Is there an alternate antenna that gets nice, crisp reception that anyone can recommend? This is one of the main complaints I have had on the multitude of Minis I have owned. The stereo reception goes in and out from regular to HD and sounds like crap.

 

I find that turning off HD helps as HD has some poor coverage areas

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Yes , +1 on the HD

And do you have aftermarket stubby, some aftermarket ones effect the signal.

 

I'd like to reawaken this thread, it's been awhile. I want to add some of my own discoveries with regard to improving radio reception for the Coupe that some may find useful. Technology has changed a bit since the last posting in this thread. Whether you are relying upon the OEM radio or if you are using an aftermarket Android head unit with iOS CarPlay or Android Auto, you may be experiencing awful to nonexistent FM reception. The root source of problems with radio reception will likely begin with the relative fragility of the OEM antenna base. Time, the elements (especially in the northeast USA), and physical abuse (such as from commercial car washes), can play hell with the antenna base (part #65-20-3-456-396 or part #65-20-3-456-397). The insulator post gets brittle over time; cracking at post-antenna connection can result, the result being that the antenna always seems to be coming loose. That movement will then exacerbate corrosion of the blank socket where the antenna post is screwed into the antenna base, that corrosion will also weaken the signal. The inability to maintain consistent signal reception just kills the powered and amplified dual antenna system.


Cracking and corrosion make for a loose antenna connection with poor reception

The OEM radio in the MINI uses an amplified antenna system, and it is a system. If you follow the antenna cables from the radio you'll find a pre-amp at each antenna connection point, whether your antenna is in the rear window, rear fender, or inside the rear bumper. Those pre-amp modules are wired directly into the Coupe's electrical system, and the amplifiers are essential to get decent reception when in a weak signal area, or when your antenna connection is compromised as described above.

The OEM (Genuine MINI) components that make up the Coupe's amplified antenna system can be found here:

https://www.bmwpartshub.com/search?s...r=antenna+base

Tip: Stubby antennas, while popular appearance items, must be used with an amplified antenna system that is defect-free if you want them to actually work. If you only drive within a few miles of the radio transmitters for the stations you listen to, a stubby antenna may be good enough. But you can't beat physics - with FM radio, the physical length of the receiving antenna is crucial. A 1/4 wave vertical on FM band would be about 2.34 ft at 100 Mhz. That equates to an optimum length for a practical automobile antenna receiving FM at 88 – 108 MHz to be about 30 inches, plus or minus an inch or two depending on where in the FM band your favorite stations reside. Size does matter with FM.



Stubby antenna - useless if your OEM antenna system is compromised.

If you are using an aftermarket radio in your Coupe, and your FM signal is marginal at best, you need to look carefully at your antenna system. If the antenna base exhibits any of these two problems described above (cracking and/or corrosion), then two solutions are available. You can buy a new antenna base that makes a unshakable connection to the antenna post, and use an amplified Fakra adapter to connect the OEM Fakra post connector to the radio. Note - you must connect the blue antenna adapter power cable to clean 12v power independent of the head unit, don't try to tap power from the radio.


The highlighted amplified FAKRA antenna adapters are the only ones that have any value here, Connect the blue wire to clean 12V power, preferably from a switched connection (on only with ignition).

The other way to get acceptable FM radio reception when using an Android head unit is to bypass the OEM amplified antenna system altogether and use a well-made unamplified antenna with as much length as possible. For this to work you must remove the OEM antenna base, a task that is relatively easy once you've removed the taillight just aft of the antenna base. You really don't want to try to remove the antenna base from inside the boot/trunk, it's essentially impossible to do it that way - remove the taillight and all will become clear. You'll need to mount the new antenna to a secure mount with a dedicated ground connector - Metra antenna mounts are high quality and work well. The new unamplified antenna needs to have a flexible skirt that'll fit snugly over the curve of the rear fender. You'll likely need an antenna extension cable to reach the back of the head unit - the shortest path would be to route the cable up forward through the trim panel beside the B-pillar, then up through the headliner, then down the A-pillar and then underneath the MINI's secondary glove compartment. Total length of the antenna cable needs to be about 12 feet from fender to radio.


Full size, 23 inch unamplified antenna, gives great FM reception even at long range

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Thanks for the update, i will have to look at mine. Got a stubby on it right now.