Lately I've started to hate that wiry thing sticking out of my roof. I've thought of getting a stubby or some sort of fin but I don't relish the idea of either of those on my roof instead. I've heard of people just removing the antenna and plugging the hole but unsurprisingly that effects reception.

I had the idea of running a FM antenna inside one or both gutters on either side of the car. Knowing nothing about the antenna, radio signals or electronics I figure I'll wrestle the antenna out, remove the antenna and splice in a different FM antenna. The ones that come with home stereos are just thin wires so I hope something like that will work. I'd just run it down in the gutter and affix it somehow........ easy right?

Has anyone tried this or something like it? Or can someone tell me why it wont work and not to waste my time? Is there a way to delete the antenna and retain acceptable reception? Or is there something in between?

 

easy options first - I know you say no to stubby, but have you looked around?


these are Outmotoring's

Go to CravenSpeed and you can even get it engraved! http://www.cravenspeed.com/products/...y-Antenna.html

One of the threads about the antenna talked about how there are actually two - the external, and ones embedded in the rear quarter glass. I doubted this and performed an experiment by removing my antenna. My FM reception was fine! AM was gone but I never listen to AM .... try it, what have you got to loose? (but yours is a 2 - b4 nav came out so things are probably different.....
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-a-2005-a.html

When embedded in the glass ant' first came out you could buy a kit where the wire was in tape that you could apply to the inside of your glass .... I'm gonna dig around and see if that still exists. Problem with putting ant' in the gutter includes keeping the ant' electrically isolated from the metal of the body.

(as a ship guy who was doing electronics & IT support while on shore assignments I have been associated with antenna issues a few times b4. On the ships I sailed we carried some 40 foot whips as well as long wires and 'loops' for HF and an assortment of VHF, UHF and satellite stuff as well as navigation receive ant's and let's not forget radar ..... grounding and isolation are a big deal on ships. I'm not an electrical engineer but I drove by a Holiday Inn Express the other day)

You might want to ask a moderator to move this to Nav & Audio section . . .

(brakes OK and you cleared the tire warning I hope?)

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not what I was thinking of but this would be easy to put behind tinted glass and then be 'invisible'
http://www.jcwhitney.com/mr-gasket-p...wx?filterid=u0

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don't forget that making the hole in the top go away if you DO relocate the ant' is not a small thing either . . . or easy with a rubber plug

My RECOMMENDATION is a stubby

 

I removed mine and just live without the radio. I have iPod/AUX/USB capability on my head unit so who needs the radio?

 

I got my stubby from Alta and love it. I listen primarily to my iPhone so don't care about radio reception, although, the stubby gives good reception.

 

Done some more looking around and I just want to tackle this project even more!

I found some aftermarket antennas that im guna have to buy and try.


http://www.tunetrapper.com/index.html

Ive heard lots of bad about all types of interior or "hidden" antennas, it seems like they are very hit or miss. So im not really guna count on either working.

The first one is cheap. So i plan on buying one this weekend and checking its reception in different places in my car: in dash, under dash, on dash, taped to windows and my personal favorite bet in my wheel well attacked to the trim somehow. $5-10 I think, so why not try.

If my reception still sucks ill buy the 2nd and try it in all the same places i can. These have had more good reviews then most other "hidden" antennas. They are like $40 and i can always return it.

If neither works then screw it, been meaning to buy a parrot 9000 or something and this is as good an excuse as anything.

The hard part is guna be when i attempt a paint repair to make the hole disappear. My dad has tons of experience with paint repair and they look near perfect.....on guitars for the most part. With factory color and clear and his help i think i can get a more then passable finished product. At the very least if it looks like crap i can just put the antenna back get a stubby and be done with it.

The antenna issue is now secondary, I just wana see how good a paint repair i can do so I might start a new thread in a better place about this in a week or two.

So, does anyone have experience they want to share with paint repairs or just as good have pictures of what lies under the mount.

(brakes are performing very well. Loki seems to be running better then ever and with fewer squeaks. Thx for the help!)