short antenna

Hi,

I have a Tacoma 2006.

I have a interior parking at my work but the roof is low enough so that the antenna is always hitting ducts, pipes, cement, etc.

I would like to know where I can find a shorter antenna, the one that would no go above the roof of the Tacoma ?

Thanks!

 

ebay has them. They come with different size studs so they are "universal"

 

here you go

http://www.shortyantennasource.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_57&products_id=132

 

There are also a few others who have shortened the OEM antenna a few inches by removing the little antenna ball, cutting the needed length off, then gluing/epoxying the ball back on.

 

I have a cravenspeed shorty

http://www.cravenspeed.com/

 

Check out the link http://antennax.com/p-4722-eurostyle-13-flexible-rubber-antenna.aspx

I purchased one and it works flawlessly in my area.

 

How is the reception with that? Do you get out on the outer fringes to test it compared to your stock antenna?

 

I have this one:

http://www.cravenspeed.com/products/The-Stubby-Antenna.html

I can tell you the reception suffers a bunch, but It does look nice and I listen to pandora/CD's all the time anyway.

 

Thats the only draw back, they look good but the reception blows

 

I removed the ball from my antenna, cut to desired length (roof line height) and placed the ball back on. I found a post on here that showed how to easily remove the ball. Place a set of pliers just behind the ball and tap the pliers with a hammer. This prevents you from trying to pull the ball off and scratching the ball. If you try to pull the ball off, it is near impossible and made of a soft metal that will easily leave deep scratches. It will take a few taps to knock the ball off. Make sure you are tapping the ball into a confined corner so you can find it when it comes off.

Cut the antenna to the desired length. The cut location I chose was low enough that the antenna was thinner than the hole of the ball. To make sure I had a good fit and a clean finish I used the dermal to sand down the tip of the antenna and the black from the tip of the antenna. I filled the ball with solder and quickly placed back on the antenna. I used some extra solder around the bottom of the ball once it was placed on the antenna to ensure a tight fit. Then sanded down the solder to give the ball and the antenna a smooth finish. Finally I used flat black paint to repaint the antenna.

The ball is nice and tight on the antenna. Also the antenna is now to a desired height so it no longer hits my garage door when driving in. I have not had any reception with any of the main local stations. There are a couple stations that I get very little static now when going under a bridge, in parking garages but no complaints about looks or reception.

I intially bought one of those thick shorty antennas and I didnt like the look and also got a decent amouth of static.

 

Same here...I had an Antennex antenna for about two weeks and it got take out at the car wash. I chopped about 6 inches off my stock and put the ball back on. Reception seems about the same and no more scraping!

 

Ebay.

 

I have also seen little clips that can be mounted where you bend back the antenna and catch it on the clip with the ball. This way you don't HAVE to shorten or replace the antenna and still get the good reception.

Here's what I mean:

http://www.wearecb.com/store/k101x-cb-antenna-steel-whip-tie-down-p-3869.html

 

just cut it anything metal will transmit a signal i put a screwdriver in there to see and it worked as an antenna

 

I bought the shorty from cravenspeed and it didn't work at all. Maybe I just got a bad one, but I was very disappointed as I liked the look.

 

It depends on how much you care about your radio reception. A straight whip on a vehicle is optimized at 30" for FM reception. I'm assuming the spiral wire around it is optimized for AM as best they can given the restricted space with which to work.

 

I went down to PepBoys and picked up a 13" rubber one... works fine. Oh yeah.. it was $8.

 

I also have an AntennaX.It works great and was only $17.So much better than the factory antenna.This one never cathces on anything either,unlike the factory one.

 

X2 and it works great.

 

X X 3

yep works great
no difference from original