Exterior 1st Gen Shorty Antennas

Discussion in 'Tuning and Performance' started by west7, Feb 17, 2012.

  1. west7

    west7 Member

    Sep 17, 2011
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    Anyone have thoughts on the craven speed vs the wmw shorty antennas?
     
  2. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    :cornut: No help here. Mine is the 2in Alta. Works great just like the OEM. :Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  3. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    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
     
  4. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    #4 Nathan, Feb 17, 2012
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2012
    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.
     
  5. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    So you are saying it was free & worth every penny.... :D
     
  6. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    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][/IMG]
     
  7. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

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    Mine's a crummy generic one that didn't fit until I modified it a bit. Works great. :)
     
  8. BRG_Paul

    BRG_Paul Active Member

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    Nicely done!
     
  9. KittyMini

    KittyMini Club Coordinator

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    Ryu has a Craven Speed stubby (he came that way).
    It works fine. Never had a problem with any stubby antennas on my MINIs.
     
  10. BRG_Paul

    BRG_Paul Active Member

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    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". :D
     
  11. DneprDave

    DneprDave Well-Known Member
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    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
     
  12. KittyMini

    KittyMini Club Coordinator

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    You don't need a lot. The roof acts as an antenna itself.
     
  13. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    Trouble with those short antennas is they can only hold one donut.... :donut1:
     
  14. KittyMini

    KittyMini Club Coordinator

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    Yeah, because you're supposed to eat them :cornut:
     
  15. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    Once you see a donut glistening in the sun on an antenna you too will be smitten by its beauty. :donut1:
     
  16. BRG_Paul

    BRG_Paul Active Member

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    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
     
  17. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    :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.:Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  18. KittyMini

    KittyMini Club Coordinator

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    I'm sure you are right... but I have never experienced bad reception. I may just be lucky :cornut:
     
  19. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    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:
     
  20. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    Bacon wrapped "short N stubby" FTW.....:D
     

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