hidden FM antenna - Page 3

vex · 09-11-2009, 10:46 AM

Finally an Answer! I'll probably end up buying this in a little while (when I get my security deposit back). I have to buy an oil scavenge pump first.

speedjunkie · 09-11-2009, 11:52 AM

Yeah sorry, haha, I've had it in for a while but forgot to post about it. I'll try to remember to test out the AM and all the channels tonight (since I have it hooked up properly now) and I'll post up with those results. The website said that antenna is tuned for AM too, so I'm hoping it was just the way I had it hooked up that was causing problems.

Turbo II · 09-16-2009, 03:27 PM

So, now that you've had it a while and mounted and tested it thoroughly how does it work?

need RX7 · 09-16-2009, 06:43 PM

I'm interested as well.

speedjunkie · 09-17-2009, 08:37 AM

Yeah, sorry guys, I still haven't tested the AM haha. I've been dealing with modifying my hood, trying to get it to fit, and my roommate fixing my front bumper. If I can remember, I'll test it tonight.

I know, likely story

.

Oh and Greg, I wouldn't exactly say it's mounted, it's just kinda laying in there haha. But it IS hidden.

dudemaaan · 09-17-2009, 11:51 AM

Are the stations you listen to local or kinda far away? I live in a smaller town and the stations i listen to are 40-70 miles away. They come in good in my truck and with the old power antenna, but not with the built in factory hatch antenna or with a shorter rubber antenna i picked up. The factory hatch antenna gave the picket fence sound, and the short rubber antenna just didnt pick the stations up clearly. The only station that worked clearly was a local country statiion. (pass) i thought about trying a hiden powered glass mount antenna, but rather see how different antennas work for others before spending more on crappy antennas.

speedjunkie · 09-17-2009, 05:27 PM

I'm not sure how local these stations are actually. I just did a search and I saw about 2 or 3 of the approx. 7 or 8 stations I listen to are local. The others may be too, but I didn't see them on there. They come in pretty clear though.

I just did the test. No AM still, so I'll be writing the company about that, cause it's supposed to have AM too. The stations come in more clear though, since swapping out to correct wiring (and extension). I'm still not getting one specific station on FM either, not sure what's up with that. Cause MOST of the other stations come in clear as a bell.

As a side note, my stock antenna never did work for me. By the time I got the car it would raise about an inch and stop. And it didn't pick up SHIT. So either way, this is a step up for me haha.

EDIT: The station that doesn't work is 96.1FM and it's here in Colorado Springs! One more thing though...I'm not sure just how much it's not picking it up. I have to scan for stations, I don't have it where I can just select the station. So maybe it's coming in, just not enough for the stereo to stop on it.

Turbo II · 09-17-2009, 09:05 PM

Since Eric is taking so damn long....

I was out today and decided to hit a couple of car stereo shops and a few auto parts stores to see what I could find since both antennas on my 7s haven't been working for a while and I just put an HD receiver in the Turbo. I found this Metra Electronics Corp. antenna at 3 of them for 19.95 and one of the stereo shops had another style similar to this for 49.95. I bought the cheap one just to try it out figuring worse case scenario it would be fine for the Vert since I don't use the radio that much in it. The damn thing works great on FM and FM HD stations. In fact I picked up more stations that I was getting before. Haven't tested it driving around or really mounted but trying it in several locations in the car just sitting there I was impressed. I also tried it with and without power to it just because I was curious. Without power it was still better than my antenna but when I put power to it, HUGE difference! But for AM stations, it doesn't seem to be any better (hard to tell around here, AM sucks) than the regular antenna. I want to try and use the AM antenna in the windshield to see if it helps but it ends in a female plug so I'm going to have to find or make a connector/splitter of some type to do it.

speedjunkie · 09-17-2009, 11:19 PM

Good job Greg! That Metra one is pretty cool. I wonder how it would perform on OUR AM stations.

dudemaaan · 09-18-2009, 07:54 PM

Just ordered the metra one through amazon. Was around $15 shipped.

Turbo II · 09-21-2009, 02:31 PM

Made a splitter cable today for some antenna testing to try and see if I could get AM stations any better. Fail! I tried every combo available of antennas and hookups and no matter what I can't pick up AM stations around here while sitting in the carport. But like I said AM stations and coverage sucks around here anyway so... your results may vary.

vex · 09-21-2009, 06:00 PM

I would like to mount the antenna away from visible locations (glass, outside, etc). Do these antenna's work say in the trunk of an FC (Pretty much where the latch is)? I would be concerned that improperly mounting the antenna would yield less than desirable results.

Turbo II · 09-22-2009, 01:42 PM

Haven't run it back that far but I will today just to see. It does make a difference where it is though. If it's just laying on the passenger floor board it's not nearly as good as if I raise it about a foot off of it as in behind the plastic where the dash speaker is located. Just laying it behind the passenger seat on the bin works very well, laying it on top of the passenger headrest works extremely well as does being held up by the passenger window visor, laying it on the roof, holding it up to where the rear hatch meets the roof on the inside... But no mater where I've put it it works a hell of a lot better than the stock one which is stuck in the down position and I don't plan on replacing it again.

