the antenna was outside the car and at full extension. In fact, it almost seems to be more consistent reception for certain Houston stations....

Oh and BTW, sorry to dig up an old thread here....

[kurtis1971]

thats cool

[basjoos]

I relocated my antenna to the inside of the front windshield, running vertically up the center of the glass like a 1930's split windshield car. There was just the slightest drop in reception sensitivity. Advantages of the inside location are that I don't have to worry about catching the antenna on low-hanging overhead branches when backing out under foliage or vandels breaking it off. Also it has saved the lives of a few birds, bats, and bugs that didn't get slapped by the formerly external ariel.