How much antenna is necessary?

[NBMA4V6]

the stock antenna is rediculously tall. no way that 3 ft antenna is necessary. how low could i trim the antenna and still get the same reception

ive heard of the mustang guys cutting there antenna and things working perfectly fine. so how much can i trik off mine

:D

[thebigwaldo]

I took mine down to where it's even with the roofline. Touched up the paint and it doesnt look too bad. I wish I could find a way to put that little ball thing back on top tho.

-Jeremy

[Dominic]

Just get a power antenna and wire in a switch so you can leave it down when you don't use radio [img]smile.gif[/img] Most of the time even without the antenna on it I had okay signal for radio!

[Pike]

I do communications for the Navy so lets see if I can get this out...

Your antenna is set to the approximate physical length of the incomming RF signals generated by that particular band. Theoretically you could cut the antenna down to about 8 inches but then electronically coupling the antenna for reception would be done automatically by your head unit, and I can't intelligently speak on it's capabilities. You will also loose some distant channels and weaker stations. The higher the ant the more your going to see.

The best advice is that previously stated and invest $30-$60 and get a power unit from somewhere. It shouldn't take more than an hour to hook up.

[MrCoffee]

no need for a switch

http://www.blackcamaro.com/antenna.htm

[Harbin1]

I'm for just replacing it with a power antenna, that's what I did when I was installing my amps. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

But, if you want to just cut it and save a couple of bucks here's my idea. Tune your radio to a very weak station that you can just barely pick up. Then, cut one inch off your antenna. Listen to your radio for a day or so and see if you lose any reception. If no significant signal loss, cut off another inch, and see how it sounds. Keep doing this until you lose that crappy radio station. WHen you lose the most distant station, quit cutting. That way, you'll still be able to get the strong ones.

Just an idea, don't sue me if you loose your favorite easy listen station!!! :D

[O0oSKAMo0O]

i took mine off and it works fine.

[hockeyman]

Hey Pike, Would the shorter rubber antenna do just as good with more metal coiled up inside of it?
I want to upgrade my antenna, but I want something with exceptional reception.

-Marc

[Pike]

A rule of thumb with communications is higher the better.

In our case I don't think a foot or two would make much difference (the fm & am bands freq ranges are high enough that inches shouldn't matter) A shorter rubber ANT would be ideal since that ANT would be engineered with a specific load tolerance and the physical wave size in mind.

In laymans terms, it's built with the low profile in mind - physically and electronically. The Head Unit should have no problem coupling to a pre-loaded ANT like that.

[nikon]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by thebigwaldo:
I took mine down to where it's even with the roofline. Touched up the paint and it doesnt look too bad. I wish I could find a way to put that little ball thing back on top tho.

-Jeremy<hr></blockquote>

same here, check the pics in my sig...oh ya to put the ball back on, just grind a small part of the top of the antenna, just enough to fit the ball back on....a file will work if you dont have a bench grinder...and put a dap of glue...I used hot glue :D ...looks great..

[Dojo2000]

What worked great for me (until it was stolen) was a shorter antenna that had wire coiled around the antenna. Used to be able to buy it at Wal-mart, but they stopped carrying the company that makes them.

You can see the length in this pic


[ December 11, 2002: Message edited by: Dojo2000 ]</p>