In the Saint Louis area, for those of you that have switched to a Stubby antenna, do you lose any quality on reception for FM / AM / Both? If not, what product did you go with. Thanks for the insight!!

 

I'm not in St Louis, but i imagine our experiences would be the same considering i'm in LA which is also a major metropolitan area.

I went with the ALTA stubby and there is no difference in reception. That's just my experience.

If you're worried about spending the money and finding out your reception does degrade, you could drive around for a day without the stock antenna. That's the easiest way to test.

 

My Alta stubby works just fine in St Louis! Congrats on your new MINI! You should consider joining our MINI Club.

Lois

 

As a general rule, "most" stubby antennas will not get reception as good as stock. Just know that going in...

There are a few that claim to be equal to the stock antenna, or just slightly less.

There are others that you find for cheap out there on eBay or Amazon, which are less expensive, universal-fit types, that will have noticeably worse reception.

This part is just another fine example of "you get what you pay for". Don't be tempted by the low price of the cheapie/universal ones, or the micro-sized ones.

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is...

 

Thanks for the tips!! I like the idea of pulling off the stock one to see what reception is like. At least then I would see the worst case scenario right?

I am looking into joining the STL club, I hope to ride with you all at the rallye later this month.

 

i have the gobadge stubby and reception is the same as with stock. although i will say i only listen to sirius, so i couldn't tell you about regular radio lol

 

I've read that the stubby antennae affects AM reception and that the FM antennae is in the rear side glass.

Dave

 

I've read that also. I have to remove my antenna when I put the car cover on, and sometimes I've forgotten to put it back on the next time I take the MINI out - no discernible difference in FM radio reception without the antenna installed; never tried the AM reception. I'm in the LA area and use the MINI stubby antenna, and it seems to do just fine; but again, I don't listen to AM.

 

My wife and I both have stubby antennas and both get the same reception as stock. Hers is a Craven and mine I made myself.

 

I got the el cheapo off eBay and have had no problems whatsoever. Don't listen to a LOT of AM though, save a random flip to a sports station. Especially since KMOX is one of 102.5's HD channels.

 

I have a Craven on my 03 S Coupe and my wife's Countryman S has a MINI Dealer replacement stubby. Both work well in AM and FM.

 

Craven here and it works great

 

LOL you should all stop buying the stubbies!





Looks just as good as the aftermarket options, with no effects to reception, and it’s free

 

What did you do to seal the tip?

 

tiny dab of paint that my fiancé happened to have out at the time(i think it was black acrylic). Maybe a dab of that liquid electrical tape goo would be best.