Trout2 · 05-19-2010, 10:45 PM

I got a hidden antenna from these guys http://www.ecshylites.com/page/page/761353.htm for my FD. Mounted it to the vertical bracing in the area between the cargo area and tail lights. Needed a Motorola style male-male adapter. I'm getting much better FD reception than the OEM antenna, have tried on AM yet.

Jack

speedjunkie · 05-20-2010, 01:02 AM

^I did the same thing. I got my antenna from them and mounted it in the same place, but I lost a station or two, and I haven't been able to get the only AM station I listen to either. Well, I can't say I lost them really, since my stock antenna would not raise so I never had the stations in the first place. But compared to the reception in my civic with all stock equipment, I don't get stations in the FD that I do in the civic. Originally I had mine spliced together with an AV adapter (couldn't find the Motorola piece), but my stock antenna wire was bad going into the stereo anyway so I bought a wire extension and ran it in place of the stock wire.

Is that the link to the exact antenna you bought? If not, which one did you get? I can't get on the page while I'm at work but I'll check tonight if I can remember.

09-11-2009, 10:46 AM	#31
vex RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Influx. Posts: 2,113 Rep Power: 19	Finally an Answer! I'll probably end up buying this in a little while (when I get my security deposit back). I have to buy an oil scavenge pump first. __________________ The Official FC Radiator Thread My Project Thread: Cerberus CCVT Virginia Rotary Group

09-16-2009, 03:27 PM	#33
Turbo II Zoom Freaking Zoom Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NC Posts: 324 Rep Power: 18	So, now that you've had it a while and mounted and tested it thoroughly how does it work? __________________ 1988 RX-7 Convertible 1991 RX-7 Turbo 2004 RX-8 GT 1985 RX-7 GSL - Sold

09-16-2009, 06:43 PM	#34
need RX7 Clean S4 Nutswinger Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Sterling Heights, MI Posts: 485 Rep Power: 18	I'm interested as well. __________________ -Ted -1986 Mazda RX7 Sport [DD/beater]: engine finally let go at 205k. parts car status. -1986 Mazda RX7 base [resto-mod project]: S5 n/a swap in progress.

09-17-2009, 11:51 AM	#36
dudemaaan Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Brenham, TX Posts: 335 Rep Power: 18	Are the stations you listen to local or kinda far away? I live in a smaller town and the stations i listen to are 40-70 miles away. They come in good in my truck and with the old power antenna, but not with the built in factory hatch antenna or with a shorter rubber antenna i picked up. The factory hatch antenna gave the picket fence sound, and the short rubber antenna just didnt pick the stations up clearly. The only station that worked clearly was a local country statiion. (pass) i thought about trying a hiden powered glass mount antenna, but rather see how different antennas work for others before spending more on crappy antennas. __________________ 500+ HP thanks to: Fast reacting IAT sensor thread! Mechanical Pre-turbo Water Injection Thread Dual Stock fuel pumps Thread T2 differential swap!

09-17-2009, 05:27 PM	#37
speedjunkie RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 2,089 Rep Power: 20	I'm not sure how local these stations are actually. I just did a search and I saw about 2 or 3 of the approx. 7 or 8 stations I listen to are local. The others may be too, but I didn't see them on there. They come in pretty clear though. I just did the test. No AM still, so I'll be writing the company about that, cause it's supposed to have AM too. The stations come in more clear though, since swapping out to correct wiring (and extension). I'm still not getting one specific station on FM either, not sure what's up with that. Cause MOST of the other stations come in clear as a bell. As a side note, my stock antenna never did work for me. By the time I got the car it would raise about an inch and stop. And it didn't pick up SHIT. So either way, this is a step up for me haha. EDIT: The station that doesn't work is 96.1FM and it's here in Colorado Springs! One more thing though...I'm not sure just how much it's not picking it up. I have to scan for stations, I don't have it where I can just select the station. So maybe it's coming in, just not enough for the stereo to stop on it. Last edited by speedjunkie; 09-17-2009 at 05:31 PM.

09-11-2009, 11:52 AM	#32
speedjunkie RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 2,089 Rep Power: 20	Yeah sorry, haha, I've had it in for a while but forgot to post about it. I'll try to remember to test out the AM and all the channels tonight (since I have it hooked up properly now) and I'll post up with those results. The website said that antenna is tuned for AM too, so I'm hoping it was just the way I had it hooked up that was causing problems.

09-17-2009, 08:37 AM	#35
speedjunkie RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 2,089 Rep Power: 20	Yeah, sorry guys, I still haven't tested the AM haha. I've been dealing with modifying my hood, trying to get it to fit, and my roommate fixing my front bumper. If I can remember, I'll test it tonight. I know, likely story . Oh and Greg, I wouldn't exactly say it's mounted, it's just kinda laying in there haha. But it IS hidden.

