# Car antenna



## ekim68 (Jul 8, 2003)

My car antenna is wore out and rusted...
I remember that a few years back, or maybe a lot of years back, you could
go to an auto parts store and get a replacement antenna that plugged into
your radio, and the other end could be taped to the inside of your windshield.
Just a circular wire kind of thing...Well, I've been looking lately and I can't 
find them anymore, so my question is:
Do those things still exist, or can you just use the body of the car as an
antenna and run the antenna wire to a piece of metal on the chassis?
(Used to work for 'am radio' on my metal window screens at home.....)


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Guess they never worked that good. I also remember new cars had them in the windshield for a couple years. Can't remember just what years it was either but you have to remember that cars used to only come with AM so they may not of worked so good when cars all started having AM and FM. 

But don't think you can do what you want on your car. Why not just another antenna to replace the one you have now?


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

I had one of those cars in the late 70's with the factory antenna in the windshield.
Reception was poor and made a difference when you were distant from the radio transmitter and either driving toward it or away from it 

Yep...drilled a hole right thru that new fender, for my new antenna.... LOL!


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## ekim68 (Jul 8, 2003)

Yeah, I'll probably get another regular one, but I'll try the experiment first...Just curious...Doesn't sound like grounding it would be good.

I have an extra antenna cord so I think I'll splice a smaller wire to the core and try
to make a shield around it and attach it to the rear window. I know, I have too much
time on my hands, but, if it receives better, well.......


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## A_erised (May 24, 2004)

I don't understand "wore out". Is it one that retracts, that no longer extends? If so the rust may be the factor. Spray with pb blaster, nut blaster etc. then you might have to paint or coat with a water proof lubricant.

Did you check the antenna cable on the existing one?


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## accat13 (Jun 8, 2005)

I have an 05 civic the antenna is in the rear windshield. No reception problems here.


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

accat13 said:


> I have an 05 civic the antenna is in the rear windshield. No reception problems here.


I also have a rear window antenna and it gets better reception than my wife's car with the regular antenna. I think the more recent antennas are better than the initial trys at it.

Replacing an antenna can be very easy depending on where they are. Usually, you can get access to the antenna by removing the wheel well mud guards (usually plastic) or through the trunk if in the rear or some of them can be removed directly from the antenna base. Then you cut the wire from the old antenna and use it to guide the new antenna wire through to your radio. That can be a tricky part if it gets snagged.

Funny story--I replaced my wife's car's power antenna because the dealer wanted $300 to do it.  I went to Pep Boys and bought a power antenna. I removed the old power unit only to realize that all I needed to replace was the mast (which the service department at the dealer didn't tell me).  So I called the dealer and the friggin mast price was more than the power antenna that I bought at Pep Boys, so I said screw that and just installed the entire power antenna unit from Pep Boys.

So I get it all hooked up, turn on the radio, the antenna goes up and goes right back down again!  Keeps doing that. After much hasle and investigation, I found out that the Mitsubishi power antenna worked different than every other friggin power antenna  in that the radio sent power to the antennat unit when you turned on the radio and then it would go up (then no power signal was sent ) then when the radio was turned off it would send a signal that would cause the antennat to come down. The antenna unit I had bought (and just about every after-market antenna) needed a constant pwoer on signal to stay up!  (i.e., when radio was on, power was on to the antenna and visca versa).

At this point I was determined not to have to buy a friggin mast that cost more than an entire unit because my wife knocked it off coming into the garage (the antenna did not fit under the garage door) and figured she'd do it again--the mast for the Pep Boys unit was mininal--about a 5th of the cost of the dealer mast. And I had cut the antenna cable from the original unit anyway and would have to replace that somehow! 

Well, I ended up having to install a separate switch in the car dashboard to bypass the radio and give a constant signal to the antenna to keep it up (this was disheartning because Mulder never had a problem keeping it up before!  ). Fortunately, there was an empty slot in the dash for a switch and the one I got matched perfectly in color. To top it off, this mast was a little shorter than the other one and just fit under the garage door without hitting it. Finally, I liked it better that I could control the antenna up and down independent of the radio on/off (it was annoying that it went down everytime you turned the radio off anyway).

So after a job that I thought would take an hour took all friggin weekend, I had the satisfaction of not paying a ridiculously high price for an antenna. I taught Mitsubishi a lesson they won't soon forget!


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## ekim68 (Jul 8, 2003)

Well done, and well conceived. Still, going to try to isolate the metal for the signal..

I think the shield is the clue...
For better reception, am or fm....


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Don't think you can just hook up the the body. If so no car would need a antenna if the car itself can be a antenna.


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## alfred_gordon (Feb 7, 2007)

Here is an excellent site with a very good info on car antennas. This might actually help you.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

My Audi A6 has the antenna embedded in the rear window, works great for me.


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## GoneForNow (Jul 22, 2001)

Mulder said:


> Funny story--


No it wasn't.


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

Ekim did you indicate yet if this is a retractable antenna?? I am assuming it is. 

However if it is a fixed one and if there is anything left of it I remember replacements that would slide over the existing one and then were held in place with a set screw.


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## ekim68 (Jul 8, 2003)

Wow, I forgot about this thread...Well, what happened now that it's done.

It's not a retractable antenna, just one that came out of a port on the driver's side and slanted back. Just a single wire. It broke off about three inches from the base and started to rust. That's what I meant by 'wore out' and, so I started looking around.

Finally decided to trim it back a bit and flux it and soldier it to an extension. I have a friend who has a car business and we found a left-over antenna. It came from one of the exotic cars: Ford, or Toyota, or no, it was a Peugeot....(I probably spelled that wrong.)

But, bottom line, it works....I got the am and the fm...


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## emdeex (Mar 25, 2008)

> So I get it all hooked up, turn on the radio, the antenna goes up and goes right back down again! Keeps doing that. After much hasle and investigation, I found out that the Mitsubishi power antenna worked different than every other friggin power antenna in that the radio sent power to the antennat unit when you turned on the radio and then it would go up (then no power signal was sent ) then when the radio was turned off it would send a signal that would cause the antennat to come down. The antenna unit I had bought (and just about every after-market antenna) needed a constant pwoer on signal to stay up! (i.e., when radio was on, power was on to the antenna and visca versa).


Hi, just in case your still subscribed to this old thread! I'm looking at how my Mitsubishi '93 Gallant antenna works, and it's as you described.

My new JVC stereo head unit can only send 12v when the unit is on.

Also, is the antenna powered via the actual antenna cable? I can't find the lead otherwise.


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