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#1
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FM radio antenna height for car... ?
The height of the stock FM radio antenna on a new car I bought is about 31"
high. It hits some things that hang from the garage ceiling so I'd love to be able to shorten the antenna. I realize that doing so will most likely decrease the quality of reception etc. Someone mentioned that if I shorten the antenna I would need to keep it at a certain specific length... a multiple of something... in order for it to work effectively...? Is this true? I was just going to hack off maybe 6"... thus the total height would now be 26" as opposed to 31"... but, is there some formula or rule about antenna height that I need to pay attention to? I don't mind if I reduce the overall effectiveness of the antenna by a little bit. If I cut 20% of the length off the antenna, will I simply loose 20% of the antenna's effectiveness? Thanks. If it's a screw-in type why not replace it? You can find aftermarket ones that are much shorter (right at about a foot long) that have the requisite length of wire wrapped in a coil around the shorter antenna shaft. I've seen 'em in different colors too, so you can get a plain black one or a flourescent lime green one if you want : ) NeilH |
#2
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FM radio antenna height for car... ?
WideGlide wrote:
The height of the stock FM radio antenna on a new car I bought is about 31" high. It hits some things that hang from the garage ceiling so I'd love to be able to shorten the antenna. I realize that doing so will most likely decrease the quality of reception etc. Someone mentioned that if I shorten the antenna I would need to keep it at a certain specific length... a multiple of something... in order for it to work effectively...? Is this true? I was just going to hack off maybe 6"... thus the total height would now be 26" as opposed to 31"... but, is there some formula or rule about antenna height that I need to pay attention to? I don't mind if I reduce the overall effectiveness of the antenna by a little bit. If I cut 20% of the length off the antenna, will I simply loose 20% of the antenna's effectiveness? Thanks. Most car antennae aren't resonant anyway. They are shorter than a quarter wave and go into a high-z input rather than have a normal antenna system where the antenna resonates in the band and feeds a low-Z input. This is part of why car radio reception is so crappy. Anyway, you could trim it down. Or you could stop at your local truckstop and get a wound fibreglass FM antenna that will be shorter AND give you better reception. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#3
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FM radio antenna height for car... ?
"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
... WideGlide wrote: Anyway, you could trim it down. Or you could stop at your local truckstop and get a wound fibreglass FM antenna that will be shorter AND give you better reception. Good chance to pick up a new CB radio, extra large belt buckle, ball cap, and one of those salted pecan rolls, too. Love those nut rolls. dtk |
#4
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FM radio antenna height for car... ?
dt king wrote:
"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message ... WideGlide wrote: Anyway, you could trim it down. Or you could stop at your local truckstop and get a wound fibreglass FM antenna that will be shorter AND give you better reception. Good chance to pick up a new CB radio, extra large belt buckle, ball cap, and one of those salted pecan rolls, too. Love those nut rolls. I got a really nice DC microwave (and one for a friend) there a couple years back. Saved me buying an inverter and kept me 60Hz-free in my camper. Of course most popup truck campers can't handle the 72A draw very well, but I've got batteries taking up the space where I left out propane. |
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