09-17-2009, 09:05 PM	#38
Turbo II Zoom Freaking Zoom Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NC Posts: 324 Rep Power: 18	Since Eric is taking so damn long.... I was out today and decided to hit a couple of car stereo shops and a few auto parts stores to see what I could find since both antennas on my 7s haven't been working for a while and I just put an HD receiver in the Turbo. I found this Metra Electronics Corp. antenna at 3 of them for 19.95 and one of the stereo shops had another style similar to this for 49.95. I bought the cheap one just to try it out figuring worse case scenario it would be fine for the Vert since I don't use the radio that much in it. The damn thing works great on FM and FM HD stations. In fact I picked up more stations that I was getting before. Haven't tested it driving around or really mounted but trying it in several locations in the car just sitting there I was impressed. I also tried it with and without power to it just because I was curious. Without power it was still better than my antenna but when I put power to it, HUGE difference! But for AM stations, it doesn't seem to be any better (hard to tell around here, AM sucks) than the regular antenna. I want to try and use the AM antenna in the windshield to see if it helps but it ends in a female plug so I'm going to have to find or make a connector/splitter of some type to do it. __________________ 1988 RX-7 Convertible 1991 RX-7 Turbo 2004 RX-8 GT 1985 RX-7 GSL - Sold Last edited by Turbo II; 09-17-2009 at 09:25 PM. Reason: So I could bust on Eric!

09-17-2009, 11:19 PM	#39
speedjunkie RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 2,089 Rep Power: 20	Good job Greg! That Metra one is pretty cool. I wonder how it would perform on OUR AM stations.

09-18-2009, 07:54 PM	#40
dudemaaan Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Brenham, TX Posts: 335 Rep Power: 18	Just ordered the metra one through amazon. Was around $15 shipped. __________________ 500+ HP thanks to: Fast reacting IAT sensor thread! Mechanical Pre-turbo Water Injection Thread Dual Stock fuel pumps Thread T2 differential swap!

09-21-2009, 02:31 PM	#41
Turbo II Zoom Freaking Zoom Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NC Posts: 324 Rep Power: 18	Made a splitter cable today for some antenna testing to try and see if I could get AM stations any better. Fail! I tried every combo available of antennas and hookups and no matter what I can't pick up AM stations around here while sitting in the carport. But like I said AM stations and coverage sucks around here anyway so... your results may vary. __________________ 1988 RX-7 Convertible 1991 RX-7 Turbo 2004 RX-8 GT 1985 RX-7 GSL - Sold

09-21-2009, 06:00 PM	#42
vex RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Influx. Posts: 2,113 Rep Power: 19	I would like to mount the antenna away from visible locations (glass, outside, etc). Do these antenna's work say in the trunk of an FC (Pretty much where the latch is)? I would be concerned that improperly mounting the antenna would yield less than desirable results. __________________ The Official FC Radiator Thread My Project Thread: Cerberus CCVT Virginia Rotary Group

09-22-2009, 01:42 PM	#43
Turbo II Zoom Freaking Zoom Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NC Posts: 324 Rep Power: 18	Haven't run it back that far but I will today just to see. It does make a difference where it is though. If it's just laying on the passenger floor board it's not nearly as good as if I raise it about a foot off of it as in behind the plastic where the dash speaker is located. Just laying it behind the passenger seat on the bin works very well, laying it on top of the passenger headrest works extremely well as does being held up by the passenger window visor, laying it on the roof, holding it up to where the rear hatch meets the roof on the inside... But no mater where I've put it it works a hell of a lot better than the stock one which is stuck in the down position and I don't plan on replacing it again. __________________ 1988 RX-7 Convertible 1991 RX-7 Turbo 2004 RX-8 GT 1985 RX-7 GSL - Sold

05-19-2010, 10:45 PM	#44
Trout2 Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 104 Rep Power: 18	I got a hidden antenna from these guys http://www.ecshylites.com/page/page/761353.htm for my FD. Mounted it to the vertical bracing in the area between the cargo area and tail lights. Needed a Motorola style male-male adapter. I'm getting much better FD reception than the OEM antenna, have tried on AM yet. Jack

05-20-2010, 01:02 AM	#45
speedjunkie RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 2,089 Rep Power: 20	^I did the same thing. I got my antenna from them and mounted it in the same place, but I lost a station or two, and I haven't been able to get the only AM station I listen to either. Well, I can't say I lost them really, since my stock antenna would not raise so I never had the stations in the first place. But compared to the reception in my civic with all stock equipment, I don't get stations in the FD that I do in the civic. Originally I had mine spliced together with an AV adapter (couldn't find the Motorola piece), but my stock antenna wire was bad going into the stereo anyway so I bought a wire extension and ran it in place of the stock wire. Is that the link to the exact antenna you bought? If not, which one did you get? I can't get on the page while I'm at work but I'll check tonight if I can remember. Last edited by speedjunkie; 05-20-2010 at 01:05 AM.