Antenna mythbusting

[Robby Robot]

I installed this (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BDFQDVJ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details) and have a few comments.

There are two recuring concerns about antennas on this forum:

1. They break off in an automated carwash. My Jeep has been through countless times, incident-free, with the OEM cheapo as well as the new rubberized shorty.
2. Aftermarket shorty antennas have lousy reception. My shorty has lost no ability to pull in stations. Furthermore, my Jeep still gets great reception WITHOUT any antenna at all.

FWIW, I listen to FM exclusively.

Mostly agree. In my experience with the JLUs (and all the JKs), the stock antenna will rock wildly in brushed car washes, but never had one break. I had an 11-meter antenna bend the mount once in a car wash. That antenna was about two feet long but very rigid and I'd forgotten it was attached.

Reception is a function of antenna design and signal strength. For VHF you get some signal through the antenna cable itself if the signal is strong enough. I usually see AM reception decrease by 50% or more with a stubby. Most FM stations come in OK for me. My stubby is a six-inch coiled (not Amazon) so probably better than average, but not the best.

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[keithcroshaw]

I wish I could disable my FM radio...
Listening to podcasts causes me to turn the volume up then if I don't have CarPlay connected on the next ignition the FM just blasts garbage ads into my ears.

 

[JP29]

I wish I could disable my FM radio...
Listening to podcasts causes me to turn the volume up then if I don't have CarPlay connected on the next ignition the FM just blasts garbage ads into my ears.

Agreed, how difficult could it possibly have been to add a memory function for the last selected source input to the head units? I turned mine to an AM selection that's not in use so I just get mild static when firing up.

 

[keithcroshaw]

Agreed, how difficult could it possibly have been to add a memory function for the last selected source input to the head units? I turned mine to an AM selection that's not in use so I just get mild static when firing up.

I forgot I learned that trick a while ago, the static is less jarring over there.
I would say Tazer needs to add a function but if it's not built into the head units to be disabled then there's nothing for it to grab onto.

 

[cbrenthus]

I was going to swap to a stubby antenna but the OEM one also serves as a feeler gauge for low garages, underground parking, and tree branches.

This is why I kept mine on my JLUR and am also keeping it on my BadSqautch

 

[rickinAZ]

I was going to swap to a stubby antenna but the OEM one also serves as a feeler gauge for low garages, underground parking, and tree branches.

Good news is, if you change your mind, the reception will be fine. They work well in metro areas, and I can't imagine that there are any underground parking garages in rural areas, so you must live in a more populated place.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

I made this antenna myself from a old steel bed support piece. (You know those pieces of metal that keep the bed frame off the ground) it came with eight of them, I still have six others sitting in a bucket in my garage. I used a rectangular piece of steel and stainless steel nut to attach it to the post. I figured out threading on the OEM antenna attachment point and used a stainless steel screw to attach the rectangular plate to that.

This is actually the second version of the antenna I have attached to my Jeep. The first one was a little more complicated and didn't really work out the way I wanted it to.

Sorry for the grainy photo, It's a zoomed in photo from the last ice storm we had.

The gold thing on top is the center piece of my OEM driver's seat belt tensioner. The construction glue I was using on it didn't work out the way I wanted and I was getting tired of trying to make it work. So I just took it off for now.

Point I'm getting at is it really doesn't matter what antenna you use, as long as you have steel touching steel touching steel touching the mount point, you'll get a signal with anything. The only thing that screws up my signal is my aftermarket LED headlights. But even then as long as I'm listening to local stations at night I get a great signal all the same. Probably helps that the only time I listen to the radio is when it's talk radio, otherwise I'm always listening to one of my playlists.

According to my dad, the only thing I could do at this point to make the signal better, would be to clean off all of the black paint on the tube itself, wrap a spiraling column of copper around the tube. Making sure it's not touching itself at any point, and then putting a light coating of truck bed liner on top of that to seal it in place. I'm not really super keen on radio waves or electrical things in general, my dad has a lot more knowledge on that stuff than I do. Maybe someone else can explain why the spiraling thing works better than just a straight antenna.

 

[rdfact]

Good news is, if you change your mind, the reception will be fine. They work well in metro areas, and I can't imagine that there are any underground parking garages in rural areas, so you must live in a more populated place.

No, I'm in a fairly rural area. The only underground parking garage I drove my JL into was in South Lake Tahoe. The antenna cleared by only about an inch. Tree branches while off-road is much more common.

 

[djxizodu]

Did that incident cause the antenna to strike the body or glass?

my antenna violent whipped Around in the car wash. Striking windshield, top, side window and windshield frame.

antenna ended up getting bent so I just deleted it.

 

[Suffolklou]

I did this antenna upgrade and it works well for me but I've only used it in a greater metro area so far.

I did this too, works fine

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