Radio Antenna - WWYD?

[Quickstep192]

My car came with an automatic antenna mounted on the passenger side. The wire coming from the antenna box was apparently cut short and had several splices. I removed the antenna with the intention of replacing the power cable, but now I'm thinking about replacing the entire thing.

What Would You Do?

Manual Antenna? (of so which?)
Another Power Antenna? (if so which?)
Something else? (if so, what?)

I'd sure appreciate any opinions.

[Ducman]

What I did - radio delete

[30westrob]

My vote would be replace with Hischman Automatic. Rob

[KerryM]

What would be a good manual option?

[bkreigsr]

Repair what you have.
In the end, it will turn out to be the easiest solution.

Be thankful your antenna is on the pass side. My Euro coupe has the antenna on the driver's side - replacing the unit requires removing the door from the car. (reason for replacement - bottom two segments were frozen solid)

Bill K

[Jack Stands]

I’d either repair or replace the antenna with another powered Hirschman.

[4flyboy]

I have the same dilemma, my antenna gave up the ghost a few years back.

I stream music and podcasts when I drive and am not one of those who can listen to his engine for hours and be entertained

I've been tempted to simply remove the darn thing and put a plug in the hole. If I ever have paintwork done on the car I'll weld it up. Its an antiquated eyesore to me.

I know the purist will lampoon but I cannot remember the last time I missed commercial radio?

That said, I had a 993 Porsche radio modified with a new face plate, Bluetooth and a 3 mm plug too. It has a discreet amp hidden in the frunk and sounds amazing....

[RSBob]

Manual antennas are a PITA. “Here I am sitting at a long light and it would be nice to listen to the radio. Oh wait, I need to get out of the car to raise the mast.” Or, “some Porsche hater broke off my manual antenna because I forgot to lower it. Now I need to replace it.”

There is a good reason why power ones were invented. Like the others said above, either fix or replace with Hirshmann. Ignore the sanctimonious “just pull it and listen to the engine” crowd.

[Locker537]

Originally Posted by bkreigsr

Repair what you have.
In the end, it will turn out to be the easiest solution.

Be thankful your antenna is on the pass side. My Euro coupe has the antenna on the driver's side - replacing the unit requires removing the door from the car. (reason for replacement - bottom two segments were frozen solid)

Bill K

Agreed on fixing what you have.

I actually solved the stuck manual antenna on my euro car. It took a little application of 3-in-1 oil over the course of months, combined with a clever idea I had while working on the throttle pedal.

I wrapped electrical tape on the antenna above and below the stuck segment and then used two pairs of pliers to gently twist and wiggle. It worked without damaging the antenna.

[golfbuddy]

Repair the wire and see if the antenna works first. If it does not, I would replace it with a black manual antenna. Those old power antennas make too much noise. I don't use the radio much anyway.

[blucille]

there are some repair connectors available that would work well enough.....

https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Stereo-Antenna-Connector-Coaxial/dp/B00GWEVJQ2/ref=sr_1_6?crid=YBORGA5LY0JQ&dchild=1&keywords=car+stereo+antenna+connector&qid=1591742455&sprefix=car+stereo+antenna+%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-6

[Quickstep192]

The antenna works, but after removing it, I discovered that there are parts of the mounting missing. There’s supposed to be a metal cap over the plastic/rubber piece that forms the seal against the fender. With that gone, whoever installed it just ground the mounting nut down on the plastic part destroying it. I’ve been looking for a place to buy those parts, but so far no luck. Since the antenna is on the passenger side, it would be that much more inconvenient to raise and lower it (first world problems, right .

I’m leaning toward a new power antenna and sell the old one on eBay.

Does anyone know about Hirschmann vs RetroSoumd vs Metra? Others?

[Solamar]

Originally Posted by blucille

there are some repair connectors available that would work well enough.....

https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Stereo-Antenna-Connector-Coaxial/dp/B00GWEVJQ2/ref=sr_1_6?crid=YBORGA5LY0JQ&dchild=1&keywords=car+stereo+antenna+connector&qid=1591742455&sprefix=car+stereo+antenna+%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-6

I just ordered a few of those from Amazon. My antenna cable is also cut.

Amazon expected delivery July 29th - Aug 19th

Mayby by than I'll save up enough $$ for the fancy new Blaupunkt Bremen...

[zurgalay]

When I initially read your post - only one solution seemed to be reasonable - replacing the antenna, and even now, that you've discovered the problem, I guess, that replacing the antenna is still a pretty okay solution. Actually, I remember now that not so long ago I decided to change my cb base station antenna, however, I was confused as to which one to choose. The only help I had were the internet sources and articles providing info about what criteria should I use in order to choose the best suitable option. I've come across this article on https://www.palmgear.com/best-cb-base-station-antenna/, which provides actually fair ranking and substantial detail of every product, which is pretty convenient as you have all the necessary info gathered in one place.

[Showdown]

I removed my non working manual antenna, plugged the hole with a Hirschmann plug and installed an antenna under the dash- it’s a little black thing that measures all of 1” x 3” x 1/8” and sticks to any surface. Works wonders and is totally out of sight.

[GAJon]

URO Power Antenna

I replaced mine with one of these. The original antenna was seized up and didn't work. I listen to enough NPR and other stations to justify having an FM antenna. This has enough wire to rerun all new signal and power wires if needed.

[Robey5]

I did the same as GAJon here.

Someone that owned the car before it was in “our” control put a manual antenna mast in the passenger fender hole, and I WOULD have left it there, but the manual one would not go down all the way. (And looked like ish, IMHO). To clarify, the antenna would go down and leave the final mast-section (10 or so inches long) up.

SO: I marched over to amazon when it was on my “to-do” list and scooped a URO one. The mast goes up rather high, and I actually don’t use it much, because there is not much on the FM radio these days that I care to listen to. I may hook in a blue-tooth receiver of some sort so that I can listen to something more reasonable than pop-crap that FM plays. I guess (in the end) .... I paid $50 for a mast that would go all the way down, and listen to the ball game whenever baseball is on.

[76FJ55]

In your case I would replace with another power antenna, unless you are planning on painting.

On mine I had to replace the right front fender after hitting a deer. So I opted to delete the fender antenna and install a windshield (also destroyed by the deer) for a later (86+ 911) that had the in-glass antenna.

[wildthing]

What would I do? I'd take it out and patch it. (Or more accurately, pay someone to do it.)

I rarely listen to terrestrial radio, much less in the 911. And I don't care about originality, so I'd dump that and put in a receiver with Bluetooth or at least one that will connect to my phone/iPod (yes I still have those).