My car has an old manual antenna that has corroded and the base is in terrible shape. I purchased an aftermarket unit from one of the usual suspects and it is basically an overpriced piece of crap…sorry, but the heavy chrome base they sent for it is solid but there is no angle that it can be placed for my antenna location that will allow the antenna to be straight.
I know antenna’s were an aftermarket dealer installed option, but I have to live with the location where it was drilled into the body. (passenger side read fender) I have a Jag show to go to this coming Saturday and its more important to me to have an antenna present than no antenna. The cheap unit will have to do since it is at least is shiny.
The problem is this, the aftermarket antenna has about a three or four foot long cable. This length is not even close to what is necessary to get to the radio. At some future time, I will undertake the project to rip out the radio and antenna and put a power antenna in, but for now, can I splice the new antenna wire into the old wire that is in place? I’ve spliced and soldered many wires in my time, but I’ve never tackled and antenna cable. Is it just a copper core, or is it shielded like coax?
Totally agree – go with an extension. As Michael says, splicing can be done but often screws things up, and given you really care about your original antenna, I definitely wouldn’t splice.
The truth is the original antenna on the car is in horrible shape and needs to be pitched. The new antenna is cheap but will suffice for the weekend Jag show here in the Dallas area (Frisco). I have ordered an extension, but still need to find time to chase down the antenna wire from the rear passenger fender to the radio. I hope I have the time to mess with the antenna, but honestly it is low on my list of things to attend to before Saturday.
Thanks for all the advice on not splicing.
Next question, has anyone found a quality chrome powered antenna that fits properly on our Jags? did you wire it up to the radio for power?
What about something like this and just keep your shiny cheap antenna in place to fill the hole ? My '74 Chevy has antenna inside windshield but the wires corroded and broke off where they come out of the laminations. I got one similar to this. Works OK for the old Delco AM/FM. I ran the wire up along the windshield pillar. Pretty unobtrusive and easy. Just a thought.
I installed one of these and am quite happy with tht function and looks. I like that I can lower the mast completely out of the way when washing or polishing the car.
I’m about to install exactly this antennae to replace the (defective) original. Question: Do I need to ensure clean bare metal around the body hole (rear fender) to get a ground, or is a ground at the fitting hole not required? I can’t seem to find this info anywhere. Thanks.
No ground needed at the fitting hole at all. Keep the paint on the fender, and if the hole was drilled after the car was painted, apply a little paint (primer, or body color, or anything) on the cut edge of the hole to prevent corrosion.
