Has anyone done this. If so what did you do? How did you cut it? I saw a thread in which this was mentioned. I just want to get some ideas. What can you do about the ball at the top? Do you re attach or use something else? :cheers:


[Modified by edv2122, 1:01 AM 8/7/2002]

 

http://www.members.shaw.ca/tonyscott...enna%20mod.htm

 

There IS a technical reason for the antenna being the length that it is.
Anyone know what that reason is?

 

Well, it isn't for it's good looks! :U

It isn't for great reception as my homemade shorty goes the same distance before losing reception. :rolleyes:

Maybe someone can answer it, or maybe there just isn't a good answer to that question, it's just one of those things that make you go Hmmm...... :cheers:

 

I remember that post too .. that was quite a while back. The guy just whacked off the antenna, filed the end so that the ball would fit over it, and I think just glued the ball to the shaft. I know there's a shorty antenna available (was it from Radio Shack?) pretty cheap ... might be an easier and more reversible alternative.

 

Oops .. sorry Adam .. I didn't check your link before I chimed in ...

 

The length of the antenna is determined by the frequencies it is designed to receive. For both AM and FM reception a compromise is made to provide reasonable reception for both. When you cut the antenna you reduce it's performance. This may or may not be important depending on how far you are from the stations you like to listen to.
:seeya

 

Johnno actually bought a short antenna (at Fleet Farm, I think), painted it and put it on. You could send him an IM to be sure.

 

Its that length because its what GM had in the parts bin. Cut mine in 1/2 and didn't make a bit of difference in reception.

 

DAWS C5:

You are the winner.

Maybe a lot of folks have gotten the antenna length needs to be one or half or a quarter wavelength for maximum efficiency.

Will it work if you whack it off?
Sure it will, just not as good. You'll only notice the difference when you try to get that station out on the fringe area of your reception.
But I guess most folks just keep pushing the scan button until they
'finds' a loud station.

It's that length because some ENGINEER at Delco or Bose or whatever made a scientific calculation that to receive frequencies between 88 and 108 Megahertz the antenna should be "X" Length.
It's not optimum for AM Band in any case. It's probably on AM where it would have the most detrimental affect on reception.

I'm pretty sure GM could save 25 cents or so on each one by cutting them down to half size.
Lessee.... 50,000 or so antennas on the national fleet (not just Corvettes)
would be.....50,000 x .25 = $12,500.
In ten years that would be...... $125,000. That's not just HAY!

Maybe you guys ARE on to something here.
I think I'll go out and chop mine off.
I read a post here about a guy that took his antenna ALL THE WAY off.
He said it picked up just as good as before.
True story..... do a search here and you'll find it.

I heard he's going to take off a couple of spark plug wires to improve his gas mileage, too.
Might as well take the sparkplug out of those cylinders to decrease parasitic drag. :boxing

"The smart man endeavors to determine why something was designed a certain way BEFORE he arbitrarily decides to RE-DESIGN it."
J.B. Alford 2002 :yesnod: :yesnod:

PS: You guys COULD unplug the antenna lead and remove it from your Vette. That'll save three or four ounces of weight. It'll 'give' your car more horsepower, to boot.
Remove those UGLY mirrors from the side of the car, too. ;)
You just need to see what's in front...what's behind can take care of itself!

Just picking at you, guys.
Peace,wove and all that stuff :yesnod: :)

 

See Tech Tips on how to install a power antenna. It was fairly easy.

 

I think Dave P should get an honorable mention! :)

 

I Decided I didn't want to go with the power antenna so I found a GM replacement that looks the same as stock antenna for $10. Cut it to 10 inches (with a cutoff grinder) dipped the tip in epoxy (3 or 4 coats) then spray painted the epoxy ball. Still have the stock antenna for out of town drives and the shorty works great in town.

 

http://www.corvetteconcepts.com/appearanceexterior.htm



[Modified by Wolf1171, 8:44 PM 8/9/2002]

 

When I had my 02 coupe, it didnt have an antenna mast. I suppose it was in the windshield? All vettes should be like that. They look 10x better without it. :yesnod:

 

Yeah, I am curious why the hardtop doesn't have the window antenna. And which is better? I would assume the whip is the better antenna, but I never had any trouble with my coupe.

BTW, I did a little looking around and for 99.9 MHZ (which is roughly the middle of the FM frequency spectrum, an ideal antenna would be about 9 Feet 8 Inches.

You want to take that down in halves.

So, next you would try for 4 Feet 10 Inches.
Then 2 Feet 5 Inches,
then 1 Foot 2 and 1/2 Inches
and finally about 7 and 1/4 Inches.

For those of you cutting, that might offer some data points.


[Modified by Tom Steele, 11:53 AM 8/10/2002]

 

I went with the power antenna replacement. Mainly so I could still use the cover from my "98" :-) Didn't want to punch a hole in the fabric. :crazy:

David

 

A little more info:

The right size for an antenna depends on the length of the radio waves it is supposed to radiate. Wavelength is the inverse of frequency: it is the distance between similar points in the wave-cycle. To calculate the wavelength in meters, divide 300 by the frequency expressed in MHz. If the frequency is 88 MHz, the equivalent wavelength is 3.4 m. If the frequency is 104 MHz, the wavelength is 2.88 m. So the radio wavelengths in the FM high band are all between 2.88 and 3.4 m.
http://internews.ras.ru/books/radiohandbook/23.html

 

Is it wired for a power antenna, or do you have to run a wire from the head back?

Also, still wondering why the Z06 uses the rear mount antenna, I would think that running the coax back to the rear of the car adds weight compared to using the in-the-windshield design...

 

The windshield alone for the Z06 is pricey enough, probably due to the special coating and thickness? required for the heads up display. I believe that the Z06 requires a different windshield other than the one for the non Z06. Also, I believe that heard from a dealer that the antenna for the standard coupe is a combination of windshield and rear window. If that's the case, is it possible that a connection runs between the windshield and the rear window, thus explaining why the convertible has a power antenna, or possibly why it could not have a standard antenna. This is all just a wild guess, though.
Thanks in advance
Gary Wells
"TOLTK"



[Modified by Gary Wells, 8:36 PM 8/10/2002]