I also have a 2" Alta antenna. Alta is far from my favorite vendor, but I do like their short antenna. They were the only one who had it so Alta got my money. Aaron at Outmotoring also have some nice short antennas. MINI Cooper Stubby Shorty Antenna
I'm no help, I have the Palo Uber one that had a horrible anodize that was replaced by them by a really bad powder coating. Good thing I know someone that can polish metal cause now it is a nicely polished too damn expensive antenna. I'd have never bought that one as it was stupid expensive for what it is. It was a gift.
They all will work the same. If the style grabs you, that's the one to pick...... I made mine out of T304 SS..... I probably should get it powder coated so it's not so contrasty..... [/IMG]
Ryu has a Craven Speed stubby (he came that way). It works fine. Never had a problem with any stubby antennas on my MINIs.
As long as you are in an area with good signal strength, they are fine. Get out into the "sticks" and the shorties definitely fall ... ahem..."short".
I saw a picture of a MINI with just a button Allen screw where the antennae screws in, it looked nice, and cheap too! They said it didn't hurt the reception. Dave
Once you see a donut glistening in the sun on an antenna you too will be smitten by its beauty. :donut1:
Well, not exactly... the roof does act as a ground plane, but the signal is picked up at the actual antenna itself. At about 100 MHz (middle of FM band) one full wave is roughly 9 feet 10 inches. The best antennas are typically an even fractional wave length.... For a car a 1/2 wave is not practical so a 1/4 wave length is used...or ~2 feet 5.5 inches. To make an antenna short it is common practice to use a coil to reduce the physical length. But use of a coil only attempts to match the electrical length. Any reduction in the "straight length" also reduces the signal capture..(poorer signal reception). Take note of the OEM antenna..it's a spiral coil which attempts to match the electrical length without significantly reducing the straight length. In low signal areas there is simply no substitute for an antenna of the proper length. I use a shorty but occasionally have poor reception and switch to satellite. Anyone still awake? I'm sure that put some folks to sleep...ZZZZZzzz
:cornut: Yeah as 1 BRG to another,and a nonpracticing HAM(KD5CII), thanks. It was a good refresh. I keep my OEM antenna in the boot just for the above reason that you mentioned. Jason
I'm darned certain a ham on the antenna while really cool looking will draw varmints. Best stick with antenna donuts to be safe. :donut1: